Scoil Mhuire - Progress Report

Background:

Scoil Mhuire, Abbeyleix is a community-focused primary school that is committed to sustainability, environmental education and protecting biodiversity. Located in the heritage town of Abbeyleix, we have worked over a number of years to place environmental responsibility at the heart of school life.

We have built a strong partnership with Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and work closely with them on a range of local initiatives. Our work also connects with national organisations such as SEAI, Uisce Éireann, GOAL and Green-Schools Ireland. 

From growing food and planting trees to taking part in litter and waste, energy, water conservation and sustainability projects, we have developed a wide range of practical programmes that benefit both our students and the environment. 

Actions We Took:

Growing and gardening for biodiversity and education:

We created Ár Spás Glas, our school garden, which has developed over the years and has become a valuable outdoor learning space. 

(Ár Spás Glas throughout the years)

It includes raised beds for growing vegetables, fruit trees and flower areas that support biodiversity. 

 (Ár Spás Glas 2025)

We planted an orchard with 12 fruit trees, thanks to the DCs for Bees programme and Abbeyleix Tidy Towns.

A new polytunnel was installed this year to help pupils grow food throughout the year and learn about how growing works in different seasons and conditions.

We make our own compostable seedling pots out of toilet roll inserts and only reuse plastic pots donated or from previous years. Every class plants seeds and watches them start to germinate indoors. They are then moved to the polytunnel for group watering and replanting into the garden. 

We have attempted creating a no dig bed over the last few years and this year created a hügelkultur bed for our pumpkins.

Using a variety of planting areas, we are trying to create awareness that gardening can take place in many different spaces. We have container planting, hanging baskets, window boxes and grow bags as well as our fantastic beds as our mini gardeners have many different gardens at home.

We also developed our sensory garden this year adding many pollinators and insect friendly areas to develop the children’s understanding of the need for a diverse planting plan to support the biodiversity of our local environment. 

Like Ár Spás Glas, the sensory garden is an area that supports the well-being of all children in an inclusive way that stimulates all five senses using various therapeutic inputs.

              (October 2024)                                                                                              (June 2025)

Tree planting and habitat creation:
Four heritage lime trees were planted, and we established a native hedge at the front of the school grounds, helping to reflect the town’s historical and ecological character. We also added guelder rose, hazel, spindle, alder buckthorn, holly to the front hedge.

We also planted eighteen rowan sorbus aucuparia trees around the fence near the Ár Spás Glas and Sensory Garden. These can be seen on the various aerial photos of our gardens included in this application.

We signed a Pollinator Agreement with Abbeyleix Tidy Towns to allow parts of our grassed areas and pitches to grow wild over the summer. This supports bees and other pollinators and is part of the national All-Ireland Pollinator Plan. 

We take part in Abbeyleix Tidy Town’s ‘No Mow May’ competition and won it last year. So far this year we have found red and white clover, dog daisies, dandelions and most excitingly Common Spotted Orchids  in our ‘no mow space’ at the front of the school. 

This year we chose to mow 250 onto the front lawn to acknowledge and support the community in celebrating the 250th birthday of Abbeyleix town. The 2 water droplets represent our success in being named a water school of the year and winning the best presentation at the prize-giving in Dublin. Our butterfly represents the un-BUG-lieveable beauty in our environment. Our wooden signs were designed and made by two talented 6th class girls in 2024.

(2024)                                                                                                              (2025)

Water conservation and reuse:
We are building a rainwater harvesting system using a repurposed shipping container and IBC tanks. Our aim, when completed, is rainwater will be collected from the roof and used to water our garden and polytunnel, helping us reduce water usage and to teach students about water conservation. We will also use a soak hose in order to keep plants watered. We currently collect water in an IBC tank from a shed roof nearby. Our new system will thankfully be in the garden. Overall, we will be able to collect 3000l of rain water.

Our winning pupils' artwork from our Green School art competition, Water is Life, takes pride of place in the Community Garden. We plan for this to be replicated on our IBC tanks when the water harvesting system is complete. 

We have two-flush systems for our toilets and push taps at our sinks. We educate the children about using what water they need, when flushing the toilet and washing their hands.

Sustainability education and reuse:
We are active members of the Green-Schools Programme and take part in projects on water, litter and waste, travel, biodiversity and energy. 

We organise an annual Halloween Costume Pop-Up Shop and garden harvest sale to promote reusing and reducing waste, while also raising awareness and funds. At our Hallowe’en Pop Up sale, the children donate their old Hallowe’en costumes and have an opportunity to buy other costumes. It highlights the importance of the circular economy and the children are educated about fast-fashion and the amount of water used in clothes production. 

We have a Re-Turn bin in the school and have established a connection with a local shopkeeper, Sandy, who collects our bottles for us. We also have Weeee battery boxes around the school encouraging the children and their families to recycle these in the correct manner.

We carried out leak assessments and demonstrated, at assembly, the importance of only putting toilet paper down a toilet. These actions have taught the children about preventing blockages which can lead to leaks and the wastage of water.

Educational workshops.

Junior Infants, Senior Infants and First Class worked with GOAL. Maria Rowlette spoke with these classes about water globally and read the story ‘The Water Princess’ to them to help them understand the global importance of water. 

Senior Infants work on the theme of water for the month of May where they explore water conservation and uses of water through play-based learning and activities.

Second Class have been involved with Picker Pals, Education for Sustainability and with the North Tipperary BeeKeepers Association. Martina Maher brought a live hive into the classroom and explained the hive to the children and how to identify the queen, drones and worker bees. 

Third Class have worked with Nore Vision in conjunction with Laois Education Centre. Their work centres around our local river, the Nore, and assessing its volume, habitats and caring and protecting the natural waters of the Nore catchment area. 

Fourth Class met Fiona Dunne, in conjunction with Heritage in Schools, in Abbeyleix Bog and learned about the habitats and animal life there. 

They also have taken part in Teagasc’s Ground Truth soil health in the school garden.

Fifth and Sixth class met with Ryan Keane from Renewable Energy Ireland and learned about the importance of renewable energy. 

Competitions: 

We have taken part in competitions (Green Schools Ireland, Pollinator Lawn Art, Water is Life Art Competition, National Tree Week Poetry Competition), and community-based learning events such as Forest School and meeting with Uisce Éireann representatives at the Community Garden (see below photograph).

We successfully ran a community based Walk for Water event where the children walked to the fountains of Abbeyleix, traditionally the water sources for the town, and also went to see the water ram that is in use at the community allotments.After our Walk for Water we spoke to the community at the Abbeyleix Library about the importance of conserving water. 

The Green School Committee, Ár Spás Glas gardeners and sacrament classes visited Abbeyleix House to see their gardens and to learn about the ways they look after their crops, animals and habitats. The children also learned about their composting system.

In all these ways, we believe we have helped bring the message of sustainability, biodiversity and environmental education to life for our pupils.

Active travel and safe routes:
We joined the Safe Routes to School programme and installed a new bike shelter. School road safety works were also carried out, making it easier and safer for students to walk and cycle to school.
We encourage pupils to take part in walking and cycling initiatives throughout the year with a view to begin working towards our travel flag next year. 

Deep retrofit and energy planning:
Through our involvement in the Abbeyleix Sustainable Energy Community Energy Master Plan, we were selected for SEAI’s Pathfinder Programme. This allowed our school to undergo a deep retrofit, improving insulation, energy efficiency and indoor comfort. We are proud to be one of the schools featured nationally for this important step. https://mastertherm.ie/reference/scoil-mhuire-abbeyleix/ 

Since the installation our CO2 avoidance is 5.457kg. In May of this year our school produced over 1000 kWh solar energy, with the average expectation 400kWh.

We continue to promote reducing energy and the Green School Committee act as Energy Monitors who do spot checks on classes and whether they turn off their lights, screens etc. during lunch breaks.

Who Was Involved? 

• Pupils from all classes

• Teachers and staff

• Board of Management

• Parents Association

• Our Green Schools Committee

• Ár Spás Glas Committee & Gardeners

• Abbeyleix Tidy Towns

• Parents and all school stakeholders

• Volunteers from the local community

• Abbeyleix Library staff

• SEAI and local authorities

• Laois County Council

• Laois Education Centre 

• Nore Vision environmental educators

• GOAL educators

• Abbeyleix Community Garden

• Renewable Energy Ireland

• Uisce Éireann

• Heritage in Schools

• North Tipperary Bee Keepers Association

• Education for Sustainability 

Results So Far:

• Our school grounds now support pollinators and local wildlife throughout the year.

• Pupils are actively involved in growing and harvesting their own food.

• Our current water harvesting system has saved thousands of litres of water and this is set to increase with our new system.

• Our deep retrofit has made the school warmer and more energy-efficient

• Pupils have a strong sense of environmental awareness and responsibility

• Since the installation of solar panels, our CO2 avoidance is 5.457kg. In May of this year our school produced over 1000 kWh solar energy, with the average expectation 400kWh.

• We have broadened our community links to further enhance our learning and our commitment to and our connection to our local place, Abbeyleix.

• Our school has been recognised locally and nationally as a leader in sustainability.

Green-Schools Water Awards 2025:
We were very proud to be recognised at the Green-Schools Water Awards 2025, which took place at Wood Quay Venue, Dublin 8. Three students from our Green School Committee attended and presented a rap that shared our school’s journey with water conservation. They won the award for Best Show and Tell, and Scoil Mhuire was named as a Water School of the Year 2025.
It was an inspiring day where our students shared ideas with other schools and celebrated the difference they are making to the environment.

We celebrated this achievement as a whole school at the flag raising day in June, where everyone involved in supporting our journey was invited. 

Nationwide visit October 2024

Scoil Mhuire’s Ár Spás Glas gardeners and Green School Committee featured on Nationwide in October where our sustainability and environmental awareness was showcased on national T.V. 

An exciting opportunity for our future Tidy Town enthusiasts. This can be watched on this link https://www.rte.ie/player/series/nationwide/SI0000001172?epguid=IH10002393-23-0118 from 05:06 - 10:28.

The incredible Abbeyleix Tidy Town volunteers are an inspiration to our pupils and many of the children are now involved in  the clean up and appearance of our fabulous town as they prepare for Communities in Bloom.

Future Goals

• We will continue to work closely with Abbeyleix Tidy Towns on Smart Village Initiative to facilitate data led decision making. Using smart sensors to monitor air environmental variables like air quality and also traffic patterns and volumes.

• We aim to begin our next green flag which will be ‘Travel’.

• We plan to build a glass house with the windows recovered from our retrofit in the next year. 

• We intend to extend our planting schedule to include winter crops in our new polytunnel.

• We will continue to learn about companion planting to improve pest control organically.

• We hope to build our own sensors as a STEM activity in relation to ‘Travel’ flags for Green Schools Ireland.

• Continue to work closely with Abbeyleix House, Community Garden Committee and Abbeyleix Bog in order to promote and educate about sustainability and biodiversity in our local community.

• Further develop our sensory garden with floral pollinators such as nepeta, lavender, buddleia and in particular some more sedum autumn joy as a valuable late source of nectar.

• Gather, monitor and track our energy usage and consumption in order to best utilise our retrofit and understand its benefits. Create data around this for future use.