The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
Planet College savers progress in One Good Idea competition
A CASTLEISLAND Community College team of Planet Savers has made it to the Top 50 in the One Good Idea Competition run by the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland.
This is the team’s second time reaching this level of the competition in as many years.
The project encourages students to come up with One Good Idea with which to inspire people around them to make small, lifestyle changes to save energy and reduce carbon emissions.
The fifth year group from the college has focused for a second year on raising awareness and finding solutions to the issue of deforestation and the team hopes to further the success it had last year.
The Planet Savers explained that their theme is related to climate change and they were drawn to it because of the impact it has on people and their rights to food, safe water and education.
“Earth is the only planet that can provide us with life, yet we damage it destroying the carbon sink! We want to promote awareness about the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC) certification which a paper or wood company will receive if their resources come from a sustainably managed forest,” the appropriately attired team explained.
The certification process also means that those working for these companies receive a fair wage for their work.The Planet Savers are enthusiastic, hardworking and committed to the project, so much so that they have made significant changes in their own school, Castleisland Community College - according to management at the college.
They were responsible for changing paper purchasing patterns in the school. Now all paper is FSC certified and the wood comes from sustainably managed forests in Denmark.
The man-made boards, such as plywood and MDF are sourced in the UK, from recycled waste materials. Such is their commitment they also presented to the Kerry ETB Board on June 20th 2016, during their school holidays, challenging the board to change their paper policy.
The students were delighted that their idea was welcomed and promoted by the Kerry ETB Board. The Planet Savers next mission is to spread the message to the local community and encourage people, where possible to support products that are FSC certified. We’ll be hearing more from them.