Loreto students tackling sea pollution

A group of Transition Year students in Loreto Secondary School, Fermoy, are tackling pollution head-on by taking part in this year’s Young Environmentalist Awards.

While the group had originally planned to focus on sea pollution and arrange a number of beach clean-ups, Covid-19 has shifted their approach to a more localised effort.

So far, five clean-ups along the banks of the Blackwater River have been carried out by the nine students, each of which did their own clean up on a separate day.

“It’s mostly cans we’ve found and wrappers from sweets and crisps. On my day, I found some glass bottles too but it seems to be mostly cans,” Sarah O’Connor told TheAvondhu.

A presentation was also made by the TY students to first and second year Loreto students where a PowerPoint was used in order to raise awareness on sea pollution and outline how individuals can make a difference.

“We have flyers as well which we are going to put up in shops around Fermoy explaining what we are doing and how people can help make a difference,” Sarah added.

The group need to have completed a number of projects and submitted their work by March 26 before the Zoom award presentations which begin in April.

As well as the clean-ups, the TY students plan on organising a fundraiser in order to make a donation to a sea pollution charity.

It is hoped that once restrictions are eased, the nine students made up of Sarah O’Connor, Kelly Hoare, Roisin Cahill, Colleen O’Sullivan, Anna Grey, Lisa Harrington, Lynn McConville, Amy McCormack and Niamh O’Mahony, plan to make a trip to a nearby beach and carry out a clean-up there.