Waterford Comhairle na nÓg Dungarvan were crowned winners of the Senior Climate Change category, after overcoming fierce competition from around the nation, at the 2023 ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards.
The lead-up to and finals of the Young Environmentalist Awards 2023 attracted over a thousand attendees. 104 schools and youth organisations were selected for the the judges and given the opportunity to present their eco-project out of roughly 280 projects that were spread over 27 counties.
Roisin Browne, Mollie Mernagh, Ewea Oshiogwemoh, Tia Weldon, Saoirse Firth, and Kinga Klos, from Waterford Comhairle na nÓg Dungarvan, won first place for their initiative, "Comhairle Native Tree Trail." They created the Communitree app, which enables kids to carry out tasks at home to expand their virtual tree.
As a result, the youngsters planted actual trees and proudly, 3500 trees have been planted by the project and counting. Waterford Comhairle na nÓg Dungarvan urged their local council to support a Native Irish Tree Trail project for the following five years, last year.
They were one of 24 ecoprojects recognised this year at the competition.
The Young Environmentalist Awards honour the work of young people who are addressing important issues related to global warming and decreasing biodiversity, taking steps to protect the environment in their school or community, and developing original solutions to environmental problems. The Young Environmentalist Awards have attracted over 50,000 young people since it began and reached countless others with awareness-raising activities in schools and communities throughout the world.
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