Cavan student honoured at Green Schools awards

The theme of the competition was: “You, Me and Our Future Seas”.

A St. Joseph's National School student was among students from 12 schools honoured at an award ceremony celebrating winners of this year’s Green-Schools Marine Spatial Planning Poster and Photography Competitions'.

Olivia Liyanage was named a regional winner for the Senior Primary category, having received the prize for Junior Primary in 2024.

The theme of the competition was: “You, Me and Our Future Seas”.

Fourteen students in total were awarded for their posters and photographs depicting their vision for the future of Ireland’s ocean and coast.

In partnership with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, Green-Schools asked students to create posters showing how they would like Ireland’s seas to be used in the future. The competition ties in with the National Marine Planning Framework, which aims to balance the different demands for using Ireland’s marine territory, including the need to protect and conserve the marine environment. It's about planning when and where human activities take place at sea and ensuring these activities are as efficient and sustainable as possible. The competition was open to schools taking part in the Green-Schools Marine Environment theme, which encourages schools to learn about the importance of the ocean, and to take action to reduce marine litter and raise awareness in their local community about ways we can help the marine environment.

The artwork entered into this year’s poster competition depicted the many ways we interact with the marine environment. The posters showed images of marine wildlife, fishing boats, submarines, scuba divers, offshore wind farms, sea kayakers, litter clean-ups and more. The students embedded important messages in the artwork as well, including “reduce plastic pollution”, “less carbon emissions”, “no overfishing” and “sea life matters.”

From the twelve regional poster competition winners, three national winners were selected: Ryan Quintino Schulze from 2nd class at St Mochulla’s N.S., Tulla, Co. Clare, was selected as the national winner for the Junior Primary Category; Basheer Ahmed Avesh, 6th class, St Francis N.S., Blackrock, Co. Louth, won the Senior Primary category, and the overall winner of the Secondary School category was Alyssa Minto, a 3rd year student at Ashbourne Community School, Co. Meath.

Meanwhile, for the first time this year, secondary school students were invited to submit entries to a new photography competition category. The national winning entry “Gone fishin’” by Charlotte Agnew, St Vincent’s Secondary School, Co. Louth, captures fishermen on a beach during a beautiful sunset, while the highly commended entry was “A seagull in the city” by Jason Cronin Murphy from Scoil Bernadette in Cork. Overall the entries showcase both the incredible talent of the entrants, but also their awareness and care for the marine environment.