Join our solar schools youth assemblies!

To address the climate crisis, we need to get off fossil fuels fast. Ireland has excellent renewable energy resources, but our energy system uses fossil fuels for the majority of our energy needs in transport, heating and electricity. This has to change. Fast! 

At Friends of the Earth we are working to make sure that Ireland’s energy system is fit for the future, with no more investment in fossil fuel infrastructure, no more exploration for fossil fuels and an energy system that values and supports citizens and communities participating in and benefiting from our renewable energy transition.

Schools can play a key role in this transition! Through our Solar Schools project we are working with schools to get solar panels installed on their roofs. It's a way of showcasing what's possible. Going solar has great benefits for both climate and communities! We believe that every school could become a Solar School - powering themselves with clean, free electricity generated right from their rooftops. And raising some extra funds from the excess energy they generate if it can be sold to the grid. 

Would your school like to get involved? Sign up here to join our Solar Schools Youth Assemblies!

As part of our Solar Schools Project we are hosting regional Solar School Youth Assemblies during the last two weeks of May to bring students from primary and secondary schools together to share youth visions and demands for what a sustainable future in Ireland could look like.

Click on this link to register your class or Green schools committee for a regional Solar School Youth Assembly. 

During the assemblies, we'll be joined by Sinead Morgan, Campaign Officer with Concern, who will be facilitating an activity on the Sustainable Development Goals with a focus on clean and affordable energy (SDG 7) and climate action (SDG 13). 

We will also be exploring some of the challenges and opportunities for schools and their role in a just transition to a decarbonized future.

There are different dates for the Solar Schools Youth Assemblies, depending on what part of the country your school is based in. Check out the list below to see the date for you:

• West / North West - 19th of May 11am - 1pm
• East - 25th of May 11am - 1pm
• South - 26th of May 11am - 1pm
• Midlands - 27th of May 11am - 1pm

The assemblies are open to young people in primary or secondary school and teachers. We hope you'll join us - don't forgot to register your class here. 

Before you attend the assembly, it would be great if you could take some time with your class to think about their vision for a sustainable school. Without doubt, your students will have some big ideas that we'd love to hear about! Share your vision for a sustainable school with us in advance by drawing pictures, writing poems or stories, or preparing the front page news for 2030 which shows your vision of what a sustainable school could look like. Send your pictures or ideas to emmajayne@foe.ie with the reference ‘SOLAR SCHOOLS’. Teachers who register their class for an assembly will get sent an event pack before the event. 

 

Click here to register your class or group for a Solar School Youth Assembly

We are grateful to our funders, Irish Aid and Tomar Trust, for making this work possible.