A Laois student was among the big winners at an annual awards ceremony held in Dublin recently.

Tia Keating, a 6th class student from St. Fiacc’s National School, Graiguecullen, was named as an overall winner in the Green-Schools Poster Competition and received the award at a ceremony held in Dublin city centre last week. 

The Green-Schools awards were held to recognise the efforts of primary and secondary students across the country who participated in the Green-Schools Water Programme in the 2024-25 academic year, and to honour the winning students in this year’s poster competition. 

Uisce Éireann’s Head of Customer Operations, Geoffrey Bourke, said that the record number of entries was evidence of the Green-Schools Water Programme going from 'strength to strength' around the country. 

Pictured: St Fiacc's NS, Graiguecullen

“The Green-Schools awards are always a wonderful occasion and this year, the quantity and quality of the submissions across the various categories has been truly incredible," he said.

"The vital work being done by Green-Schools in schools across Ireland is clearly bearing fruit in terms of how our young people think about water and the need to conserve and respect it. We in Uisce Éireann are proud of our long-standing sponsorship of the programme,” Mr Bourke finished.

The annual event marked the twelfth year of Uisce Éireann’s sponsorship of An Taisce’s Green-Schools programme which supports schools working to gain a Green Flag under the water theme. 

The theme of this year’s poster competition was ‘Water is Life’, and participating students were asked to design a poster centring on the theme of water’s intrinsic importance to every aspect of life on our planet.  

The response from pupils of the participating schools was phenomenal, with a record 4,300 entries received across the junior primary, senior primary and secondary categories.

The standard of entry was exceptionally high, and the judging panel had a hugely difficult task in choosing their winners. Twelve regional winners were each awarded a €100 voucher and had their poster professionally framed, while three overall national winners were also announced at the ceremony. 

Secondary school students were also invited to enter a video competition, also on the theme of ‘Water is Life’. A full list of all winners is available to view at Water Poster and Video Competition 2025 | Green-Schools. 

“The Green-Schools Water Awards are one of the highlights of our year," said Cathy Baxter, An Taisce Director of Education.

"They celebrate the creativity, commitment and teamwork of students and teachers working together to protect one of our most precious resources: water. These young people are leading by example and showing that real environmental change begins in our schools and communities. We’re so proud of their efforts and inspired by their impact," she said.

Throughout the current academic year, An Taisce has been engaging directly with 330 schools on the Water Flag, working with over 100,000 students and 10,000 teachers across the country. 

The Green-Schools water theme is a grassroots sponsorship that aims to foster awareness and understanding of a range of activities, tailored to students at both primary level and secondary level. In addition to developing awareness around water conservation, the sponsorship incorporates wider engagement around stewardship of our water resources. 

For more information on the sponsorship and how Uisce Éireann supports it, please visit Water Education in Schools | Conservation | Uisce Éireann (formerly Irish Water).

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