Young climate activists from Clare are among the all-island finalists selected to go through to this year’s ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA), taking place on 8th May in the Dublin.
ECO-UNESCO has announced the YEA 2025 finalists today (22.04.25) to coincide with Earth Month which takes place every year on 22nd April.
Three schools from Clare are among 102 finalists from across the island of Ireland to have succeeded at the semi-final ‘ECO-Dens’ stages of the YEAs last month (March) and who will now go on to showcase their shortlisted eco-projects at the YEAs this year.
They include:
‘Investigating Flora & Fauna in the Burren’, a project from Coláiste Muire, Ennis, is through to the Biodiversity Category of the awards. The group of young people focussed on increasing biodiversity in the Burren and raise awareness about its decline.
‘This is our plea, go plastic free!’, a project from St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, is through to the ECO-Community Development Category of the awards. The group of young people focused on promoting a plastic-free community, including both the school and the surrounding town, as part of an initiative to reduce single-use plastics.
‘There is plastic in my fish’, a project from Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna, is through to the Water Category of the awards. The group of young people focused on the growing crisis of plastic in our oceans. They created a large fish-shaped structure filled with plastic collected from local shores to demonstrate the impact of plastic pollution.
The young people from Clare will join over 1,000 young environmentalists from across Ireland for a day of celebration, inspiration, and climate action.
ECO-UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards is an all-island programme that recognises the work of young people who are tackling key issues in relation to climate and biodiversity loss, taking environmental action in their school or community and coming up with creative solutions to solve environmental issues. Now in its 26th year, the YEA programme has reached people in every county of Ireland, with a total of over 65,000 young people participating and 6,000 projects entered down through the years.
Commenting on this year’s YEA finalists, Elaine Nevin, National Director, ECO-UNESCO said: “The projects that have made it through to year’s Young Environmentalist Awards reflect the mission of Earth Day, the theme of which this year is ‘Our Power, Our Planet’ ─ a call to action highlighting the transformative power of renewable energy and its role in creating a more sustainable and equitable future. Earth Day 2025 encourages individuals, communities, and governments to take action by adopting renewable energy solutions, advocating for supportive policies, and participating in local and global initiatives. Through their projects, young people have taken the lead in raising awareness of critical environmental issues, inspiring change in their communities, and championing more sustainable lifestyles.
“I would like to wish our finalists from Clare the best of luck for the awards, congratulate those who took part in our regional semi-final ECO-Dens, and thank all our funders who make this all possible every year. Each and every project that enters the awards deserves to be celebrated!”
Further information about the Young Environmentalist Awards is available online here.
Full list of teams from Clare through to the Young Environmentalist Awards 2025 Finals
- Coláiste Muire, Ennis
- St Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla
- Mary Immaculate Secondary School, Lisdoonvarna