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 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
A team of seven students from Mary Immaculate Secondary School in Lisdoonvarna will be competing in the Finals of the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA) which are being held in the convention Centre in Dublin on the 8th May 2025.
Their project is highlighting the problem of plastic in our oceans and what people can do to reduce the problem. The project consists of a number of strands. Firstly, they have developed a program for fifth and sixth class students in primary schools. They have also adapted this program to be used in junior classes in secondary schools.
They have also created a permanent display which will be erected in the town park. This display consists of metal fish filled with plastic that was collected on shores in north Clare. There will also an information panel which has three sections. The first section will have information about the problem of plastic in the oceans. The second section will contain photos of plastic on the shore and of microplastics that was found in mussels. The third section will be what people need to do to help reduce plastic going into the seas.
They are also planning to do a beach cleanup before the end of term.
People’s Choice Award
One of the awards at the finals of the Young Environmentalists Awards is the People’s Choice Award. The People’s Choice Award gives the public a chance to vote for their favourite project from this year’s finalists.
You can support the group by voting for our group in the People’s Choice Award. The number of the Lisdoonvarna project is 20250139.