St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, has been named one of Ireland’s Sustainable Travel School of the Year at a ceremony in Dublin.
An Taisce Green-Schools presented the school with their award at the event honouring the winners of this year’s Green-Schools Big Travel Challenge 2025 in Haughton House of Dublin Zoo. Three other schools were also awarded on the day for their efforts promoting sustainable and active travel modes to school.
Schools took on the Big Travel Challenge from the 4th-14th of February , during which they were asked to concentrate on one or more sustainable transport modes for two weeks to see if they could achieve real, lasting change in the travel behaviour of their staff and students. The Challenge is an initiative of the Green-Schools Travel theme, which is supported by the NTA and the Department of Transport.
St. Joseph’s Secondary School, a rural school of 720 students, excelled and truly embraced the challenge by focusing on walking and cycling. They took their own spin on the challenge by turning it into a Walk County Clare Step Challenge and converting the saved CO2 emissions in terms of distance.
Congratulating St. Joseph’s Secondary School and the other awarded schools on their achievements, Green-Schools Travel Programme Manager, Allison Phillips said: “It was truly inspiring to see students from across the country taking on the challenge to ‘love our health, love our planet’ by supporting active and sustainable travel to school through the Green-Schools Travel’s Big Travel Challenge. Your work is testament to the collaborative work of the students, teachers and whole school community, as well as our partnerships with Local Authorities, the National Transport Authority and Department of Transport.”
The top schools from each county were awarded for their part in promoting green travel modes to school as part of the Big Travel Challenge, with a regional winner chosen from them. The Staffroom Challenge was back by popular demand as well, extending the competition to school teachers and staff to travel more sustainably, and get creative in doing so. Other initiatives included best carpool karaoke, most creative classroom workshops and best social media post.
The schools awarded were:
Eastern Regional Winner: Drumcondra NS, DCC
*North-Western Regional Winner: St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, Co.Clare
Southern Regional Winner: St Patrick’s B,N,S, Skibbereen, Co. Cork
Midlands Regional and National Winner: Scoil Chríost Rí, Portlaoise
Green-Schools Travel
An Taisce has been working on the national Green-Schools Travel theme, which focuses on promoting sustainable travel on the school run, since September 2008. The Travel theme is funded by the Department of Transport and is supported by the National Transport Authority.
The ultimate aim of the Green-Schools Travel theme is to encourage students, parents and teachers to walk, cycle, scoot, Park ‘n’ Stride, use public transport or car pool instead of using the private car on the school run.
Green-Schools
Green-Schools (known internationally as Eco-Schools), is an international environmental management education programme, environmental management system and award scheme that promotes and acknowledges long-term, whole-school action for the environment, and is operating in 58 countries around the world including; almost all EU member states, Africa, South America, North America, Canada, Oceania and Asia. Green-Schools is an initiative of FEE (the Foundation for Environmental Education).
The Green-Schools programme is based on a seven-step environmental management system and continual improvement process which is very student led and also involves the wider community. Green-Schools is a themed programme with schools initially working on the themes of Litter and Waste and then moving onto themes such as Energy, Water, School Travel, Biodiversity and Global Citizenship. Schools that successfully implemented the programme are awarded the Green Flag. The award must be renewed every two years.