In October 2024, Bord na Móna Recycling launched its second Primary Schools Upcycling Competition. Students were once again encouraged to repurpose discarded materials into innovative and functional creations, using materials that would typically be considered waste or discarded items.
This year, the creativity, passion, and environmental awareness displayed by young minds across the country was truly inspirational. Overall the organisers were delighted with the growth in the nationwide appeal of the competition, the quality of the entries and the positive learning outcomes experienced by the students.
With hundreds of entries received, spanning all four provinces, the selection of winners was a difficult task. After much deliberation from our judging panel, we’re delighted to reveal the winners in each category.
WINNER – The Downs National School, Westmeath
The colour, energy and participation of the youngest cohort in the competition was wonderful to see, and are a credit to their teachers and schools.
The students of The Downs National School in Mullingar really embraced the concept of upcycling; demonstrating the imagination and skill to transform a discarded trampoline and old furniture into a functioning chicken coup and run, they really impressed the judges and are very worthy winners in this category.
As category winner a prize fund of €1000 is awarded to the school.
WINNER – St Patrick’s Primary School, Galway
In this category the shortlisted entries exhibited some very creative and colourful entries that showed how potential waste can be artistically repurposed and also put to practical use in the school environment.
The students of St Patrick’s Primary School in Galway, went above & beyond the call of duty in preparing and delivering a comprehensive plan that used a host of repurposed ‘waste materials’ to really demonstrate how this city centre school can enhance both its co-existence with its local environment as well as the students’ and staffs’ own well-being.
As category winner a prize fund of €1000 is awarded to the school.
WINNER – St Mary’s Primary School, Tipperary
There were some really imaginative entries from the oldest cohort of students and the short-listed schools showed wonderful ambition in the scale and scope of their projects.
St Mary’s Primary School, Nenagh grasped the thorny nettle of fast-fashion and demonstrated in a tangible way how discarded resources can be given a second life.
As category winner a prize fund of €1000 is awarded to the school.
WINNER – The Downs National School, Westmeath
It was really a tough decision in choosing an overall winner from the three individual category winners but the judges agreed that the vision of the young students from The Downs NS, Mullingar, displayed great resourcefulness & ingenuity in designing and building their chicken coup from discarded and damaged waste. The judges hope that this project can provide insights and inspiration to others in how they look at and view their own ‘waste’.
Storm Eowyn and a resulting ‘flying trampoline’ provided the inspiration for the project, back in January. Seeking to foster a culture of sustainability in the school, students sought to look at their own needs within their school. The idea of self-sufficiency was discussed, and the possibility of proving a safe environment for hens to lay eggs.
Along with the trampoline, waste materials were gathered from a local builder, to prevent landfill waste. All of the wood used in the project was repurposed to create the hen house, the door of the coop and the cross bars of the coop. The nesting boxes were made from old drawers. The door of the henhouse came from an old unit. The ramp up into the hen house was made from an old wooden step ladder.
On the side of the henhouse there is a window which was once a sky light in a school itself. A tyre was been cut in half to make a feeder for the hens. An off cut from a gutter and an old discarded down pipe allows water to be harvested from the roof of the hen house. This in turn provides drinking water for the hens.
Discarded wood was mulched and is being used on the floor of the coop to keep it dry and to provide a natural environment for the chickens to scratch and dig.
Waste was cleverly transformed into a very functional piece that serves as an example of what can be achieved, showcasing the endless possibilities of upcycling. It is now the school’s intention to hatch chicks this month, and rescue laying hens.
As overall competition winner the students from this project will receive a guided tour, with a total prize fund of €3000 awarded to the school.
Bord na Móna Recycling believes in instilling a sense of environmental awareness from an early age and through our Primary School’s Upcycling Competition we have provided schools with a platform to raise awareness about upcycling as an environmentally friendly practice, whilst fostering creativity.
We would like to thank all the schools for their participation and the creativity, effort, and passion demonstrated in the entries, and for the role which they have played in educating and inspiring their students. We look forward to your involvement in our future competition initiatives.
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