Louth County Council recognised the poetic talents of schoolchildren across the county at the 'Greener Christmas Poetry Competition 2023' awards ceremony last week.
The competition was part of Louth County Council’s seasonal Christmas Waste Management campaign’ and the awards presentation ceremony, held on Tuesday December 12th at the Town Hall in Dundalk, recognised the efforts of primary schools across Louth in promoting responsible waste management during the festive season.
The Seasonal Christmas Waste Management Campaign, running throughout December and into the early part of the new year, aims to encourage and educate the community on responsible waste disposal. To access helpful hints and tips on waste management, the public is invited to visit the dedicated campaign page on the Louth County Council website: https://www.louthcoco.ie/en/louth_county_council/latest-news/manage-your-waste-this-christmas.html
In a bid to reach a wider audience, the Libraries in Dundalk and Drogheda will prominently display this eco-friendly message on their boards. Additionally, Dundalk Sports Centre has joined the initiative, incorporating the ‘Green Christmas’ message into their display.
The Greener Christmas Poetry competition, open to all primary schools in the county, focused on the theme of food waste, encouraging young minds to contribute to a festive season with reduced waste and increased recycling.
The young pupils have great fun when composing their poems, but the competition also serves to reinforce a strong green message. As teachers and parents inevitably become involved with the competition, the green message is spread, throughout schools and into homes, getting us all to think about food waste and how to reduce the waste we create over Christmas.
This year prizes were awarded to schools from the Municipal Districts of Ardee and Dundalk and the Borough District of Drogheda, with the winning school from each of the three areas receiving a prize of €200. There were individual pupil awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd prize-winners and an overall county winner.
Paula Gribben from the Community Section of Louth County Council, explained, “Unfortunately, Christmas is a time when waste becomes a huge challenge, and we are delighted to organise and promote this competition. We are fully cognisant of the fact that our young people have embraced our green message, and particularly the food waste theme this year, we applaud all the schools in Louth for all their continued promotion of our green agenda throughout 2023”.
She added, “This year the winning poems were recorded by the pupils during the ceremony and these poems form part of Louth County Council’s ‘Greener Christmas’ seasonal waste management campaign, which will be broadcast by LMFM Radio over the festive period. The poems of the runners up will be available on our website and through our social media channel”.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Paula Butterly commented ‘Christmas is a wonderful time of year, but unfortunately it is also a time when large volumes of waste are generated, particularly in our homes. From wrapping paper to Christmas cards, cardboard and packaging, glass bottles, plastic, and cans, not to mention all the leftover food waste, waste can be a challenge for us all over the holiday season”. She added “There is no doubt that our young pupils in Louth are fully aware of the need for waste prevention through their green school’s programme and this fun poetry competition reinforces that green message. I would like to congratulate the winners and wish everyone a green and happy Christmas”.
Third prize in the Ardee Municipal District went to Charlotte Mc Kenna from 6th Class in Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire, Ardee with her poem “A Greener Christmas”. Rose Bray from 6th Class in Collon National School was delighted to win second prize with her poem “When Santa Comes to Tea”, while Diana Lubko from 4th class in Scoil Mhuire na Trócaire, Ardee took first prize and the overall County winning prize with her fantastic poem “A Greener Christmas”.
Eóin O’Hanlon, from 5th class, St. Fursey’s N.S. (Haggardstown) was thrilled to win third place in the Dundalk Municipal District for his poem “A Greener Christmas”, while Tom Coleman from 5th class in Kilkerley National School, came second with his excellent poem “Stop Food Waste This Christmas”. The winner with “A Greener Christmas” was Conor Mc Morland from 5th class in Mullaghbouy National School in Riverstown.
The winner for the Borough District of Drogheda was Katie Rogers, from 6th Class in the Presentation Primary school, with “A Greener Christmas”.
Louth County Council would like to congratulate all the winners and participants in the competition in helping to spread the Green Message across the county of Louth.
On a final note, Louth County Council would like to encourage everyone to participate in creating a more sustainable and environmentally conscious festive season – “small changes make a big difference in reducing waste and to remind everyone that V&W Recycling are open in Drogheda and Dundalk over the holiday season and details of opening hours are available at www.louthcoco.ie.”.
Louth County Council host Green Christmas poetry awards
Green Christmas Poetry competition awards
