Ennis National School Shares Climate Action Work in Serbia
In October, teachers from Ennis National School travelled to Novi Bečej in northern Serbia to take part in the second Learning, Teaching and Training course of the PROTECT project, a European climate education partnership that our school participates in.
PROTECT, which stands for Pupil-led Response to the Effects of Climate Change on Their Local Communities, is a three-year Erasmus+ project funded by the European Union. It is coordinated by our Principal, Ray McInerney, in partnership with Clare Education Centre and Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. The project brings together schools and education partners in Ireland, Norway, Croatia, Portugal and Serbia, with one shared aim: to give children the knowledge, confidence and practical skills to respond to climate change in their own communities.
Our teachers were joined on the trip by colleagues from our fellow Clare project schools, Clarecastle National School and Knockanean National School, and by MJ Malone, Director of Clare Education Centre. The course, which ran from 12th to 16th October, was hosted by Osnovna škola Miloje Čiplić and brought together teachers from all of the partner countries.
A highlight of the week was the chance for each of the three Clare schools to present to their European colleagues on the work completed during the project’s first year. Here in Ennis National School, our pupils have explored climate change through classroom lessons, podcasts, debates and a school climate action video, and have shared their learning with schools across Europe through an online showcase event that drew almost 1,000 participants. Our teachers were delighted to show what our pupils have achieved, and the presentations sparked plenty of conversation and new ideas.
The programme also included workshops from Irish colleagues. Ed Corry of Mary Immaculate College led a workshop on climate change education in the Irish context, followed by a second workshop on developing case studies to capture the impact of the project in schools. Michael Browne of Clare Education Centre delivered a hands-on workshop on STEM Challenges, showing teachers how practical problem-solving tasks can bring climate learning to life for pupils.
Just as importantly, the course gave everyone time to plan for year two of the project. The focus for this year is on practical climate actions that pupils can lead themselves, working alongside their families, the school community and local community organisations. Each partner school shared its plans for the year ahead, and teachers worked together on joint activities that will connect children across the five countries. We look forward to involving our parents and the wider Ennis community in these actions over the coming months.
At the heart of PROTECT is a simple belief: the children in our classrooms today are the generation who will live most with the effects of climate change, so their voices and their actions matter. The project sets out to make climate action meaningful and real for our pupils, not as something that happens far away, but as something they can shape here in Ennis.
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