Young people in Fermanagh enjoyed a week-long schedule of activities as South West College (SWC) celebrated ‘The Great Big Green Week,’ a nationwide celebration of action on climate change.

The College joined the wave of action sweeping across the UK, by dedicating the week commencing September 26 to sustainability activities College wide.

Throughout the week SWCs sustainability team united students, staff, and the local community via a series of events, workshops, talks, and competitions, to further promote sustainability in the community and highlight environmental issues, as part of their commitment to the One Planet Living principles.

A major milestone for the College was the delivery of the first in a series of planned workshops, which aims to educate, inspire, and engage young people in all areas of climate change and sustainability, empowering them to learn more about environmental issues.

As part of the outreach programme, the College was delighted to welcome over seventy-five primary school pupils, to the first ever community-based sustainability workshop at the award-winning Erne campus. The engaging pupil led workshop entitled ‘Bees and Pollinators’- explored the importance of pollinators and the role they play in the eco-system.

Supriya Foster, Sustainability Officer at South West College, said:

“Sustainability is one of South West Colleges key values and is a strategic priority, so we were delighted to be able to share our expertise and knowledge, so that young people are educated in the best environmental choices for the Earth and all its inhabitants.

The pupils enjoyed the session and had great fun planting, whilst discovering how they can protect and support pollinators. The first workshop was a remarkable success and the ‘cherry on the top’ of our ‘Great Big Green Week’ activities.

As part of our commitment to the One Planet Living Principals – South West College look forward to future workshops and welcoming back schools from surrounding areas for further sustainability workshops. We hope that the pupils learned more about our natural world and the importance of conservation so that they can spread the one planet living message.”

South West College are committed to collaborating with the community, to help tackle sustainability issues together. If you would like to get involved, please contact our dedicated Sustainability team: sustainability@swc.ac.uk

Erne Campus