ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards winners announced at Ireland’s biggest celebration of ECO-Action!

Young people from all over Ireland were awarded at the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards 2010 ceremony, which took place on Wednesday, 12th May in the Round Room of the Mansion House, Dublin 2.

The Overall Junior Young Environmentalist Awards 2010 went to young people Friends School, Lisburn, Co. Antrim with their project Spring into Action. The Overall Senior Young Environmentalist Awards 2010 went to the young people from Youthreach, The Glen, Cork city, with their innovative community project Our School Garden. There were 50 short-listed projects competing for awards in fifteen categories.

“We’ve had such an outstanding range of projects this year focusing on diverse environmental issues including climate change, biodiversity, water and waste issues. We are thrilled with the young people’s creativity and dedication to their projects and happy to be celebrating their achievements at the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards ceremony.” Comments Elaine Nevin, Director of ECO-UNESCO.

Sixteen groups of young environmentalists from all over Ireland and Northern Ireland were awarded in various categories. Highlights included Senior Energy Category Winners, Salerno Secondary School, Galway, with ‘Re-Juice your Journey’ a cycling awareness campaign which included cycle powered smoothie-makers, and a ‘Bling your bike day!’ St Brendan’s in Wicklow’s ‘Plastic Fantastic Greenhouse’ made entirely of recycled plastic bottles was also hit.

“The young participants of the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards programme concretely show what it means to act as agents of positive change and make a difference”, commented Walter Erdelen UNESCO Assistant Secretary General for Natural Sciences in a special message of support to the young environmentalists.

This year’s two special prizes were the COMHAR SDC prize for Sustainable Development, presented to Presentation Secondary School, Limerick and the Toyota Club of the Year Award presented to the ECO-UNESCO Peer Education Club for “The Greenhouse Gig” an awareness raising extravaganza of music and recycled fashion, hosted at the Greenhouse on St Andrew Street.

Young people’s TV personality Aidan Power was master of ceremonies, after the awards were opened by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Emer Costello. Ciaran Cuffe, TD, Minister of State with special responsibility for Sustainable Transport, Horticulture, Planning and Heritage, presented the overall winner prizes and Youth Group ‘Kyle & Ashley’ shook the Round Room with their tunes closing the event.

This year, the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards had over 150 registered projects from which 50 were short-listed and displayed at a public showcase prior to the awards ceremony. All the winning projects will be exhibited in The Greenhouse, 17 St. Andrew Street, Dublin 2 this summer.

ECO-UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards Programme has been running since 1999 and has attracted the participation of over 20,000 young people and reached countless others with awareness raising campaigns in over 750 schools and communities in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

For complete list of winners, visit: http://www.ecounesco.ie/news.aspx