Saint Oliver Plunkett National School recently secured their second Green Flag.  We asked Mark Sands and Emma McShane from the Green Schools Committee to let us know how the presentation ceremony in Croke Park went.  Here is their report.

On the 27th of May Mark and I, Emma, set off to Croke Park to receive our second Green Flag.  We met lots of other children from different schools.  We expected the journey to be long but it seemed short.  When we arrived, we were half an hour early. So we decided to look at the history of Croke Park.  After a while we were called to the conference room where we got our Green Flag.  Representatives from An Taisce spoke to us and told us they were very proud of their association with Green Schools.  We were very pleased to be a part of the 2000th Green Flag celebration.  We were then taken out of the conference room and into the stadium.  We were told to hold up these pieces of green card that from a distance spelt out 2000 for the 2000th Green Flag celebration.  After that we were called in for some lunch which was a spaghetti dish followed by apple tart which was nice.  We were given a bag which contained a recyclable pencil and bookmark.  Our next theme is water conservation.  Sadly Mark and I will have left the school by then but we hope to continue our work in secondary school.  By Mark Sands and Emma McShane (June 2010).

The new flag was raised at a ceremony in the school on the 18th of June 2010.

Judging for the national Tidy Towns competition takes place during the months of June, July and August, and can begin anytime from the first of June onwards.  Last year Blackrock was awarded 284 points in the competition, just one point short of a medal.  This year the Tidy Towns ask everyone in the village to do all they can to get those extra few points to reach medal status.  The committee has identified a number of ways in which individuals, households and businesses can assist in achieving the highest possible marks for Blackrock this year:

• Make sure your property, including boundary walls, is in a good state of repair and decoration.
• Try to keep the footpath, gutter and roadway directly outside your own property tidy, weed-free and litter-free at all times.
• Remove any weeds or grass growing at kerbs or at the bases of walls outside your property, or in the gutters or chimneys of buildings.
• Make sure that the entrances to residential estates, and the common areas within estates, are well maintained and presented.
• Erect hanging baskets and window boxes where appropriate.
• Please carry a bag to clean up after your dog (dog fouling continues to be a problem in Blackrock).
• If you are a smoker, please dispose of your cigarette end properly – don’t just drop it on the footpath or roadway.
• If you come across litter while out walking, please pick it up and place it in the nearest bin. If everyone picked up even one item of litter each time they go for a walk it would help enormously.  
• If you see anybody dropping litter, point out to them that they are undermining the village’s chances of getting that elusive medal.