Caoimhe and Cian Walsh
Two Co. Cork secondary school students have won a national environmental award for their project that aims to promote the benefits of growing hemp.
Siblings Cian Walsh, a transition year student and Caoimhe Walsh, a second year student at St. Brogan’s College, Bandon have won the ECO-Innovation Award at the ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalist Awards final with their project ‘Hemp for a Sustainable Future’.
ECO-UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards is an all-Ireland awards programme that recognises and rewards young people who raise environmental awareness and improve the environment.
The students’ project aims to promote the social, economic and environmental benefits of growing hemp and how the crop can promote sustainable farming in Ireland.
Cork secondary school debates key global issues at Model United Nations Conference
Bandon secondary school St Brogan’s College held its very own Model United Nations Conference on Tuesday.
John Bohane
BANDON secondary school St Brogan’s College held its very own Model United Nations Conference on Tuesday. The annual conference, which is hosted by Cork Education and Training Board, normally sees hundreds of Irish students, as well as students from foreign countries enter into a series of gripping debates on issues of pressing global importance.
This year’s event, however, which would have been held in City Hall, was canceled due to the on-going Covid-19 pandemic.
Cork student wins ABP Farm Safety category at BT Young Scientist Exhibition
Cathal O’Sullivan from Co. Cork was the overall winner of the ABP Farm Safety category at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition (BTYSTE) this year.
The student of Beara Community School in Castletown-Bearhaven won with his project titled ‘Preventing machine accidents with warning systems’
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O’Sullivan impressed the judges at the virtual exhibition last week with his “innovative and forward-thinking project” that is designed to prevent accidental injuries and deaths from farm machinery.
He designed a device that alerts users when they are too close in proximity to spinning machine parts, preventing them from accidentally coming into contact with them.
Hemp for a Sustainable Future – Teagasc award at BTYSTE 2021 announced
Cian Walsh, a transition year student at St. Brogan s College, Kilbrogan, Bandon, County Cork, has been announced as the winner of the Teagasc award at the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition 2021 (BTYSTE). Cian’s project looked at the social, economic and environmental benefits and drawbacks of growing hemp and to determine if it can promote sustainable farming in Ireland. Cian’s teacher is Ms Laura O’Regan.
A variety of Cannabis sativa, hemp is often confused with marijuana; and, although it contains the same active ingredient, the concentration is much lower in hemp. Hemp was one of the first plants in the world to be spun into useable fibre and has since been used for many other purposes. Cian explains: “100% of the hemp crop can be processed into many different eco- friendly products; some examples include hempcrete, hemp insulation and hemp bioplastic”.