Ferbane student wins top prize in 'Love Your Wellies' competition
Sheola Rosney of Gallen Community School in Ferbane was recently named as the overall winner of this year's 'Love Your Wellies' competition.
Organised by Farm Payments for Ecological and Agricultural Transitions (FarmPEAT), the annual competition for primary and secondary students aims to raise awareness of the importance of peat landscapes.
Students from Offaly were among the prizes in all categories of the competition this year. Sheola Rosney, who was in the 4th Year to 6th Year secondary category, won the overall honours with her entry entitled, 'What's going on out on our bogs?'
Outlining the inspiration for the project, she wrote: "The bog in Pullough has played an integral role in our community for decades.
"Times have changed, Bord na Mona announced the cessation of peat production and now many of us find ourselves unfamiliar with what once was so very familiar. With this in mind, I decided to research and create a resource for my local primary school."
The overall second-placed project was 'Hoppers New Home' by Tullamore College students Juno Carroll, Ruth Prendergast, Caoimhe Boland and Vikoria Vitek, in the 1st - 3rd Year (secondary) category. The students created their own bog-inspired children's story which was published as a book for primary school students.
Logan Kelleghan and Keenan Owens of Scoil Mhuire Naofa in Offaly were joint third overall, with their 'Mount Lucas Bog' project, while the junior infants 2nd Class category winner was Clara Bog by Luke Bradley of Ballybryan NS in Offaly.
The 4th to 6th Year category winner, meanwhile, was 'Ireland’s Bog Plant Species' by Georgia Jennings of Tullamore College.
The awards ceremony for the competition was held on Thursday last, June 20, at Lullymore Heritage & Discovery Park in Kildare.
Meabh Boylan, Biodiversity Officer with Kildare County Council, presented the awards and shared some words of inspiration with the students.
She emphasised the importance of communicating biodiversity and climate issues, and how the 'Love Your Wellies' finalists had accomplished this in their brilliant entries.