Dublin City Council is pleased to continue its ongoing support of the Picker Pals Programme for primary school children. As part of this, the Lord Mayor, Alison Gilliland revisited her previous teaching school, Our Lady Immaculate Junior National School in Dublin 17.
Using upcycled and fully reusable packaging, Picker Pals provides classrooms with bespoke story and activity books in both Irish and English, and picker-uppers which are taken home by a different child every week. Each child goes on a litter-picking adventure in their local area with their family and reports back to their classmates on their activity. The Picker Pals song helps spread the message about tackling litter in a fun and upbeat manner to motivate children to get involved in this important social and environmental issue.
The Lord Mayor says, “as a former teacher myself I know the power that young people can bring to a community initiative. We absolutely need to get a handle on our attitude to litter and I am delighted to support Picker Pals as they empower children to be the leaders of change in this area.”
Patrick Jackson, Picker Pals Creator, said, “it’s not just about learning about litter. It’s not just about becoming aware of litter. It’s about actually getting out there and picking up litter. Picker Pals gets children onto the first rung of the environmental ladder.”
Since the start of the pandemic there has been a marked increase in the amount of litter in our towns and cities. Dublin City Council supports many activities to combat littering but winning the hearts and minds of younger people is widely recognised as being key to bringing about the required behavioural change.
Audrey Duff, Green Schools Officer with Dublin City Council, said, “we are pleased to once again support Picker Pals and increase involvement from schools throughout the Dublin City Council area. The programme demonstrates to children how taking part can have a big environmental impact within their local area, and encourages participation from the wider community also.”
This year Picker Pals is set to triple the number of classrooms taking part in the primary school litter-picking initiative thanks to a combination of funding from Dublin City Council and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. The programme run by environmental NGO VOICE Ireland will have over 100 classrooms across Dublin City taking part in the initiative this year and invites interested schools to get in touch.
Source: Dublin City Council
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