Top award for Limerick students who are championing girls’ cycling
Mungret Community College was chosen as the overall winner in recognition of the outstanding work of their ambassadors
Two Limerick secondary schools were honoured along with more than 100 fellow student ambassadors from across Ireland at the #andshecycles awards ceremony for their leadership in championing girls’ cycling in their schools and communities.
#Andshecycles is a project of An Taisce’s Green-Schools Travel programme and aims to promote cycling to school among teenage girls.
Mungret Community College was chosen as the overall winner in recognition of the outstanding work of their ambassadors.
Their actions demonstrated a strong focus on promoting cycling among girls in their school, including trialling new school trousers specifically made for females, allowing greater comfort and easier cycling.
They developed a bike library with local stakeholders and An Garda Síochána, and promoted cycling through newsletters, social media and talks to build a strong cycling culture.
They also secured funding from Limerick Sports Partnership to host a greenway cycle during Bike Week.
Meanwhile, ambassadors from Coláiste na Trócaire in Rathkeale carried out a range of actions, including conducting student surveys, raising awareness through posters displayed around the school, and delivering presentations to other year groups.
They also worked with the local Like Bikes company to help provide bikes for the day, before hosting a greenway cycle for 80 girls in the school.
Reflecting on the year, Allison Phillips, programme manager, Green-Schools Travel, said: “This has been our biggest year yet, with 122 incredible student ambassadors taking part. Over the past year, they have developed invaluable leadership, communication and campaigning skills, and most importantly, they have turned those skills into action.
This has been our biggest year yet, with 122 incredible student ambassadors taking part
“As the largest cohort in the programme’s history, they represent a powerful movement of young leaders working to close the cycling gender gap and make sustainable travel more inclusive for everyone. Their work is helping to create a future where more girls feel confident, supported and inspired to cycle.”
The programme addresses a stark reality: just one in every 250 teenage girls in Ireland cycles to school each day, highlighting the urgent need to break down barriers and create more inclusive cycling cultures.
Throughout the school year, the #AndSheCycles ambassadors took part in workshops and training designed to equip them with the tools, confidence and leadership skills needed to create real change in their schools and communities, from campaign planning and communications to event organisation and advocacy, enabling them to take meaningful action to encourage more girls to cycle.
An Taisce has been working on the national Green-Schools Travel theme, which focuses on promoting sustainable travel on the school run, since September 2008. The Travel theme is funded by the Department of Transport and is supported by the National Transport Authority.
The ultimate aim of the Green-Schools Travel theme is to encourage students, parents and teachers to walk, cycle, scoot, Park ‘n’ Stride, use public transport or car pool instead of using the private car on the school run. Green-Schools is an international environmental management education programme operating in 58 countries around the world.