News

Eco-Agents discuss sustainability with bishop

14 October 2026

St George's Eco-Agents welcomed representatives from EcoCitizen and Trócaire as well as Bishop Martin Hayes for a round-table discussion exploring sustainability through the lens of science, policy and community.

Students began the conversation by sharing what had motivated them to become Eco-Agents before hearing from Bishop Martin about environmental action within the Irish Catholic Church, including work inspired by Laudato Si’ and initiatives to return church land to nature through rewilding and biodiversity projects.

The main part of the session focused on the three pillars of our School Climate Pledge: net-zero emissions, biodiversity and smarter use of resources. Students and visitors compared ideas, shared experiences and discussed practical ways communities can reduce emissions, support nature and move away from seeing materials as “waste”.

The Eco Agents asked thoughtful questions, contributed confidently to the group discussions and led the final feedback session, summarising the ideas from each table. We were extremely proud of the way they represented the school.

We are also very grateful to EcoCitizen for reaching out and bringing these different communities together. The discussion opened up some exciting possibilities for future collaboration and we are already exploring further partnership opportunities.

The round table forms part of a wider Cosmovision series, looking at how different worldviews shape approaches to sustainability. This first session focused on perspectives from Trócaire and the Irish Catholic community. Future sessions are planned to explore other traditions and communities, including Buddhist perspectives from Thailand and Indigenous perspectives from Central America.

It was a brilliant start to what we hope will become a rich and thought-provoking series of conversations for our students.

– By Anne-Marie McHugh, Sustainability Coordinator