Irish Social Enterprises Collaborate to Celebrate 500 Climate Literate Schools Milestone
Education for Sustainability collaborates with Pocket Forests to gift St Lorcan’s Boys National School, Palmerstown, Dublin, a mini native tree forest for their school!
Susan Adams and her team at Education for Sustainability have reached the milestone of programme delivery to 500 schools nationwide, representing 10% of the total number of Irish schools. To celebrate this achievement, they are gifting a Pocket Forest to St Lorcan’s Boys National School in Palmerstown, Dublin.
Reaching this milestone is particularly significant as social science research suggests that reaching 25% of a population creates a tipping point for wider social change—marking a potential turning point for climate literacy in Irish education.
Social Enterprises Collaborating
Set up in 2017 in response to the escalating climate crisis and a deficit of action-based climate education in schools, Education for Sustainability has since reached over 41,000 students and 1,500 teachers through their innovative climate literacy programmes.
Education for Sustainability has teamed up with Pocket Forests, whom they met on Social Entrepreneurs Ireland’s Impact Programme, to bring biodiversity directly to school grounds. An award-winning social enterprise, Pocket Forests brings nature to urban spaces by growing small native forests. This creates thriving soil, biodiversity, climate resilience, habitat networks and a reconnection between people and the natural world. The initiative aligns perfectly with Education for Sustainability’s mission of ensuring young people are educated about the climate crisis and have the knowledge, skills and tools to act for sustainable development now and in the future.
A Lasting Legacy
Speaking about the milestone, Susan Adams says: “Reaching 500 schools is a proud moment and proof that together, we can create real change! Our programmes are designed to leave a lasting legacy; teachers receive training and can continue to teach our climate literacy programme indefinitely. By creating a living, breathing space where students can connect with nature and see their climate learning come to life, the pocket forest also leaves a legacy, one that will grow with the children and St Lorcan’s on their sustainability journey. Connecting with nature in this way is key to combating the climate crisis. When we work together—schools, communities, and organisations—we create ripples of impact that spread far beyond the classroom. We’re excited to keep pushing forward with our mission, because every small action adds up to big change for our collective future!”
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