Glasswater PS pupil, Toby creates winning eco-hero design for the Housing Executive.
A Crossgar primary school pupil has designed a winning eco-hero in the Housing Executive’s Schools’ Energy Awareness Programme.
Schoolchildren in Primary 7 and Year 8 took part in the programme, partnered with Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, Eco-Schools NI.
Promoting awareness of energy efficiency in the home and school, pupils designed a local eco-hero character and illustrator, Mark Reihill brought the five winning designs to life.
Five key topics of Energy Efficiency, Water, Renewables vs. Fossil Fuels, Climate Action and Global Perspectives are highlighted through the five winning eco-hero designs.
This year’s competition received 450 entries and five pupils from across Northern Ireland were the lucky winners.
Each pupil who designed a winning eco-hero won a personal laptop, £500 for his or her school and a tree for planting.
Toby, a Primary 7 pupil at Glasswater Primary School, won the eco-hero design category for ‘Global Perspectives’ with his eco-hero called, Veggieman, the Greenhouse Gas Vanquisher.
His eco-hero, among many other things, can fly through the air at the speed of light and then detoxify it.
He can turn any Greenhouse gas into oxygen just by clicking his fingers and Veggieman’s Job is to try and stop a hydrocarbon called Methane (CH4), which is one of the four greenhouse gases.
Housing Executive Chair, Professor Peter Roberts, who was part of the judging panel, said he was encouraged by the large number of entries.
(Photos: (Liam McArdle).
He added; “Every action helps and, as well as entering our eco-hero competition, don’t forget that saving the environment is about us all working together.
“This is your planet Earth. It is your future, and we need everybody to do the right thing. Millions of small actions can make a huge difference.”
Robert Clements, the Housing Executive’s Sustainable Development Manager thanked everyone for taking part in the competition and showing concern for the environment and said: “Young people should be encouraged to take steps to make their home more energy efficient and to help their parents save money and to save the planet.
“By partnering with the Eco-schools Northern Ireland, we are able to engage with schoolchildren, harnessing their creative skills to promote the benefits of energy efficiency in the home.
“The incredible vision and creativity from our school children has been bought to life with great work from our illustrator, Mark Reihill.”
