St Josephs lead the way....

Some of the Team from St. Josephs Foundation, Charleville Co. Cork

I met up with Mary Hayes recently for an interview for my Natural Instincts show on BCradio and learned about some of the work that the Green Committee who are service users based in St Josephs in Charleville are doing. To say that I was highly impressed is an understatement and so I am dedicating a whole blog just for them because they most certainly deserve it. These guys and girls are on an environmental mission and not only do they tell us how it should be done but they practice what they preach and I have the photos to prove it....

The Green Committee as they are known in St Josephs are on their 4th Green flag which is Travel and Transport and many of the services users have train and bus passes and always go out of their way to make use of them, taking more cars off the road and when they only have a short way to go I hear that their slogan is:

"Got someone to meet, travel with your feet!"

and they can certainly be seen out and about in Charleville doing this. When asked if they would like to help out with the Agenda 21 project in Charleville they didn't think twice and got out shovels, trowels and the Lord knows what else to get the new trees planted up there. If you look at the blog I wrote on Agenda 21 you will see how beautiful it looks now thanks to them and other schools that got involved. This also helps them to think about the next flag that they are going for which is on biodiversity.





Getting involved in the projects in the community doesn't stop there though as they are ready and willing to give a hand with any work that the Tidy Towns do and and really keep the Memorial Park in tip top condition every Monday. It doesn't matter what needs doing this troupe of people are always on hand and a huge asset to the area. If only there were people like this in every town and village in the country.

As if that wasn't enough they go out of their way to check out the accessibility for people travelling via the train or the bus, as can be seen in the first picture, especially those who may be wheelchair users or have other needs and requirements that may not be taken into consideration. Even checking out the condition of pavements and road crossings. No stone is left unturned and I have to say as a fellow citizen I really appreciate this as I'm sure do many others, we just often forget to say thanks.

The Green Committee of St Josephs should give us a boost to get up and out there to look after that environment and make the place look good too. I know that every once in a while we all get a bit lazy and we just need that little kick to get back in there.

Thanks for all the hard work St. Josephs!

Pictures by kind permission of Mary Hayes form the St Josephs foundation Spring Newsletter 2011

If you would like to learn more about the An Taisce Green schools flag please click here