PICKER PALS AT SCHOOL
Books for everyone in the class, a beautiful classroom display, teacher’s information and the fantastic
Picker Pack containing everything needed for a litter-picking adventure.
Picker Pack containing everything needed for a litter-picking adventure.
What Teachers Say
“Simply awesome initiative that connects school to community with a joint sense of purpose. The pupils were incredibly enthusiastic to be given the opportunity to take the pack home. Many of them elected it as a key highlight of their year. I received many emails from parents with the line 'Who knew picking litter could be such fun?’ when describing their child's excitement.I think that over time this initiative will have a significant impact on attitudes in our local area. It has been one of the most meaningful messages I have helped to communicate in my teaching career.
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Philip O’Brien,
1st Class Teacher, Scoil an Athar Tadgh, Carrignavar
“My class loved the programme and all the characters. They decided they would like to make their own Picker Pals from recycled materials. Picker Pals TV is excellent as all of the children were really engaged during these sessions. You pitched the programme perfectly for first class. They really got a lot out of it. Next year's class are already talking to my class about how they will be doing Picker Pals next year. It was great for the whole school community to see what a difference they can make. Particularly when the Picker was sent home, older and younger siblings also loved to get involved. Whenever we spoke of Picker Pals in the classroom there was always a 'yes!!' from the children, such enthusiasm. They all really enjoyed it.
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Aileen Howick,
1st Class Teacher, St. John’s the Baptist National School, Midleton
“I thought the programme was really well considered. The animations and programme were beautiful and really good quality. I absolutely love creativity and using new programmes to implement the curriculum to make it engaging. We’re are a DEIS 1 school, I found it heartening how the children took such pride in caring for their environment and local community. I feel with the school being a microcosm of the broader society, schools and teachers are best placed to influence the children. The children have a fantastic awareness of the benefits of keeping their environment free from litter, for us and our pets. ”
Suzanne Conlon, 2nd Class,
St. Francis Junior National School
"This is an inspirational programme. So worthwhile. We feel very blessed that we were part of it. It awakened and empowered the children to know that we can all make a difference. The programme helped create a positive link and lines of communication between the teachers and the parents, as we worked towards a shared goal, with the children. 'Is féidir linn go léir, le chéile'. it offered a platform for the children to share their experiences with their peers, problem solve and imagine and re-imagine other ways to solve the current litter problem. The children would come in with a huge smile, positive body language each time they returned the pack and it was obvious they felt so good about their contributions. The programme supports so many elements of the curriculum and enriches our lives as active citizens. Go raibh maith agaibh- Picker Pals Team! I am looking forward to working with the Picker pals every year as a teacher, if possible to engage & inspire the children I facilitate in their learning to engage in environmental campaigns that they feel they can make a difference in as active citizens. I hope there are opportunities for participation for pupils who are in all classes in primary school. Go raibh maith agaibh. This year the Picker Pals programme also helped us feel more connected as Global Citizens and it was a great honour to meet pupils and teachers in China working on the same cause as we were. We felt very much a part of One World and One mission. Go raibh maith agaibh. We were delighted that the books were available in Irish as we used Picker Pals as part of of Irish programme. I felt very lucky to have had the opportunity to be part of this programme.
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Ms Gribin,
2nd Class Teacher, Newtown National School
“My class loved it. Anytime the kids took the pack home their parents sent me pictures, which I printed and stuck on the Picker Pals cardboard poster display. It was so lovely to see all of the family getting involved in the project. ”
Laura Kingston,
2nd Class Teacher, Greenmount National School, Cork
“Yes, this was a fantastic programme which the children thoroughly engaged with. It raised their awareness about environmental issues and the children have become very aware of litter in the environment.”
Mary Carroll,
3rd Class Teacher, St Colmcille’s National School, Co Laois
“It’s been a great success and it was really easy to run the programme. All the material was given to me. Every Friday it was a really exciting thing to see which child was going to get to take home the Picker Pack home.”
Claire Johns,
1st Class Teacher, Burrow National School, Sutton, County Dublin
“We made a Picker Pals rota and the pack went home with a different child every night. This worked really well and most of us even got to take it home twice! We absolutely loved the zoom calls and they kept the children engaged and motivated. We had everything we needed to just get started and it was so easy and effective from a teacher's point of view.
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Sara Jane McGeachy,
Holy Trinity National School
“We sent the pack home each Friday. All the children were very eager to take part. 100% of parents gave consent for their child to take home the Picker Pack. They posted pictures of their adventures on our Google classroom. We loved the Picker Pals TV. Especially the puppets! It was a positive experience from the start and younger students have said they can't wait to come to my class so that they can do Picker Pals too. Great thanks so much.”
Claire Dunne,
St. Margaret’s National School, County Dublin
Pupils were praised by members of the community when they were observed litter- picking. The pupils seemed to enjoy the responsibility of litter-picking. This programme is excellent and should be extended to as many schools as possible. Thanks for the opportunity to take part!
Sinéad Clancy,
Glor na Mara Primary School
“Our whole class have been enthusiastic and it has been a great motivational tool to use as the children want to be picked to get the pack home. We have also seen an increase in our children looking to pick up litter in the playground. Parents have been very supportive too and it has proved a good tool for conversations! Thank you! ”
2nd Class Teacher,
Northern Ireland
