An Óige – Irish Youth Hostel Association recently held our very first An Óige Environmental Week as a way to promote the importance of conservation and environmental awareness to the public, as well as promoting the role that An Óige plays in the conservation of nature in Ireland.
Over the course of the week we focused on sharing content through our social media channels which primarily dealt with environmental topics such as the importance of recycling, battling pollution, and biodiversity.
The two main features of An Óige Environmental Week were the official launch of the Knockree Conservation Project video and the promotion of the An Óige Nurture Nature tree and animal posters to primary and secondary schools around Ireland.
The Knockree Conservation Project video showcased the history of Knockree Hostel, the redevelopment of the buildings, and the role that the An Óige Conservation Group plays in maintaining and grounds of the hostel as well as promoting conservation of nature in Ireland. The launch of the video proved to be a success, as it became the highest rated post on the An Óige Facebook page during An Óige Environmental Week and the third highest rated post during the entire month of January.
The Nurture Nature tree and animal posters featured information and unique facts about a range of trees and animals around Ireland, many of which can be found near a number of our hostels. We offered these posters to primary and secondary schools around Ireland. So far, a total of 174 schools have requested and been sent digital copies of the posters, with requests even coming in from schools in both Mexico and Germany. A number of organisations have also shown interest in sharing the posters amongst themselves including Mens Sheds and the Techno Teacher Association. We estimate that at least 5,000 students around Ireland will have seen our posters.
