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Hi Cathal, I found your reflection really inspiring, and I’m taking the same approach by looking closely at Fingal County Council’s climate‑action targets. Fingal aims for a 51% emissions reduction by 2030, net‑zero by 2050, expanded active travel, restored biodiversity corridors and increased renewable energy.
In my own school/area, sustainability is visible through solar generation, rainwater harvesting, recycling systems, biodiversity zones, gardening, hedgehog‑rescue work, An Taisce and Green-Schools projects, cycling lessons and strong green‑travel habits. These real examples help pupils see climate action in practice. I’d engage them through local biodiversity mapping, energy investigations and exploring Fingal’s wider goals.
Sustainability is something we try to live, not just teach, in our school in Swords. Our Green Schools committee has taken the lead, visiting places like local farmers’ allotments to learn about food miles and farm‑to‑fork, McNally’s Farm Café to see sustainable growing in action, and Wades Christmas Tree Farm to explore native planting and biodiversity. These trips help pupils understand that sustainability is real, local, and part of everyday life. There are plenty of active tidy towns in Fingal that also hold multiple events regularly.
Our visit to Tesco Distribution Centre in Donabate added another layer. Pupils learned how large companies reduce food waste through donation systems, special offers, and partnerships with Food Cloud and Olio. They also discovered how recyclable packaging, renewable energy, electric delivery fleets, and biodiversity programmes support the environment. Hearing that Tesco works with thousands of Irish farming families made global citizenship feel very close to home.
In school, we reinforce these ideas through litter picking, clothes swaps, biodiversity studies, cycling days, water‑saving reminders, composting, battery recycling, and reusing materials for art and gardening. These small actions help pupils see that sustainability is something they can practice daily. We must now take the next step and look further into sustainable aquaculture practices around us.
Hi Claire,
I really like how you’ve shown the practical classroom links and how the ARC resources naturally support inquiry, teamwork and problem‑solving. Your example lesson is very accessible, and the SSE connections make it easy to see how schools can build STEM capacity in a structured, meaningful way across classes and year groups. I will definately share the ARC resources with my colleagues.
Module 3 showed me how aquaculture can be a very practical STEM theme for our school on the east coast. The ideas around direct and indirect employment are easy for children to understand, especially when we link them to real people and real work in their own community. It helps pupils see how natural resources support jobs, businesses and local identity.
Even though most fish farms are on the west coast, our area has strong marine connections that make this learning relevant. Howth’s fish‑smoking tradition, the Dublin Bay (Oyster Re‑Introduction Project), and the razor clam beds between Malahide and Lambay Island are all places our pupils know well. These examples help them explore how the ocean supports communities and how different types of work depend on local resources.
In the classroom, I can use maps, simple data, and local case studies to explore employment, sustainability and how communities use natural resources. This fits well with the STEM Education Policy Statement, which encourages real‑world learning, problem‑solving and hands‑on investigation. It also links with STEM strands like Living Things, Materials, Engineering and Technology.
Module 3 also connects naturally with SSE. It gives us a theme that could be used across classes to gather evidence, set STEM targets and build consistent approaches. Ideas like creating a Marine or Aquaculture Team or exploring local producers together offer practical ways to strengthen STEM teaching across the whole school.
I love the tie to the Green school committee. I have a post for STEM and Green schools and try to link them as much as I possibly can. We participated in a reduce your plastic week lastyear and found pupils love anything connected to real life. Therefore it would be beneficial if I can link to the sea and local producers. The sustainability message links neatly with the curriculum’s Sustainability strand and our Green Schools work. Overall, the seafood nutrition lesson gives me a meaningful way to weave STEM into everyday learning and into our wider SSE goals.
We are based in North County Dublin and even though it doesn’t have the same level of traditional fishing activity as places like Dingle or Cromane, which i would be more familiar with, it still offers brilliant, familiar examples for children. Projects such as fish smoking in Howth, the Green Ocean Dublin Bay Oyster Re‑Introduction Project, and the razor clam beds between Malahide and Lambay Island all provide real, local contexts. These are places the children know well, making aquaculture feel relevant, accessible and rooted in their own community.Working through The Nutrition of Seafood really highlighted how much potential there is in using food, especially local seafood, as a way into science with primary pupils. The module explains nutrients clearly — protein for growth, omega‑3 for brain development, and vitamins and minerals that support overall health. These examples fit directly with the Primary Science Curriculum, especially Living Things and Being a Scientist, where children explore how food affects the body and learn to question, compare and record information.
In our school, we’ve already explored farm‑to‑fork through Green Schools themes and through our own school garden, but we haven’t yet looked at aquaculture in the same structured way. This feels like a natural next step. It also links to wider conversations about food systems, including how airlines and large organisations source food. Highlighting the importance of choosing local seafood where possible helps children understand sustainability, carbon footprint, and the impact of transport on the environment.
Taste sessions could work really well (with allergy information and permissions gathered in advance), letting pupils compare different seafoods and talk about flavour, texture and nutritional value. There’s great potential for maths too: collecting class data on preferences, graphing nutrient values, or comparing protein content across foods.
Hi Grace,
I was reading about Réalta na Mara’s new shellfish and oyster tours this morning, and funnily enough I’m actually watching the small fishing boats out at sea. It’s lovely to see how local aquaculture is opening up to visitors and giving people a real sense of the community behind the seafood.
I’m so glad I chose this course — it’s made me look at Irish costal areas in a completely new way. Next step is definitely booking one of those tasting sessions!
Aquaculture farms in Ireland are mostly found along the western Atlantic coastline, in sheltered bays and inlets that are protected from the full force of the ocean. These areas benefit from the Goldilocks climate,not too hot or not too cold and from water which is clean, mild and rich in nutrients. That mix of shelter and strong tidal flow makes them ideal for growing blue mussels, oysters and, in other regions, Atlantic salmon. Cromane, Co.Kerry in Castlemaine harbour is a perfect example of how geography shapes aquaculture. Réalta na Mara is a local familyrun enterprise and farms mussels and oysters in these conditions. The closestrestaurnant is less than a km away. It supplies this (Jacks Restaurant in Cromane) and other local golf course restaurants and places along the wild atlantic way,in Killorglin and local fish shops. They also run oyster‑tasting tours, giving visitors a real sea‑to‑plate experience.
What stands out to me is how aquaculture supports coastal communities both directly and indirectly. It provides steady jobs, keeps younger families living locally, and strengthens community identity. Much like the Dingle food festival-Cromane’s has its own annual seafood festival with water sports, tasting sessions, cookery demos, seashore foraging and live music. This is a prime example of how aquaculture can boost tourism while protecting and promoting the marine environment.
Hi Noreen, Like you I was disappointed to see there are over 500 schools on the ARC waiting list but after seeing the ARC I can see why amd have joined the list. I’d assume there would hardly be cancelations but we would be ,ore than happy to accept one in North county Dublin! It looks amazing. I look forward to learning more about aquaculture in this course.
Growing up near Dingle on the Wild Atlantic Way, the sea was always part of my childhood, even if my own family were more agri‑based or teachers. Dingle has a strong fishing history, but in recent years there’s been a huge shift towards marine tourism — water sports, visits to Oceanworld Dingle, eco‑tours out to the Blasket Islands, wildlife trips around Dingle Harbour, and even the odd adventure out towards Skellig Michael if you’re lucky. Despite all of that, aquaculture was a completely new term for me before starting this module.
Learning about the ARC (Aquacultural Remote Classroom) has opened my eyes to how much structured marine education is happening nationally — with over 500 schools already on the waiting list. Now living on the east coast, I bring my own children to explore rockpools and local wildlife, and I can see how easily this curiosity could be connected to real learning. As someone who has organised Green Schools for years, aquaculture feels like something that could fit beautifully into our sustainability themes.
I’m intrigued by the aquaculture industry and am nownwondering how I can tie North County Dublin in with greater awareness of our incredible marine environment into the classroom.