A Record-Breaking Year of Action with Picker Pals!

‍

It’s has been a bumper year for us, with a record number of 1,400+ classes participating in Picker Pals.  

‍

This has resulted in hundreds more families all over the country pulling on their high-viz vests and going litter-picking each weekend.  

The positive impact on environmental attitudes and community involvement are a really valuable impact of Picker Pals and we are very proud of all our Pals!

Moving Up

It’s also been an extremely busy year for usonline, as we essentially doubled our education programme.  Repeat schools this year had the opportunity to sign up to “Level 2” of the programme, meaning they could learn about 6 new vitally important environmental themes in either English or As Gaeilge.

Crucially from our perspective, the topics are presented in a fun and engaging way that leaves the children feeling more empowered that they can make a positive contribution, rather than feeling despair for the future.

Picker Pals Roadshow

The annual Picker Pals Roadshow has kicked off and schools all over the country are excitedly anticipating a visit from their favourite environmental heroes! Our aim is to visit at least one school in every local authority area in the Republic of Ireland. School visits are a fun and educational way for us to reward schools for their excellent participation in the programme.

Our first two visits were to Hewetson’s NSin Clane, Co. Kildare and Scoil Mhuire in Airlie Heights, Lucan, Co. Dublin .

Support Picker Pals

As Picker Pals is offered free of charge to schools, we rely on support for funding to deliver the programme to as many children as possible. We were fortunate to receive government funding, philanthropic donations and corporate sponsorship of classrooms for the 2024/25programme. We are very grateful to BMW, Deloitte, ESW, SKY and ESB for sponsoring the programme delivery to classrooms across the country.

The action of Picker Pals participants aligns directly with SDGs 4, 7, 11 and 13 but specifically for children aged6-9 and their families, creating habits in line with SDG goals from a young age. Sponsoring the delivery of Picker Pals in classrooms across Ireland supports companies to reach their sustainability and education goals in the areas of Education, Climate, Waste and Health.

If you are interested in hearing more about working with Picker Pals, please contact us here and we will get in touch with you.

You can also view our concise supporter brochure HERE which will give you some more information.