The Portlaoise Travel Cluster Project is a groundbreaking initiative, marking the first time in Ireland that all schools within a single town have collaboratively focused on the Green-Schools Travel theme simultaneously.
50 students and their teachers from six Portlaoise primary schools gathered at the Council Chambers for their Portlaoise Travel Cluster Project Forum to discuss creating safer, healthier, and more sustainable school journeys.
The forum facilitated by Green-Schools Travel Officers Michèle Castiaux and Chiara Hanrahan, allowed students to share achievements from their October “Walk to School” week and to plan for upcoming events.
One such event includes the town-wide launch of the weekly WOW day on December 11.
Sam Mc Leod, Environmental Awareness Officer, Laois County Council explained: “A WOW day is a Wednesday where everyone who can, walks to school and work.
“WOW stands for Walk on Wednesday. This is something that everyone can take part in even if they can’t walk all the way from home.
“If you Park n Stride you are still walking into school. On the bus, can you get off a stop early and walk the rest of the way?”
Students from Scoil Bhríde commented: “It was such a fun and informative few hours. We played games, had a quiz, but we also had some serious issues to discuss.
“We talked about how to improve the traffic situation around our schools and we discussed our first WOW Day in December so keep your ears peeled for information on that!”
Students from the four secondary schools recently participated in the Portlaoise Travel Cluster Project gathered for their forum.
With just two weeks to go, they began planning how their schools would promote and execute the town-wide WOW launch.
A highlight of this initiative is the Santa Stroll, where Laois Chamber Alliance will play a key role by encouraging local businesses to support and motivate their staff to participate in this festive, community-driven event.
Chiara Hanrahan, Green-Schools said “Green-Schools are excited to work with Laois County Council to deliver this exciting Cluster project to ten schools in Portlaoise.
“By working together as a community, we can achieve so much more. We hope to see real change on the daily school run in the town – reduced congestion, emissions and happier, healthier students.”
In this Portlaoise Travel Cluster Project, Laois County Council is sponsoring the implementation of the Green-Schools Travel theme across the ten mainstream schools in Portlaoise, aiming to increase sustainable travel among students.
This initiative uses proven strategies from the national Green-Schools Travel programme, including travel audits, student surveys, educational workshops, and mapping exercises.
By promoting walking, cycling, scooting, and the use of public or shared transportation, the program encourages a shift toward active, eco-friendly travel options.
This approach not only fosters healthier habits among students but also reduces local traffic congestion and emissions, supporting broader climate and sustainability goals for Laois county.
Karen Moore, Community Climate Action Officer, Laois County Council said: “The forums were so helpful to the schools in giving them a sense of community working to a common goal of more people walking and cycling in Portlaoise.
“One really noticeable output was the advice Chiara and Michéle from Green-Schools gave on how the students can effectively deliver this messaging back in their schools so that people listen and feel they can act”.
Portlaoise Travel Cluster Project builds on recommendations from the 2020–2021 School Sustainable Travel Study, in Portlaoise also funded by Laois County Council.
It represents a strategic effort to implement that previous studies recommendations, and foster a shift towards active, sustainable school travel in Portlaoise.
