Cork ETB Joins Education Leaders in Pledge to Bring Nature Back to School Grounds
Cork ETB has signed Our Dúlra Agreement, pledging to help schools bring nature back to their grounds.
Education leaders across Ireland, including Cork ETB, have signed ‘Our Dúlra Agreement’, a public commitment to help schools improve biodiversity on their grounds. The Agreement was launched today, Friday 13 November, by Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan TD at Firhouse Educate Together Secondary School in Dublin 24.
Modelled on the pledges countries make at a UN Conference of the Parties (COP), the Agreement invites education system leaders and educational organisations to encourage and support schools to improve biodiversity on their grounds. The latest signatories include Edmund Rice Schools Trust, Educate Together, Kilkenny and Carlow ETB, Galway Roscommon ETB, Le Chéile Schools Trust, Dublin Dunlaoghaire ETB, Cork ETB, the Irish Waldorf Education Association and Dublin West Education Support Centre.
They join the first signatories: 18 Education Support Centres, from Donegal to West Cork, Accelerating Change Together (ACT), Global Action Plan Ireland, the Irish Forest Schools Association and the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals (NAPD).
Many schools already care for nature and teach nature education, but much of that work rests on one or two committed teachers. The Agreement calls on the wider education system to take responsibility for supporting biodiversity, so that it becomes part of the whole school community.
Minister O’Sullivan, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity:
“With this Agreement, school grounds can move beyond tarmac and mown grass to places where children watch nature come back.”
Dr Lindsay Malone, Chief Executive of Kilkenny and Carlow ETB:
“The implementation of Our Dúlra Agreement is a whole-of-organisation commitment for KCETB.”
The commitment is already reaching schools. This autumn, six Education Support Centres in Limerick, Dublin West, Cork, Donegal, Laois and Waterford are hosting Whole-School Biodiversity Train-the-Trainer days. Schools are asked to send a principal or deputy principal alongside a member of staff. Each school leaves ready to train its whole staff, with the start of its own Dúlra plan mapped on its grounds. The next session takes place in Waterford today.
The launch takes place during the World Leaders’ Summit at COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye (9 to 20 November). Ireland is preparing its first national Nature Restoration Plan under the EU Nature Restoration Law, with the final plan due in September 2027.
The Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss recommended that school grounds be developed to support diverse and meaningful nature education. Research also highlights the benefits of nature for children. A study of more than 2,500 schoolchildren in Spain found that those in greener schools made bigger gains in working memory and attention over a year. A Danish study of almost one million people found that children who grew up with the least green space had up to a 55% higher risk of developing a mental health disorder later in life.
Dr Patrick Kirwan, Founding Director of the Irish Schools Sustainability Network (ISSN):
“Schools take their cue from the people who lead them, and when education system leaders sign this Agreement, they get behind the great work already happening in schools across Ireland, so that every child grows up with that connection, not just the lucky few.”
The Agreement grew out of the ISSN, a community of teachers volunteering their time to change the system from within. It was introduced in June 2026 at Wildacres, a 17.5-acre nature reserve on the Redcross River in Co. Wicklow.
Education system leaders and organisations can sign up by downloading the Agreement from the ISSN website, bringing it to their board and emailing the signed copy to info@issn.ie. ISSN also invites funders who support work in schools to get in touch.
