Wanted Old Sails
Every year, thousands of worn out sails are discarded all over Ireland. Picker Pals, a Howth-born environmental action programme for primary school children is rescuing this fabric and giving it a new lease on life. The programme needs any old small boat sails that might be clogging up attics, crowding out sheds or gumming up garages. The HYC Squib class has come good so far with eight lovely brown sails donated. Now it’s time for some of the other classes to step up to the mark.
The sails all go to the Rediscovery Centre in Ballymun where they are crafted into Picker Packs which contains a child and adult litter-picking tool as well as gloves, hi-vis vests and fun environmental story and activity books. The Picker Pack is taken home by a different student every weekend. The family then go on a litter picking adventure in their local area with the child reporting back to their classmates. After a successful pilot in the Burrow NS and a second 30-school pilot last year, the programme is proving a hit with schools, teachers, parents and kids. Over 100 schools have signed up for this school year including Cork, Westmeath, Kildare and all four Dublin local authorities.
“We now urgently need that lovely sailcloth. It’s perfect for our requirements and it’s gratifying to be able to divert it from landfill,” Patrick Jackson, creator of the programme told us. “We’re looking for Laser, Oppie, Mirror, Pico, Squib and similar weight sails at the moment. We’ll take anything that is not too mouldy or dirty and be putting the fabric to good use immediately. I’ll even come by and get the sails from people nearby or can meet at HYC to receive them. Just call or text me on (087)135 7417 and we’ll figure something out. I’ll even throw in a few story books in exchange.”
The world faces a global crisis of waste in the environment. Every part of the natural world is affected. We urgently need to find real, practical solutions to this crisis. Raising awareness and actually rolling up our sleeves is an essential part of the solution. Picker Pals does just that by giving young people and their families the tools and positive motivation to steward their local environments. This is a great opportunity for HYC members to get involved and make a real practical difference, supporting a new generation of young environmentalists.