Teagasc land award for Schull school students
Asa Curran, Tiarnan Collins and Jack Ryan-Purcell were presented with the award by Lance O Brien, Teagasc foresight and strategy manager.
They were also highly commended in their category, putting them in the top 15% of entries.
The students, whose science teacher is Larissa Kelly, were prompted to undertake the project when they heard that Ireland was to face a hefty fine from the EU for failing to meet its carbon emissions reduction targets.
They investigated the use of agroforestry (trees grown in combination with agriculture on the same land) as a possible solution to offsetting some of the emissions associated with production.
Working with farmer Liam Beechinor in Lyre, Clonakilty, they found 3.3% of farm emissions could be offset per year by the growth of agroforestry.
They concluded that agroforestry is an attractive way for farmers to grow trees without tying up their land in forestry for long periods.
