Blue Schools workshop held at MTU Kerry as part of PHAROS Irish Living Lab event 

• May 28, 2026

The first Blue Schools Workshop was held last week at MTU Kerry, forming part of the PHAROS project’s Mega‑Event activities in Ireland. The event brought together nearly thirty teachers and representatives from leading blue‑education organisations, including MTU and Sea Synergy, who met on 27 May in MTU’s new STEM building to explore the growing Blue Schools initiative.

The workshop opened with contributions from Eve Savage, MTU researcher and leader of the MarCoLab Ireland Living Lab, who introduced the European PHAROS project and MTU’s role in advancing blue education locally. Pablo García Reche, PHAROS Project Manager, and Meritxell Turó, Living Labs Coordinator, provided further insight into the project’s objectives and ongoing actions in Ireland.

A highlight of the event was the celebration of Meán Scoil Nua an Leith Triúigh (Castlegregory), recently awarded the Overall Prize at the Young Environmentalist Awards 2026 at the RDS, Dublin. The school received the Senior Biodiversity Award for its conservation project on the Ringed Plover, a vulnerable coastal bird species. Supported by MTU scientists and working under the PHAROS and BioProtect projects, students have been collaborating with the Maharees Conservation Association to protect this sensitive species along the West Kerry coastline.

The workshop also featured the presentation of Luna and the Ghost Net, an educational book on the angelshark written by Roisín Reilly in collaboration with the Irish Elasmobranch Group.

Participants were offered an overview of the Blue Schools framework, its international and local dimensions, and the benefits of joining this European initiative. Eli Bonfill, PHAROS Blue Schools Coordinator, noted that only 17 Irish schools are currently certified, and highlighted ongoing collaboration with the Irish Ocean Literacy Network (IOLN) to expand national participation. Jane Sharp, ocean literacy expert within IOLN and Sea Synergy, presented examples of successful blue‑education projects implemented with local schools and the work done by the Education working group of IOLN regarding blue education.

The event concluded with two key actions: the launch of the PHAROS Seasonal Snapshot Challenge with MINKA, a citizen‑science initiative encouraging schools across the Atlantic and Arctic regions to document local aquatic biodiversity each season; and a working session with teachers to identify existing water‑related activities that could support their schools’ Blue School certification. Most participating schools were found to meet nearly all required criteria.

This workshop marks an important step towards establishing a Blue Schools cluster in Kerry, led by MTU under the umbrella of MarCoLab Ireland, fostering collaboration, resource sharing, and the expansion of blue education across the region.