Did you find what you were looking for?

Find what you were looking for?

Help us improve AI search results by giving yourfeedback.

From:Department of Education and Youth

Minister for Education and Youth Hildegarde Naughton has today announced funding of €624,523 for 27 organisations delivering Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) projects across Ireland.

Grants ranging from €6,325 to €25,000 have been awarded to organisations whose proposals for 2026-2027 sustainability projects were successful under the Second National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD to 2030).

The funded projects will support a broad range of initiatives that strengthen Education for Sustainable Development in primary and post-primary schools. They include the development of new ESD teaching resources and learning materials expanded professional learning opportunities for teachers.

Among the programmes receiving support are the Nature Explorer Programme, Picker Pals, Heritage Keepers, Wise Water, Wool in School, and Grow It Yourself. Funding will also support initiatives such as the Climate and Nature Summit, the Rubbish Film Festival, and the student-led Debate Your Decision Makers event. Many of the projects include hands-on workshops and opportunities for students to engage in sustainability action within their schools and local communities.

The ESD to 2030 strategy aims to ensure that all learners develop the knowledge, skills, values and attitudes needed to promote sustainable development. The strategy is built around five priority areas:

Announcing the funding, Minister Naughton said:

“It is fantastic to see such a diverse range of projects receiving funding to support Education for Sustainable Development in our primary and post-primary schools. I want to congratulate all of the organisations whose commitment and expertise will help bring these initiatives to life.

“This investment will expand professional learning opportunities for teachers, increase the availability of high-quality teaching and learning resources across the curriculum, and enable more schools to participate in innovative sustainability programmes. Importantly, it will also create more opportunities for students to engage in meaningful action within their local communities.

“Education for Sustainable Development is about more than understanding environmental, social and economic challenges. It is about equipping young people with the knowledge, skills and confidence to make informed decisions and to take positive action at local, national and global level.”

The 2nd National Strategy on Education for Sustainable Development –ESD to 2030– is co-sponsored by the Department of Education and Youth, Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality in a co-ordinated lifelong learning approach.

ESD aims to ensure that all learners have the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development across its three interlinked and interdependent strands:  Social Sustainability, Economic Sustainability and Environmental Sustainability.  This is a target under the Sustainable Development Goals (Target 4.7) and acknowledged as a key enabler for the achievement of all 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

ESD to 2030has five priority areas, in line with UNESCO’s framework for ESD for 2030:

The accompanyingESD to 2030Implementation Plan 2022 – 2026 sets out the roadmap to achieving target 4.7 by 2030 across the Education Sector from Early Learning and Care to third level and beyond to non-formal and informal education. A first progress report was published in November 2023, a second progress report was published in summer 2025 and a third progress report for publication in early 2027 will inform a 2nd Implementation Plan to 2030.

ESD has three interlinked and equally important strands:  Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability.

Funding of €624,523 is being delivered to 27 organisations to support them in carrying out ESD related projects in schools across the country, including for example; making the school and its grounds more sustainable; teacher professional learning in ESD; student projects; collaborative projects between the school and the local community etc. Detailed criteria were set out in the funding call document, issued May 6th 2026 which can be foundHEREFunding was allocated based on the criteria set out in the call.

In 2025, 21 organisations were granted €465,962 in ESD funding.  Based on the evaluations received and data supplied, this funding supported direct engagement with 97 schools, 2,525 teachers, 309,210 students, 151,000 resource downloads and awareness raising through 10,066 newsletter subscribers.

A separate ESD Funding call for schools will issue in September 2026 to support a range of ESD related projects for schools with a funding level of up to €2,500 per school.   In 2025, almost €860,000 was delivered to 390 schools nationwide for ESD projects.

ESD to 2030 supports the implementation of the Climate Action Plan, the Sustainable Development Goals National Implementation Plan, The EU Green Deal and the UNs Agenda 2030 (17 Sustainable Development Goals and specifically SDG 4.7).

The Department’s ESD Newsletter is a quarterly e-zine that is key for raising awareness of ESD and provides a platform for schools and stakeholders to share all the great ESD related work they are doing.  The newsletter also promotes teacher professional learning, shares news about ESD programmes and resources and hosts regular competitions for readers and contributors alike. The ESD newsletter goes out to all schools and anyone can subscribe. Currently there are over 2,200 subscribers and this number increasing all the time. The newsletter can be found at:https://www.gov.ie/en/collection/a1d6e-education-for-sustainable-development-newsletter/

List of Organisations granted funding for ESD projects

Hedgerow Guardians:  Learning from nature through Biodiversity, Birdsong, Folklore and Community

Learning support programme for biodigester system

"OECE 2030 Future of Education" project

Biodiversity resources for teachers

"Heritage Keepers" programme,  local heritage fieldtrips and teacher workshops

Rubbish Film Festival including teacher support and training

Summer courses for teachers on "Cultivating the next generation of Conservationalists"

"Engage with Nature" biodiversity resources for schools

ECO-Week, CPD training, workshops and expanded access to supports

SEED Alliance,  Climate Literacy programme, CASD Teacher supports

"Fantastic Fibres Sensory Box" resource for schools

"Nature Explorer for Schools" programme and summer course for teachers

Summer courses and workshops for teachers, annual national event "One minute videos"

"GROW at school" food-growing education programme

Irish Second Level Students Union

Student led ESD projects including "Debate your Decision Makers" and student workshops

Irish Schools Sustainability Network

Bitesize Biodviersity, Community of Practice, teacher CPD,  Climate and Nature Summit

Munster Technological University

Circular – STEPS toolkit and teacher professional learning

Environmental Stewardship programme for primary and special schools

Circular Fashion, sewing, furniture restoration and sustainable design programme

The Unforgettable Women’s Network

Social Sustainability project focused on acceptance, inclusion, diversity and community engagement.

Level 9 micro-credential course for teachers:  Biodiversity Action for Educators

"Looking to the past for a sustainable future" school/ community project

WiseWater primary school programme

Wool2Ewe Climate Smart Skills Initiative

"Wild Minds" initiative on outdoor environment education delivering real-world responses