Ecocem, a leader in low-carbon cement technologies, has announced its partnership with Biodiversity in Schools for a nationwide ‘Wildwalls’ campaign with biodiversity prizes of €5,000 available.

The campaign was created for young people across Ireland to design a wall mural for their school that raises awareness of biodiversity issues and integrates features to support local wildlife. The competition is open to pre, primary, secondary, and homeschools in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. With biodiversity loss posing as much of a challenge as climate change, creatively reimagining spaces for nature wherever we can be essential – especially for schools where space can be very limited.

Ecocem, is a pioneer of high-performance cement technologies that significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the cement and construction industries. ACT, its breakthrough technology can reduce the global carbon footprint of the traditional cement manufacturing process by more than half.

To take part, schools simply need to download the entry form on the ‘Biodiversity in Schools’ website and submit their design by the closing date of the 1^st of May 2024. There is a prize fund valued at €5,000 available for various school categories with one lucky school winning a Wildwall mural by a professional artist, an indoor vertical garden, a low carbon plaque, a nature workshop and resources as well as a biodiversity project fund of €250.

Speaking about the partnership with Biodiversity in Schools, Chisom Ekomaru, Ecocem Group Sustainability Manager, said: “Ecocem recognises and understands the importance of biodiversity and the vital role it plays in the local areas we and our customers operate within. We are very proud to support the Wildwalls campaign and we hope it will give children the opportunity to let their imagination run wild thinking about the plants and insects they see around them. Creating natural havens on a wall is a great way to use space in the built environment and bring us all closer to nature.”

Commenting on the new initiative, Mark Nolan, Director of Biodiversity in Schools, said: “We’re really excited about this new project. It’s something we’ve wanted to do for a long time and were delighted when Ecocem came to us. Schools are so enthusiastic about helping nature, but space constraints can make it tricky. This campaign encourages young people to think creatively and reimagine spaces for biodiversity. We can’t wait to see the amazing ideas from young people across Ireland.”

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