Environmental Science and Technology Student Life

The Environmental Science and Technology class have been going on field trips for years, building up incredible connections across Ireland, including Dr Eamon Doyle, geologist for the Burren and Cliffs of Moher UNESCO Global Geopark (below). Eamon elegantly explains the geology of the Burren and how we can find clues about past climate change in the limestone. He does this in sun, rain and snow. Each year is different, and Eamon’s deep understanding of the Burren allows the class to learn from each visit. The Environmental Science and Technology class recently gifted Eamon with a UVA lamp which can be used to explore for minerals in fossils that fluoresce in ultraviolet light, making them glow in different colours and easier to see!

Environmental Science and Technology students are exposed to practical aspects of chemistry, microbiology, biology and physics through laboratory modules. For example, for a second year laboratory in environmental chemistry, the class samples and analyses water from the River Tolka in Dublin to assess water status. We now have over ten years of data on the quality of water in the Tolka. In a separate laboratory, students are exposed to the biology in water courses and how population dynamics can help assess the quality of a water body.

First and second year students work with Vincent Hooper and Brian Kelleher, staff within the school, on outreach activities as part of their degree. This involves introducing a class of second year students from Trinity Comprehensive School, Ballymun (TCB) to the concept of seashore ecology and environmental monitoring with a strong emphasis on the “teach to learn” concept. The school pupils are encouraged to learn by participation in a field study of a purpose-chosen seashore location (Sutton Seashore). 

A very important component of this initiative is that the secondary pupils are taught by our first and second year students! The TCB pupils are invited into the School of Chemical Sciences, DCU on a selected date where they receive structured and tailored tuition from our Environmental Science and Technology class and mentors. This brief but informative lecture series precedes the field study and lays the foundation for a successful seashore investigation.