Students from Colaiste Phadraig in Lucan, Co Dublin recently went out and spent £2,000 on video-making equipment. Where did they get this sort of money? It was their prize for an award-winning Transition Year project.

The story starts this time last year. Schools were offered, free of charge, The Mobil Greensight Pack. This pack, a kit of teaching and learning tools on how to make a video on an environmental topic, is by any standards a substantial educational resource.

In return for the pack, teams of Transition Year students would make a commitment: they would produce and submit a short video on an aspect of their local environment. More than 150 schools responded. Teachers and students set about planning, filming and editing. "We were thrilled by both the level of interest and the quality of the entries," says John Dalton of Mobil, the oil company that sponsored the pack - which was compiled by British organisations Living Earth and the Green Alliance - and supported the competition.

Eventually six entries were short-listed for final judging. Teams of students and their teachers spent a day in RTE, being interviewed and viewing each other's work. The chairman of the RTE Authority, Professor Farrel Corcoran, presented the students with the 1997 Mobil Transition Year Environmental Video Awards.

The learning experience

The Mobil Greensight Pack was developed by teachers for teachers. It includes a one-hour video, in which practical tips and interviews with professionals illuminate some of the secrets of TV and film production.

The pack also contains skills cards and activity sheets to engage all students in becoming better equipped to produce a video. Potential subjects are explored too: there are expert research briefs on issues such as ozone destruction, habitats and waste.

Finally, a production planner wall chart allows teams chart their progress.

TV presenter Emma Freud fronts the video. "Making a television programme is the best way I know to get to grips with an issue," she says. "You assess every side of the argument and present a balanced view."

Film-maker David Puttnam adds, "Greensight provides an ideal tool kit for the young film-maker."

Problem solving

While making a video can be beneficial and good fun, there is usually no shortage of problems to be solved along the way. Each group short-listed had made some mistakes and had to grapple with particular difficulties.

The views of residents living in a tower-block environment feature in the fast-moving video made by students in the Senior Comprehensive School, Ballymun, Dublin. "We did a lot of research, interviewed people for the vox pop and arranged to interview a TD, Rois in Shortall," explains Jacqui Carroll. "Then things started to go wrong," continues Graham Conway. "The first tape snapped. The sound in Roisin Shortall's interview didn't come out. But eventually we got it finished." "We learned a lot from making this video," says Conor Sullivan - "about co-operation, about how much time is needed, about angles and results. Yes, we would do it again."

In Co Waterford, students of Scoil San Nioclas produced a beautiful film on the local oyster industry. Teacher Eibhlis Ni Dhonnchadha remarks that "the students really enjoyed the project and getting to the final stages was great. There was a lot of hard work involved - I thought that the students developed a lot of skills, especially teamwork."

Students in Loreto College, Wexford, made a warm film on Wexford's quays and their heritage. According to teacher Gerri Roche, "this project has revealed a variety of talents in my students. I saw how it developed teamwork, responsibility and creativity as well as skills associated with research and video technology. It made connections with our environment and created a sense of shared concern, not only in school but in our town environment generally. Environmental issues were seen to be of local as well as global concern."

What the judges said

Comments from those involved in judging the videos are also instructive. 'I was overwhelmed by the high standards of the projects and their diversity and also the energy and enthusiasm with which the students presented them to us,' remarks broadcaster Cynthia Ni Mhurchu.

"Their competence in video production was what really surprised me. Although most groups had technical problems with sound, the stories told in pictures were clear, succinct and well thought-out. It was obvious that all groups had worked on a story-board of their project; some even brought examples of artwork to show this.

"Interviewing the students was a sheer pleasure. It reminded me of how enthusiastic and committed young people can be when a challenge is presented to them."

Deirdre Scully, who lectures in video production in education in UCD, says "there was a strong sense that these students had taken initiatives and assumed real responsibility. It was obvious that they had discovered a new way of shaping and communicating their ideas and would want to return to it."

RTE's education officer, John McMahon, says: "I was very impressed at the amount of work that had gone into the productions. What struck me most was the enjoyment and fun that the students got from being involved in the projects!"

Ian Hood of Mobil that the company was so impressed with the responses from schools that they are delighted to be offering awards again during this school year.

Perhaps the final words on the Mobil Transition Year Environmental Video Awards should be from Professor Farrel Corcoran: "I am delighted to see Transition Year students getting involved in a project which connects them intellectually with the physical environment in which we live.

"RTE is keen to support such critical engagement with environmental issues, particularly as it emphasises how the media of communication can be utilised today to great effect in raising awareness among people. This can then energise them to greater effort in the protection of the physical world we all share."

Gerry Jeffers is a member of the Transition Year Support Team. He is also author of the recently published Reel 2 Real: Transition Year Film Studies (Educational Company of Ireland, £6.95).

The drawing above is taken from The Mobil Greensight Pack: Teacher's Handbook.