The royal county is turning green. In the schools of Meath a plethora of initiatives from papermaking workshops to recycling projects and an ozone-friendly drama are taking root fast.

There are frenzied activities going on in several schools - including 26 primary and 10 second-level - aimed at making the county more eco-friendly, more environmentally aware, and generally, well, greener.

If Claire King, environmental education officer for Meath Co Council, has anything to do with it, all the schools and communities will soon be rethinking their approach to waste. The schools will take part in a green flag programme which she hopes will encourage them to develop environmental practices. Joanne Faulkner, a recycling expert, has been commissioned by the council to run workshops using her Three R's philosophy - to reduce, recycle and reuse. "I hope that students will become aware that recycling the correct bottle in the correct bin is not enough," says Faulkner. "We need to reduce our intake of consumables and reuse what we already have. The workshop encourages lateral thinking to the problem of waste disposal."

Faulkner uses the Agenda 21 Principles set up after the 1992 Rio Earth Summit "to bring a sense of personal responsibility to the problem of waste management", she explains. At the workshops students learn to make bookmarks using recycled paper and dye using tumeric. Over the course of the three-day workshop students will also learn how to make products such as bowls, frames, notebooks, greeting cards and wall hangings.