Greenwave 2009 was launched today by Discover Science & Engineering in anticipation of the phenomenon of spring in Ireland. The Greenwave project is a mass science experiment for Irish national schools which involves tracking the movement of spring across Ireland. 
Students’ record sighting dates of six species that are indicators of spring onto the Greenwave website and the results are mapped onto the website to see whether spring moves from north to south or inland from coast to centre. Last year 2,500 sightings were submitted from schools across the country.
Every year a green wave, which is caused by the opening of buds on trees and hedges, can be seen moving across Europe from outer space in springtime. It begins in the south of Europe in February and it moves up across Europe as temperatures rise.
The phenomenon travels at approximately the same speed as humans walk – four miles per hour – hence the description of a green wave. According to this, spring would take three weeks to walk across Ireland from Mizen Head to Malin head.
School children will be asked to register on the Greenwave website and record their findings online. In addition to the species examined in 2008 – ash, horse chestnut and hawthorn trees, the primrose, the swallow and frogspawn – participants are now being asked to also record the rainfall throughout the months of February to May.
The information gathered will help to examine whether climate change is causing flowers to bloom earlier and how Irish wildlife is affected as a result. The data will be plotted on the Greenwave website (www.greenwave.ie) where visitors will be able to view the findings and track nature’s progress over time.
Schoolchildren who take part in the experiment can also win some great prizes by submitting photos of their sightings on www.greenwave.ie. The best pictures are judged by Discover Science & Engineering, Eanna Ni Lahmna and Gerald Fleming. Each winning school will receive a digital camera and printer.
Commenting on the project, Oonagh Meighan, Greenwave Project Manager, said, “The Greenwave project is a great way of getting kids interested in science. They will study how plants and animals react to lengthening days in spring; investigate the signs of global warming; and measure levels of rainfall. Taking part in the Greenwave project is a practical way to support the teaching of the Plants and Animals Strand Unit of the SESE curriculum. These simple skills will help them develop the analytical thinking required for maths and science at second level.”
Eanna Ni Lamhna, panelist on the Mooney Show, RTE Radio 1, added, “Climate change is having an effect on our environment. The Greenwave project measures how spring moves across Ireland and also how early in the year the species chosen react. It is an excellent scientific project for schools, as meaningful scientific data on climate change needs lots of records taken from all over the country year after year, so that the changes are noticed. The fact that schools are able to communicate the information collected directly on the website makes the information accessible to all participants”
Gerald Fleming, meteorologist and RTE weather broadcaster, offered his insight on the project, “Nature is all around us, always changing. Ireland has some of the most changeable weather on earth; We can feel these changes, and so do the birds and the animals, while the trees and plants too respond to the elements.
The Greenwave project helps us to notice these changes by asking us to observe and measure them; to observe the first frogspawn, the primroses, the first swallow, and to measure the rain that falls.
Measuring rainfall is one of the most important jobs in Meteorology. Every day, tens of thousands of weather observers all over the world go to their rain gauge and empty their collection containers into a graduated cylinder to measure how much rain has fallen – just like the Greenwave participants can do.”
Schools wishing to take part in this year’s Greenwave experiment can register online at www.greenwave.ie. The project also caters for Gaelscoileanna, with materials available in Irish on the website. All schools taking part in the Greenwave project will earn credit towards the Discover Primary Science Awards of Science Excellence
Photo: Adam Costello (5) from Crumlin at the launch of Greenwave 2009 in St.Agnes Primary School, Dublin. The Greenwave project is a mass science experiment for Irish national schools which involves tracking the movement of spring across Ireland.
