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Ireland's Greenest Places: From Dún Laoghaire's active travel to Kiltimagh's biodiversity park - some of the entries so far
The search for genuine
sustainability
is challenging when there is so much rampant greenwashing, especially in a
country
where
environmental
commitments too often fall short of what is required.
The competition to
find Ireland's greenest places
is an attempt to identify locations where true sustainability is being pursued successfully.
There are some reassuring aspects in entries to the competition so far: strong commitments to
farming
in regenerative ways; an easing of increasing environmental pressures on urban places; adoption of renewables at scale; sustained commitment found in volunteerism – a powerful mode of collective action; and indications that impact can be hyperlocal.
Such an impact can be evident within the confines of a single street. It is evidence of what writer Rebecca Solnit has called 'hope in the dark', in the face of accelerating climate disruption and unrelenting nature loss.
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People in every corner of Ireland are looking to their immediate locality and taking grassroots action. While despair can lead to inaction, it's a luxury we cannot afford. No human can justifiably do nothing in the face of accelerating global warming, species wipeout and pollution (most obvious in poor water quality).
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A flavour of entries outlined in this piece may prompt other communities (in the broadest sense) to consider entering. By any measure the scale of local environmental betterment with the help of many hands is impressive. It ranges across groups engaging in bog restoration – enabling vast tracts of land to become carbon stores, slowing water to mitigate flooding and enhancing biodiversity – to towns transforming cityscapes into more liveable locations. So this is a call-out to them; an opportunity to get recognition for their endeavours.
There is also the option of individuals nominating their home place, where they work or where they visit. Highlighting projects here is not indication of likely winners, who will emerge from a separate judging process.
The categories are Ireland's greenest suburb; greenest village, greenest town and Ireland's greenest community – from which an overall winner will be selected.
The ability of an area as small as a suburb to pursue transformative actions is typified in the work of
Connecting Cabra
, which is involved in a multiplicity of activities, including staging biodiversity festivals and helping to convert gardens and open spaces into mini-nature reserves. This extends into adopting renewable energy, helping people pursue retrofitting in some of the poorest areas of Dublin and facilitating authentic 'circular living'.
At the Starling Pond off Faussagh Avenue, Cabra are Connecting Cabra's Stephen Shanahan (right) showing a froglet to St Finbarr's BNS students Caden Ledwidge and Carter Ledwidge with Louisa Moss, Dublin Northwest Partnership, and Michelle Nolan of Connecting Cabra. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill
'I could list dozens more activities that
Connecting Cabra
and other groups run ... but that would miss the main point; that Cabra is addressing climate action and sustainability together as a community in a way that involves and actively empowers everybody and is focused on climate justice,' says Connecting Cabra chair Brian Gormley.
With two of the top 10 electoral districts most affected by climate change being in its locality, Connecting Cabra is determined nobody should be left behind, Gormley, a brother of former Green Party leader John Gormley, adds. Through Cabra Warmer Homes Project, group members go door-to-door to help residents to apply for retrofitting grants.
Residents of
Seafield Road in Booterstown
, Co Dublin, illustrate how a single action can be impactful – in their case the planting of 60,000 flowering bulbs (seven different varieties) and 60 trees, along a 300m stretch of a residential street. The initiative adds to the visual appeal of a neighbourhood but also plays a crucial role in supporting local biodiversity.
Flowering bulbs bloom in succession, providing a continuous source of nectar and pollen throughout the growing season, giving pollinators and other beneficial insects a reliable food source.
Adding to ecological benefits is an innovative rain garden, designed to efficiently harvest stormwater. This not only mitigates flooding but also promotes 'groundwater recharge' ensuring a greener landscape.
Dublin Landscaping was entrusted with the project, which showcases how, with community engagement, a residential street can become an environmentally friendly haven, benefiting both people and the wider ecosystem.
The coastal village of
Castlegregory
, Co Kerry, illustrates the benefits of building on a TidyTowns platform of consistently ensuring that thriving green areas are well used by local people and visitors, and with minimal littering. In tandem with this, pollinator-friendly planting, use of native trees and a 'no spray policy' promoting sustainable, chemical-free practices, allow biodiversity to thrive.
'Castlegregory is a small village with a big environmental commitment, where community, climate action and biodiversity go hand in hand,' says Bettina Pickering, who nominated the village.
The breadth of activities keeps volunteers 'connected and involved', she adds. 'Our green efforts go beyond TidyTowns. The community council hosts annual circular economy events ... A tree planting group runs meitheals for native planting in private gardens and the nature park behind the secondary school also uses this space for biodiversity and geopark learning.'
Emigrant Park: The pond has been planted with native aquatic species, such as water lilies, and the surrounding marsh area has been seeded with wildflowers like ragged robin and kidney vetch, alongside native oak and larch. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin
Emigrant Park: Kiltimagh's community-driven biodiversity and amenity park. Photograph: Michael McLaughlin
Kiltimagh
in Co Mayo has a green heart; a 6.5-acre biodiversity park at its centre, which opened last year. It is called Emigrant Park, in tribute to Bill Durkan, a native of the area who emigrated to Britain and donated €100,000 for its creation.
Gary Smyth of Kiltimagh Amenity Park, a voluntary group that developed the park, says some initial reaction was negative; people said paths were not maintained, some even said 'it's too wild'.
But when members explained thatno pesticides or herbicides were used in the best interests of biodiversity, attitudes quickly changed. 'Now they say, 'we love it' ... It's a place to go for a coffee to de-stress.'
The park has features such as a nesting wall for sand martins, designed to be educational on the importance of nature. 'In many ways, it's replicating a bog road,' says Smyth.
He describes the village as an island surrounded by rivers. This includes the Pollagh, 'a bluedot river' indicating that it is one of the highest-quality rivers in the country. 'Our community are deeply invested in protecting and enhancing our natural heritage,' says Smyth.
Dún Laoghaire blends smart urban planning, environmental care and inclusive values, making it a model suburb for green and resilient living in Ireland
—
Rob McCullagh
Dún Laoghaire
, Co Dublin, is tilting private car usage towards public transport and active travel – walking and cycling. This has been facilitated by residents backing a 'living streets' project, says Claire Macken.
'It will be implemented through 2025-2026. It involves sustainable mobility and public realm improvements. It aims to make our local streets safer and greener, our communities more connected and to keep our economy vibrant,' she explains.
It is complemented by Dún Laoghaire Harbour Master initiatives, that 'reimagine urban spaces to prioritise pedestrians and cyclists and access to the marina, reduce car dominance, and enhance biodiversity with more trees, seating and shared public spaces'.
'Dún Laoghaire blends smart urban planning, environmental care and inclusive values, making it a model suburb for green and resilient living in Ireland,' says Rob McCullagh, who nominated it in the suburb category.
Rathcroghan Mound, Co Roscommon, where the Farming Rathcrogan project has 60 participating farming families, with others waiting to join. Photograph: Joe Fenwick/NUI Galway
The
Farming Rathcroghan
project in Co Roscommon is addressing the critical challenges of rural depopulation, sustainable land use and climate change. That alone is challenging in modern Ireland, but the project is operating in an important archaeological landscape.
'The farmland comprising the ancient 'royal' landscape of Rathcroghan is a little greener than most, due to the initiative of the local landowners, farmers and the surrounding community,' says Joe Fenwick.
It was the prehistoric capital of Connacht. Rathcroghan Mound was where the kings and queens of the province were inaugurated in a ritual 'mating' with the local Earth goddess.
Established in 2018, the project is supported by the EU Just Transition Fund, and has 60 participating farming families, with others waiting to join. Its 'success can be measured in the positive impact, ambition and cohesion that it has brought to the wider community. It is based on a simple model of collaborative, community-led governance', says Fenwick.
It promotes solutions and innovations devised by local people with a view to sustaining fulfilling farming livelihoods, while promoting the stewardship, conservation and protection of the archaeological, ecological and cultural heritage of the area. It also addresses wider environmental concerns; maintaining groundwater quality, carbon sequestration and other actions in support of achieving climate neutrality.
Those involved have demonstrated the benefits of embracing farming traditions that are as old as the locality's archaeological monuments, Fenwick believes, but also apply modern, imaginative, green innovations.
The Millbrook initiative shows how the GAA community can contribute to lowering carbon emissions, teaching people about biodiversity and the benefits of green spaces
—
Ealma Purcell
The greening of Millbrook, surrounding
Oldcastle Gaelic Football Club
's pitches in Co Meath, is a perfect example of starting small and reaping benefits over time.
'[It] shows how the GAA community can contribute to lowering carbon emissions, teaching people about biodiversity and the benefits of green spaces,' says Ealma Purcell. Pitches are surrounded by a walking track beside the river Inny. Extensive recent planting is delivering rich biodiversity.
'Signs carry information for people, and local schools visit for nature walks. We start with a bed of nepeta, adored by pollinators, a hive of buzzing activity. The riverbank is fenced off for safety, allowing it to become a wildlife haven, with otters and a resident heron,' says Purcell.
'We never cut the grass here, making it a totally safe environment for any creature that calls it home, and you can often hear the squeaks of little mammals. We let nettles and all sorts of other native plants [grow], providing food and nesting places for insects and butterflies. We have bird boxes and recently added in 12 fruit trees, the start of our own community orchard.'
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Restoring the Wicklow hills: 'It's like the Sahara at times up there with peat moving around like sand dunes in the desert'
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Jacksmill: An innovative regeneration project by farmer Huw O'Toole, who converted his farm into allotments and created a remote hub for hybrid working in a renovated sawmill. Photograph: Alan Betson
Jacksmill: A remote hub for hybrid working in the renovated sawmill. Photograph: Alan Betson
Jacksmill
is a small farm diversification project in north Wicklow owned by Huw O'Toole and his family. Located between Wicklow town and Bray, it is made up of a large forest garden and 'Hub13', a rural remote working hub repurposed from a disused sawmill into studios with co-working and office spaces.
The garden is 2.8 hectares (seven acres) of regenerated pastoral farmland transformed from heavily sheep-grazed ryegrass. Within the project are various small and family-sized allotments maintained through no pesticide use and deploying 'no dig' organic methods.
Taking over the family farm in 2014, 'Huw saw the pronounced decline in insects he remembered seeing in the meadow when he was child. He was asked to sell sites for one-off housing but made a decision instead to enhance the environment and restore lost biodiversity,' says Caroline Costigan, who works there part-time.
The allotments provide families with space and awareness to care for nature and the opportunity to make sustainable choices to grow their own food, limit food waste and avoid chemicals and excessive plastic packaging.
Hub13 provides a rural biodiversity-focused workplace to people including creative artists and those who were feeling isolated working at home or were previously commuters on the N11, she adds. It has become, 'a thriving blueprint of the resilience of small farms and of how they can be diversified to lead climate and biodiversity action'.
The Dingle peninsula: 'It's about local people having a real say in shaping their community's future'
The
Dingle Peninsula-Corca Dhuibhne
is a standout example of how sustainability can be multilayered and adopted across a large area embracing every aspect of the local economy.
It is about joining forces to find solutions that work, says Gráinne Kelleher. 'Diverse local groups work diligently to help the peninsula move towards being more resilient, having cleaner energy, protecting our natural and beautiful landscape while keeping the local economy strong to ensure a vibrant, liveable place for future generations ... it's about local people having a real say in shaping their community's future.'
Footprint for good
The concept of a 'carbon footprint' has come to be understood as an indicator of our ecological impact on Earth, but it ignoble origins.
The idea gained popularity in 2003 when fossil-fuel company BP launched an advertising campaign asking people on the street what their carbon footprint was. It emerged that marketing agency Ogilvy & Mather's brief was to promote the slant that climate change is not the fault of an oil giant, but of individuals. The company unveiled its '
carbon footprint calculator
' so people could assess how their normal daily life – going to work, buying food and travelling – is largely responsible for heating the globe. Initially, it was a guilt trigger.
In spite of the sinister motivation of Big Oil, individuals can address their carbon footprint meaningfully; their actions add up to significant impact. However, it is only by collective action – in decarbonising, restoring nature and using water sustainably – that the necessary multiplier effect is deployed. Ireland's Greenest Places shows this type of combined effort is taking root in rural and urban heartlands across the island.
The Irish Times Ireland's Greenest Places competition is in association with Electric Ireland
