Galway City Community Network creates city’s first sustainability festival

Published by Lexie McMullan on

August 3rd, 2018 

Community and environmental groups across Galway City are joining forces to create a festival to encourage the community to live more sustainably.

Galway City was awarded the European Green Leaf 2017 last year and was the inspiration for this festival, organised by the Galway City Community Network (GCCN).

The GCCN has been pushing for a “collaborative workshop” in the county to explore initiative in relation to Green Leaf themes, said Ann Irwin from Galway City Council.

One of the ideas that emerged was a festival of sustainability with the first “Loving Galway” Sustainability Festival now set to take place over ten days at the end of September.

Shop St, Galway Photo: Robert Linsdell

Shop St, Galway Photo: Robert Linsdell

The free event will focus on green and blue spaces, highlighting Galway’s unique environment of land, rivers and the sea, as well as hosting a flagship seminar to include climatologist Professor John Sweeney (Maynooth University).

Other activities will include a seminar on participatory planning hosted by Galway Environmental Network and GCCN, and a Zero Waste Youth Seminar hosted by Youth Work Ireland Galway.

Galway City Council provides environmental support annually by matching the Local Agenda 21 Environment Partnership Fund, with a total of €21,850 that is available this year for projects concerning topics like sustainability, climate change, waste, and biodiversity.

Ms Irwin said that the GCCN Environment Linkage Group is an “amazingly vibrant space with really active participation from a whole range of people interested in different aspects of the environment and sustainability”.

Counties across Ireland have councils creating similar events where likeminded people can connect.

Daniel Downey, Cavan County Council resource worker, told The Green News how environmental representatives within the Cavan Public Participation Network (PPN) recently hosted an event to create a network of gardeners in the area.

Locals from community gardens and gardening groups gathered on a bus, had the opportunity to network and socialize, and headed on a trip to Rossinver Organic Center.

Thanks to the field trip planned by the Cavan PPN, gardeners learned about techniques such as no-dig gardens, companion planting, and nnitrogen-fixing plants and utilizing plants as a way to combat pests rather than pesticides.

They also have a composting workshop planned for autumn, and a seed-share in winter.

[x_author title=”About the Author”]

Related Post
The Convergence Festival – imagining a more sustainable Ireland

The Convergence Sustainable Living Festival – a fruitful space for sharing stories and conversations imagining a more sustainable Ireland From Read more

Local networking plays its role in saving the Old Irish Goat

July 3rd, 2018 St. Patrick may have driven the snakes out of Ireland, but old Irish goats, once heading towards Read more

100-strong civil society coalition critical of State over SDG implementation

July 17th, 2018 A new report from an alliance of over 100 Irish civil society groups has criticised the Irish Read more

Zero Waste Cashel: Community role in combating waste

July 19th, 2018 It is predicted that two-thirds of the global population will be living in urban areas by 2050. Read more

Categories: PPNSDGs