Press Release.
March 14th 6.30pm – 8.30pm Gallen Community School, Ferbane
Offaly set to become National Leader in the Green Revolution!
We are communities of the Earth here in Offaly, grounded in the bog. We have the agriculture, the waterways, the rural villages, the mountains and incredible people in our communities. Now we have the unprecedented opportunity to bring it all together and show the rest of the country how we do ‘green regeneration’ Offaly style.
It is a fact that the Earth’s climate is warming and here in Ireland we must admit to feeling a slight thrill about about the possibility of warm summers! Who can blame us! However, the factors that make our climate warm, also contribute to the possible extinction of our bees, wildlife and native flora and fauna. Everyone that saw the Blue Planet episode worried about the plastic contaminating our world. In 2018 we found out that pesticides definitely cause cancer and our food and green spaces are sprayed with them, constantly! Everything that is driving climate change is a direct result of our progress and it is a fact that we are all going to have to change the way we live. If we wait for others to do it for us, we could be waiting for a while!
Here in Offaly, our answer to these challenges is the creation of ‘Green Offaly’ Sustainable Development Trust. Development Trusts are organisations that are community based, owned and led. Green Offaly is focused on helping our local communities become greener, wilder, richer and healthier, powered by community owned renewable energy sources. This is green regeneration and it has never been done in Ireland before. It is good for community, good for business, good for the environment, great news for Offaly and it all begins with you! As part of our pre project launch we will be visiting 4 locations across Offaly: Ferbane, Birr, Daingean and Tullamore. We want to find out what your communities say around the issues of environment and community. We will take your feedback at these community meetings and use it to build the foundations of the Trust. Don’t wait for others to act, come along, find out more and tell us what you want to see happen in your community!
Ireland is part of a collective EU pledge to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and as such has committed to reduce carbon emissions 20% by 2020 at least 40% by 2030; and between 80% and 95% by 2050.