Green Senator Déirdre de Búrca and Local Area Representative Pat Kavanagh have welcomed almost €9,000 in Department of Enviroment grants to fund local green projects in the Wicklow area. Senator de Burca said the money will provide much needed assistance to key projects and help raise awareness of the environment.

“It is encouraging to see money collected from plastic bag and landfill levies going back into the community in such a focused way” she said. “I commend the projects involved for their inspirational contribution towards helping the environment and look forward to seeing the results that these grants will bring.”

Local Area Representative, Pat Kavanagh, says she is delighted that the Wicklow Community Garden in the Dominican Convent in Wicklow has received €2,720 to help to develop it as a place of learning and participation in environmental, bio-diversity and organic gardening studies. She says that the Abbey Community College has been granted €600 to create and exhibit artworks that highlight the ecology of the coastlands near Wicklow Town through student research of the issues and creative development of art.

Pat Kavanagh also points out that Gaelscoil Chill Mhantain has received €787.50 to fund ‘Energy: Renewable Sources and Conservation’, an awareness raising programme to inform and involve students, parents and the local community on energy saving and resource conservation using newsletters, speakers and a calendar. “ The Festina Lente Foundation received €741 for a series of public educational seminars on a range of ways households can reduce energy use and waste production” she says. “The La Leche League received €802 for the promotion of breastfeeding during National Breastfeeding Week as a sustainable method to feed babies, preventing energy use and avoiding packaging”.

“The Kilmantin Arts Centre received €1,000.00 for a ‘Climate Change Art Exhibition’ which exhibits work from local artists on the theme of climate change, with positive information or householders available” says Pat Kavanagh. “Carrig Dulra received €1,100 for the ‘Junior Naturalist Programme’, a project based programme for children on biodiversity. Wicklow Tidy Towns received €265 for the ‘Station Road Improvement Project’, involving a clean up of the local stream with planting of native species and information provision, and the Cultivate Centre received €900 for ‘Community Powerdown’, a training programme for community organisations to empower them to deliver training in their own area on practical measures that may be undertaken at community level to reduce usage of fossil fuels and lessen CO2 emissions”.

For further information please contact
Senator Déirdre de Búrca on (086) 806 14 50

Filed under:
Press Release by Deirdre