‘Rather than seeing Climate Change as an overwhelming crisis, we see it as an unprecedented opportunity to totally rethink how our rural Communities can thrive into the 21st Century’ – Green Offaly
There’s been a lot of talk recently about rethinking how we live. Green Offaly is way ahead of most in this regard; their whole ethos is about rethinking how we live. This new initiative – the first of its kind in Ireland – wants to help the people of Offaly adapt to a low-carbon and sustainable way of life. But that’s not all Green Offaly wants to do.
Green Offaly also wants to help the county unlock the benefits of becoming ‘green’ – benefits like job creation, community owned energy schemes, increased tourism, a cleaner environment and better access to education and reskilling. Its’ a promising new approach in our adaption to the climate and biodiversity challenges we face.
Rebekah Keaveny is an Environmental Representative on the Offaly Local Community Development Committee. She also oversees Project Development for Green Offaly. She explains that Green Offaly was set up in 2018 in response to the Project Ireland 2040 report ‘Empowering Communities in the Fight against Climate Change’ – part of the state’s long-term strategy to make Ireland a better country by ensuring the sustainable, well planned growth of our cities and towns.
Rebekah, who has been living in Offaly on and off since 1994, previously worked in eco-based community development in Wales. When Resource Officer Bridie Hynes brought her on board to help with the Environmental Pillar, she suggested the establishment of Green Offaly – a not for profit, countywide, green regeneration enterprise operating as a development trust.
A Different Approach
A Development Trust is a particular type of partnership organisation – one that offers benefits to the local community and has advantages for many public bodies. Usually concerned with regenerating an area, it pursues long-term sustainable solutions rather than quick fixes. While completely independent, it works with community groups, local business and other organisations to find the best solutions and ideas. Rebekah knew from experience that this approach could yield real results for Offaly.
The town of Caernarfon in Wales is a good example of what a development trust can achieve. In the early 1990s, Caernarfon was run-down and neglected. In 1992, a development trust called Galeri Caernarfon Cyf was established to improve the town’s image. It bought twenty derelict buildings within the walled town and re-developed them. Now, according to Rebekah, Caernarfon “looks amazing, it’s like a mini Stockholm.”
Rebekah has seen first-hand what’s possible with this type of enterprise. “Offaly needed to re-invent itself before climate change became an issue,” she says. “Now, there are incredible opportunities to rethink how we do things”. However, when it comes to decarbonisation, many opportunities are not trickling down to small businesses and communities. Green Offaly want to change that.
Community is Key
Rebekah thinks we need a whole new system – one that helps local businesses and communities to compete in a world where large corporations often set the agenda. She points out that without the right kinds of support, community groups and small businesses can struggle to survive. “What we need are real political solutions,” she says. “Everything Green Offaly does will benefit the community, it’s not about short-term fixes. This is a massive project. Our strategic plan covers the next twenty years. Short term fixes are not sustainable and end up costing money in the long term.”
Consultation with local organisations and businesses was a key part of getting Green Offaly up and running. After hosting a series of workshops to find out what kind of support was needed, Rebekah and the team put all the feedback and findings into a report called Communities and Climate Change. For Green Offaly, working in a coordinated way with the local community is crucial.
What kind of projects has Green Offaly worked on?
In December last year, Green Offaly hosted the Future Farming Forum in Tullamore. This one-day event was all about exploring the potential impact of climate change on Offaly’s farmers, while also discussing how farmers can adapt. Rebekah said they got a fantastic reaction on the day, although attendance was lower than they had hoped for. Nevertheless, she is optimistic; “it’s like planting a seed,” she says.
So much useful discussion took place during the Future Farming Forum that Green Offaly decided to produce a one-off Green Farmers’ Almanac full of information from the day. It’s intended as a source guide for Offaly’s farmers on all things around ‘greening up the farm’. Publication has been delayed due to coronavirus, but Rebekah hopes it will be ready by September.
Rebekah understands farmers’ concerns for their futures. When it comes to decarbonisation, she says farmers feel they’re being dictated to rather than being listened to. She thinks it would make more sense to put in place measures that support farmers’ transition to decarbonisation. As an example, she suggests they might be allowed to trial new green farming practices and be confident that they can earn income from these before they’re expected to reduce herds and lower farm emissions.
Green Offaly ran a workshop recently with the county’s Tidy Town groups, attended by environmentalist and RTÉ presenter, Duncan Stewart. During the workshop, the Tidy Town groups committed to creating and implementing an environmental charter, which can be phased into their already excellent work over the next five years. Rebekah points out that this type of work is a key part of what Green Offaly does: acting as a facilitator, it works with whole sectors rather than individuals to effect change.
Green Offaly hosted a workshop with Mens Sheds where tutor Eoin Donnelly taught pole lathe bodging – a green wood working technique
What else is in the pipeline?
Green Offaly has more innovative projects planned, like the development of a sustainable green mapping system for the county’s towns. This would help town councils figure out how communities want their amenities – like water bodies, green spaces and energy – to be developed in a sustainable way. Green Offaly would like to help each town to devise its own long-term plan. Once the website is up and running, all the information about this project will be accessible to the public.
Rebekah and the team are interested in setting up a community-driven energy scheme. This would mean someone who provides electricity to the national grid could receive payment. They’re also looking into the establishment of green training and research programmes in areas like natural building, bog rehabilitation, carbon farming, forest management, and the subsequent creation of green social enterprises resulting from these.
Another avenue currently being explored is carbon storage. Rebekah explains that Green Offaly would like to work with PhD students & ecologists to measure how much carbon is sequestered into different types of soil or forest. This would allow for it to be priced accurately, meaning that farmers, for example, could properly plan a transition to lower emission farming.
The Future of the Peatlands
Carbon storage is going to be big business, says Rebekah. In 2018, the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform produced a report on valuing greenhouse gas emissions. It concluded that the shadow price of carbon (i.e. the cost of emissions to society) will rise from €32 per tonne in 2020 to €100 per tonne by 2030; by 2050, it could reach an eye-watering €265 per tonne.
For a county like Offaly where peatland makes up about a fifth of the total area, this could be huge. Peatlands store huge quantities of carbon, and they’re a big issue in Offaly right now. Rebekah explains that people want a just transition. There is a fear, she says, that the needs of the community won’t be considered. Green Offaly are hoping they can do something to help – for example, Rebekah feels projects like rewetting the bogs might offer opportunities to create jobs.
Green Offaly has certainly hit the ground running. With such exciting projects planned, the future of the county is in good hands. Plus, they’re showing the rest of us the way to a better tomorrow. With a bit of luck, perhaps every county in Ireland will soon have a Green Offaly of its own.
If you’d like to find out more about Green Offaly, you can contact Rebekah at 089-4294242 or [email protected]
