On October 29th, President Michael
D. Higgins gave a powerful thought-provoking speech to an online (via Webex) meeting
of people of all ages drawn from a wide strata of local society on why the
movement towards transforming Galway into a National Park City is so crucial at this particular time in
human history due to unprecedented Climate Change, biodiversity loss and
pandemics, and why it can be a template for other cities in Ireland to follow.
His talk was followed by presentations from Dan Raven Ellison, a visionary campaigner who led the successful
drive to establish London as world's first
National Park City; and from Kathryn Tierney,
policy coordinator at the Directorate General
Environment of the European Commission involved in the EU’s radical new growth
strategy known as the ‘Green Deal’ with its key principles of circular economy,
wildlife protection, zero pollution, clean energy, net greenhouse emissions by
2050 with funding being made available towards research, business innovation and
community transition. So impressed
are all three by what is happening in Galway that President Higgins agreed to become
this new movement’s official patron; Dan to be its mentor; Kathryn to be its
champion at EU level; whilst Duncan Stewart, Ireland’s most well-known environmentalist,
is its national champion.
So what is meant by ‘Galway National Park City’ and why has it so excited these four luminaries?
The aim of this new pioneering initiative is to make our urban environment
more healthier, sustainable, harmonious,
beautiful, equitable with biodiversity-rich environments of quality green and
blue spaces where people value, benefit from, and are strongly connected to the
rest of Nature.
Over eighty (and more to follow)
individuals and their respective organisations have started to come
together over the last few weeks to help facilitate this process. They will
form a steering committee representing the widest possible cross-section of
backgrounds, professions and sectors of Galway society including education, community,
health, medical, arts, environment, youth, engineering, corporate business,
small business, crafts, residential neighbourhoods, scouting, direct provision,
marine, waterways protection, renewable energies, makers/repairers, cycling
advocacy, walking advocacy, life sciences, data science, social sciences, media,
heritage, animal welfare, ecology, and urban farming. Each of these persons
have in their own professional and volunteering fields been undertaking or
coordinating incredible projects in their workplaces, schools, communities and
neighbourhoods, sometimes over many years,
to
enhance and care for the city’s unique natural heritage and to help others to
benefit from it. Much of the activities of these local champions often takes
place without the wider general public being aware of it. The National Park
City initiative will help join up and promote their activities, provide a
city-wide approach and inspire others from all of the different sectors to
follow suit.
A
series of local speakers from diverse backgrounds outlined at the launch some
of the current environmental and sustainability activities that they are
involved in. SAP staff have transformed, with support from Friends of Merlin
Woods, a large sterile green lawn into a lush wildflower meadow at their HQ in
Parkmore, the first such conversion within a business park in the region; NUI
Galway is implementing a campus wide all-embracing consultative Sustainability Strategy;
residents and management at the Eglinton Direct Provision Centre have implemented
organic gardening and upcycling programmes; students and staff at Galway
Community College have planted a woodland, and developed compost, reuse and
recycling projects; Claire Lillis, R&D manager at Aerogen, showcased a
video on the Connemara Greenway that demonstrated its economic, social and
environmental benefits; John O’Sullivan introduced ‘EcoEd4All’, a new Galway-piloted
conservation course for Transition Year students that is being rolled out to
schools nationwide; Anne Murray explained how the 2019 Galway Science and
Technology Festival was the largest ever event held in Ireland on Climate
Change involving businesses, NGOs, schools and colleges; Ríonach Uí Néill guided participants through
the ‘Drowned Galway’ outdoor arts mural trail; and Conor Ruane gave an overview
of the Galway-Roscommon Local Authority Community Waters programme.
The fact that this important
gathering took place online demonstrates why a united approach is needed to
transform Galway to meet the challenges that now face us in a rapidly changing
world. A virus, an entity smaller than a human cell, had in a matter of a few
weeks brought the most powerful species on the planet to its knees. The coronavirus pandemic is just another symptom(one
of many) of humanity’s abuse of nature that is increasingly coming back to
haunt us. As President Higgins said at the meeting, mankind stands at a precipice
and needs to combine its individual/sectoral talents, and work together like
never before in a unity of purpose to come up with solutions to the
catastrophic that we have put ourselves in.
This may seem too overwhelming a
task for a few thousand citizens of a small city on the western edge of Europe.
But we should not underestimate ourselves. For if we combine ingenuity with a
common sense practical approach by ‘thinking Global and acting Local’, we can
make a significant contribution to positive change. This is what the National
Park City Galway is all about.
Over last few months, the natural
world came to our aid and gave us clues to what is required to turn things
around. In our time of crisis, when we
were confined to our homes and locality, the parks on our doorstep that many of
us never actually visited before, characterised by the sights and sounds of bees
and birds that we never noticed or heard before, became our place of refuge and
our outdoor gym providing a ‘green prescription’ for our physical and mental
health. Galwegians in unprecedented numbers took to walking, cycling, and
growing organic vegetables, herbs and fruits as well as in helping neighbours through
a renewed spirit of ‘Meitheal’. We also began to repair home appliances and
recycle materials that we may have previously thrown out. Some of us gave a
whole new lease of life to old laptops by installing new free open-source software,
so that they could be used by school students who desperately required them for
the new online education that was suddenly thrust upon them.
Without realising it, we were
answering the call from the higher echelons of the United Nations and the European Union to transition
from a linear (take, make and waste) economy to a circular economy.
Galway is strategically placed
both in human and natural resources to become a world leader in sustainability
and environmental repair. Surrounded by ocean, rivers, lakes, mountains, bogs
and green landscapes, we can be a global centre for renewable energies, organic
farming, green tourism, restoration of natural habitats and carbon retention.
But we are also blessed with a creative arts and crafts sector; a vibrant
community and environmental sector; a location for some of the world’s leading
biomedical corporations whose products are saving lives, and IT companies whose
digital technologies are bringing us all closer together; a hub for leading
edge life-enhancing scientific, medical and engineering research; a centre for
indigenous business innovation; a high level of volunteerism; and a flagship
for schools and colleges integrating the Outdoor Classroom and Outdoor Lab into
educational studies. The political life of Galway should also be praised, after
all it gave Ireland a president that is respected throughout the world for his
vision, sense of justice and intellect.
A few weeks ago, a presentation was
given on the Galway National Park City initiative to a Special Policy Committee
(SPC) of Galway City Council where it received unanimous support from the
officials and councillors present. The proposal now goes to a full meeting of
the council for discussion. We hope that City Hall enthusiastically becomes a
fully-fledged leading active partner in this exciting endeavour to create a
city for the future that is ‘Green’ as well as ‘Smart’.
We have serious problems locally
including traffic congestion, urban sprawl, housing shortage, pollution and an
absence of rangers in our parks. But the council should be praised for making
positive strides on key environmental issues over the last few months including
adopting the All Ireland Pollinator Plan, appointing a Biodiversity Officer, and
putting forward proposals for public consultation on increasing the zones of attractive
pedestrianisation within the city centre.
However we as citizens should be
more ambitious. A safe city-wide access-for-all cycling, walking and public
transport infrastructure is long overdue. The main urban parks and waterways
must be connected via a network of ‘ecological corridors’, and wildlife
sanctuaries should be established. Planning regulations should encourage the
development of ‘urban villages’ and green features such as the use of renewable
energies, rooftop/vertical gardens, rainwater collection systems, community
green space and native planting areas.
The boreens (country lanes) in
the rural areas of the city such as Castlegar, Ballinfoile and Menlo should be
protected and promoted as walking routes. The Dyke Road has the unique potential
to be an inspiring green/blue hub out of which radiates the Connemara Greenway
(by constructing a bridge over the old railway pillars), the Terryland Forest
Park, a boreen network emanating out to the rural hinterland towards Coolough,
Carrowbrowne and beyond; and a Corrib waterways that stretches to Mayo.
In the past when City Hall came
together in a partnership approach with the wider community, extraordinary
unprecedented measures were achieved that placed Galway at the forefront of sustainability
and environmental care within Ireland. These included the establishment of the
country’s first pro-recycling 3 bin domestic waste collection system; the
Cash-for-Cans scheme and Ireland’s largest community urban woodlands project
(Terryland Forest Park).
In 2020, a united vision and a
spirit of togetherness in Galway can help us be part of creating a new more
caring post-Covid world where we work with the rest of Nature and not against
it.
Brendan Smith, interim convenor,
Galway National Park City
