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A call for
the political, community, environmental, business and sports sectors to work
together in transforming Galway into Ireland’s first National Park City has
been made by a local science, environmental and community advocate. Brendan
Smith, Galway’s current Volunteer of the Year, has said that the city should
follow the recent example of London where Mayor Sadiq Khan has put his full
support behind ambitious plans for London to become the world’s first urban
national park.
“Such a
status would not in any devalue the traditional designation of a National Park
which is about protecting wildlife in natural environments located in rural
countryside or marine areas. It would be a new type of park designation in
which people and biodiversity could live in mutual benefit. Galwegians could
become world pioneers in helping to create something this is so urgently needed
as we are becoming an increasingly urbanized planet with over half of the
global population now living in cities and where scientific research is clearly
showing that our disconnect with Nature is impacting negatively on our
wellbeing as well on the health of the planet. Many of the serious challenges facing Galway as with many
other cities such as obesity, mental health, low community cohesion, poor air
quality, pollution, high waste levels, illegal dumping, car-based traffic
gridlock, urban sprawl, sterile green spaces, flooding, biodiversity loss and
the negative impact of climate change could be overcome by becoming an Urban
National Park.
“A ‘Green’ identity
for Galway would complement our Arts and Science-Technology characteristics. The city already has enormous
advantages due to its physical and human geography. It is located at
the juncture of the Atlantic Ocean, the world famous natural landscapes of
Connemara and the Lough Corrib/Mask waterways that reach deep into the
hinterland of rural Mayo. It will become the terminus for the proposed
Dublin-to-Galway cycleway and the starting point for the Connemara Greenway
which is garnering enthusiastic support in the west of the county. With twenty per cent plus of its
landmass classified as green space that comprises wide range of natural
wildlife habitats including coastline, woodlands, bogs, hedgerows, farmland, karst
limestone outcrops, wetlands, lakes, rivers and canals. There is
also still in existence a plethora of almost forgotten rural laneways or
botharíns on the outer perimeters of the city, a remnant of its rural heritage
that could easily become a network of walking and cycling trails. Just as importantly the city
has a proud tradition over the last few decades of community environmental
activism that has led to major successes that have helped protect biodiversity
and enhance the quality of life of its citizens.
During the early part of the
last decade, Galway was at the forefront of urban ecology initiatives in
Ireland due to an active collaboration based on mutual trust between a diverse
range of stakeholders that included Galway City Council, third level colleges,
ecologists and local communities. This partnership led to the city in 2000 creating
Ireland’s largest urban forest park in the Terryland-Castlegar district that
with over with 90,000 native Irish trees has become a major natural ‘carbon
sink’, the rolling out of the country’s first three bin pro-recycling domestic
waste system in 2001 and in introducing the first municipal cash-for-cans
scheme a few years later.
Other eco-initiatives soon followed including a
mapping of the city’s diverse habitats, a growing neighbourhood organic garden
movement and the mapping of a 25km looped heritage cycle trail along its rural
perimeter. Over the last few years eco-initiatives such as Outdoor Classrooms
for schools, development of wildflower bee-friendly meadows, restoration of
traditional drystone walls and the creation of a series of roosts for bat
colonies have occurred due to the energetic work of volunteers. We can continue
to harness the enthusiasm and power of local communities, schools, retired
associations and youth groups through novel schemes such as a volunteer park
rangers and nature trail guides to make the vision of an Urban National Park a
reality. But we need to do more if we are to create a sustainable green city of
the future. We must become a laboratory for new smart sensor technologies and
transform our planning policies in order to integrate renewable energies, a
safe walking/cycling/public transport infrastructure, rainwater harvesting, green
roofs, neighbourhood farming and urban villages of cohesive communities into
our city’s fabric.
Following the example of London, taking advantage of our Green Leaf
designation and realising our city must do something radical to protect
biodiversity, absorb population growth and secure a quality of life for its
citizenry in a time of climate change that could be devastating to the planet,
the drive to create a Urban National Park could be our salvation.
“At a Green Leaf themed meeting last week attended by city officials,
environmentalists and community activists, the idea was very well received. There
is a need now for all stakeholders to come together to plan out the principles for
such a designation and put together a multi-sectoral team with a unity of
purpose to start implementing the process."
