Irish people are taking positive actions for our climate and momentum is building
It is fitting that a column about change has to face change itself and today’s is my final Game Changer
Game Changers
The nature restoration law that will throw up some interesting design challenges
Game Changers: Biodversity Net Gain is now a legal in the UK stipulates any development has to result in ‘measurable’ biodiversity improvement
Climate Heroes app has helped 60 communities across Ireland take climate action
Game Changers: The app ‘is very good at showing people the stuff that is most worth doing from a carbon-saving point of view’
Six lessons learned from nine months of driving an electric car
Game Changers: I’ve driven across Ireland, to France and around the UK, discovering the joys of charging in three countries
Could the Miyawaki method of planting trees help prevent vandalism in urban areas?
Game Changers: A tree-planting pilot project in the UK shows promising results in tackling antisocial behavior
Seaweed burgers: a new product aims to reduce the meat in burgers while improving their taste
Game Changers: A plant in Co Donegal will dry seaweed to produce flakes of SeaMeat, which can replace 25% of the meat in a burger
Our relationship with nature can reshape our whole world, if we allow it
Game Changers: We have been taught over generations to see the role of nature in our lives as unimportant. For us to survive and thrive, that message needs to change
The best technique for breathing well? Start by moving away from your screens
Game Changers: ‘Email apnoea’ and ‘screen apnoea’ can trigger shallow breathing, which in turn puts our bodies in fight or flight mode
We can eat ourselves and our planet healthier with wise food choices
Game Changers: System change from the top down will allow us to continue to eat happily for generations to come
How ‘green’ is our national day of celebration? St Patrick’s Festival organisers count the cost
Game Changers: This year festival organisers will be calculating the carbon emitted and waste produced during our biggest hooley
Bringing a garden-sharing scheme to new neighbourhoods
Game Changers: ‘People find this project so positive. There are very deep emotions around having space’
Get new season fashion thrills without breaking the bank or the planet
Game Changers: Game Changers: Take a fresh approach to buying ‘new’ clothes
Tree-planting season is upon us, and projects like ‘Trini-trees’ offer a model way to get growing
Game Changers: Take wild-seeded trees from places where they’re not wanted and let them grow where they are needed - it’s a no-brainer
Small but mighty: The power of the pea for a new generation of growers
Game Changers: Why not eschew avocados and chickpeas for home-grown plant protein?
‘Biodiversity is not just about planting trees and having flowers for the bees. It’s about fresh water, food, fibre, tech’
Game Changers: Bioscientist and entrepreneur Lucy Gaffney is leading an initiative aimed at helping businesses become nature positive
Building a better future with materials rescued from the scrap heap
Game Changers: Habitat ReStore chain of shops carefully dismantles old kitchens to be reused elsewhere
How to make supermarket chains account for their environmental impact
Game Changers: New rules will put our food system under a harsh spotlight that no amount of pictures of lush fields and smiling people leaning on farm gates will blur
Support barn owls, donate a tree, rescue wild animals: last-minute presents for nature lovers
Game Changers: These Christmas gifts to nature can be bought at the tap of a button
We’re proud of our dairy heritage, so why is our organic butter shipped in from Germany?
Game Changers: Transitioning to organic dairy could reduce greenhouse gas emissions of the average farm by 40%
Growing vegetables is a dying art in Ireland. This man has a solution
Game Changers: Peadar Lynch’s Cherry Orchard garden salads are an example of how healthy food can be grown locally, organically and sustainably
Birdsong is being lost to noise pollution. We must fight for the few sanctuaries left
Game Changers: Ceding Lime Avenue to traffic in a climate and biodiversity emergency is a backward step
How green are city trees? Not as green as you think
Game Changers: The average tree newly arrived in a city takes 16 years to absorb its own carbon footprint
How to make farms more climate resilient? The solution is simple: trees
Game Changers: The monoculture farm that only produces one thing is a model that suits food businesses, not farming ones
The Burren provides one of the world’s most profound lessons
Game Changers: Winterage weekend highlights a way of farming more in harmony with our place in the natural world
The Liffey is filthy, but can you imagine if it was clean enough to swim in?
Game Changers: Making the Liffey swimmable could be life-changing for communities who don’t live in wealthy seaside neighbourhoods
Nowadays, we recognise car logos more easily than we can identify trees
Game Changers: A 15-year-old climate activist who presents RTÉ Junior’s Ecolution, a brilliant podcast reconnecting children with the natural world
An ingenious plan to turn hospital aprons and food waste into compost
Game Changers: The HaPPE compostable apron and biodigester system can be used to create relaxing gardens for patients and staff
A sustainable new Irish wetsuit made from oyster shells and sugar cane
Game Changers: The vast majority of wetsuits are made from neoprene, a synthetic rubber created from petroleum
Childhood friends aim to put the wild things back in our hearts
Game Changers: Hannah Gallagher and Laura Buchanan’s new book Wild Things draws on the importance of connecting with nature
A simple way to save money and cut the carbon cost of your clothes washing
Game Changers: It dries the clothes using a combination of solar and wind power - it’s your washing line
Building for the future: no more suburban sprawl, no more loss of green space
Game Changers: The Irish Green Building Council is attempting to rebalance the relationship between nature and buildings
A simple solution to climate problems faced by cities: soil and plants
Game Changers: Native trees and shrubs are vital to our urban landscapes
Restoring the great woods of Aughty ‘reminds us of the profound importance of our ancient forests’
Game Changers: The Woodland League in Clare explore a future where forests can be managed according to a deeper wisdom
This new Dublin allotment is a little piece of urban heaven
Game Changers: Blarney Park Allotments in Crumlin has grown out of a wasteland of burned-out rubbish
The best refillable water bottle? Here’s my favourite
Game Changers: A refillable bottle makes every kind of sense: it’s cheaper, healthier and better for the environment
Slow Flower power is all about the local and the seasonal
Home-grown floristry sector shows it doesn’t have to dominated by lorry logistics, fossil fuels, excess water consumption, pesticides and ‘Packed in Ireland’ stickers
Nature-based solutions for happier and healthier cities
Game Changers: An art exhibition at the Olivier Cornet Gallery in Dublin explores the relationship between trees and people in urban spaces
The soapmakers regenerating a farm in Co Meath
Game Changers: Founders of the Handmade Soap Company bought a farm 2km from their factory in Slane village
Derek Mooney: ‘The easiest way into wildlife is with a wildlife garden’
Game Changers: Derek Mooney’s new documentary highlights nature success stories across Europe, ‘like a Eurovision for wildlife’
Plastic cups, disposable plates and a sea of abandoned tents: Can festivals ever be ecofriendly?
Game Changers: Body & Soul is setting itself ambitious targets with the aim of becoming one of Ireland’s most sustainable festivals
Renting a Tesla is an eye-opening experience
Game Changers: This car’s personality is a weird mix of nervous nelly and boy racer. Good car. Bad car
It’s been a tough spring for frogs. Here’s how you can help
Game Changers: Ponds are a great way to give wildlife a helping hand
Why is a fossil fuel firm allowed to sponsor a high-profile children’s art competition?
Game Changers: The tide is turning against advertising and sponsorship by fossil fuel companies like Texaco
Can you imagine the impact of your actions on your great-great-great-great-grandchildren?
Game Changers: Every decision we make today should take into consideration seven generations of people ahead of us
Earth Day: 55 reasons to be hopeful for our future, by Michael D Higgins, Colm O’Regan, Ella McSweeney, Manchán Magan and many more . . .
Irish activists, environmentalists, thinkers and doers on the actions and initiatives that give them hope for our future on planet Earth. Illustrations by Anne O'Hara
Love clothes, but also love the planet? Join the Fashion Revolution
Game Changers: This global movement encourages fashion-lovers to buy differently, repair, swap and pressure manufacturers to change
The greenest way to mow your lawn this summer
Game Changers: For No Mow May we’re encouraged to let grass grow but if you need space for playing or paths there is another way
How to face the mess we’re in without going crazy
Game Changers: Reflecting on a day of big open-ended questions that let us talk about a topic that can feel too daunting to mention
Wild Embrace: Joining the dots of environmental and human health crises
Game Changers: Anja Murray’s book is scattered with nature hacks, simple ways to connect us to the living world that is in us and everywhere around us
‘There are two main reasons for burning land. Both involve cold hard cash’
Game Changers: This year hillsides in west Cork and Kerry blazed again, to the exhaustion of firefighters and the despair of wildlife lovers
From a common love of beetroot, a small hopeful spark
Game Changers: A Space to Grow matches garden owners with people who would love to grow food
The clothes swappers combatting fashion waste, one skirt and shirt at a time
Game Changers: Change Clothes Crumlin is holding its largest Dublin clothes swap this weekend
Healing space: A weekend retreat where the focus is on emotional and mental wellbeing
Game Changers: Gerri’s Place provides breaks for people suffering from anxiety or depression and in need of ‘time and space out of life’
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