Catchment News

GAA launch a new Green Club programme

A new GAA Green Club programme will see 45 clubs and two regional venues explore a range of sustainability projects designed to enrich their physical and social environments.

The GAA Green Club Programme, supported by the County & City Management Association and the local authority Climate Action Regional Offices, is delivered in partnership with the LGFA and Camogie Association, with additional support from expert agencies across the five thematic focus areas of the programme, namely: Energy, Waste, Biodiversity, Water, Travel & Transport.

The expert partners for these themes are:

GAA Green Clubs logo

The all-Ireland nature of the initiative was reflected in the contribution to the online launch event by Eamon Ryan, Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications in the Republic and representatives of Northern Ireland Executive’s Department of Agriculture, Environment, and Rural Affairs.

The Green Club Phase One participants were selected from 220 clubs that responded earlier this year to a questionnaire designed to gauge interest in developing a Green Club initiative. The responses highlighted a wealth of sustainability work already being undertaken by GAA units and a desire to further contribute to the green agenda while future-proofing their communities and facilities.

Phase One will run for twelve months from December 2020 with the intention of amassing as much practical learnings from the participating clubs and venues as possible.

This will inform the creation of a GAA Green Clubs toolkit that will be made available to all GAA units in Ireland (1,600 clubs, plus county and provincial venues), replete with useful case studies, established partnership models, and funding avenues.

“The Green Clubs Project further demonstrates that at its core the GAA is a community-based organisation grounded in place. The project seeks to support our hard-working volunteers in future-proofing their club facilities while contributing to the sustainability of their community from an environmental and cultural perspective. It also demonstrates the GAA’s commitment as an official SDG Champion of the Irish government.”

GAA President, John Horan

“I am delighted to support the GAA Green Clubs initiative which will see practical sustainable solutions to tackle climate change implemented by clubs all over Ireland. The GAA has been a valuable partner in championing the Sustainable Development Goals. This initiative plays to the GAA’s strengths; by acting locally to tackle a global issue it will contribute to a reduction in CO2 emissions and build awareness of the challenges we face in dealing with climate change.”

Minister Eamon Ryan, TD

“When it comes to the environment it is only by working together that we can create the behavioural change that is necessary to manage our climate change and environmental risks. The GAA’s five thematic areas of energy, waste, water, biodiversity and transport, align well with my Department’s Green Growth objectives. The challenge I am setting is for Northern Ireland to use Green Growth to change behaviours and to turn climate change from an economic threat into an economic and environmental opportunity.

I believe the Green Clubs initiative has the potential to be a real catalyst for change, harnessing the energy and enthusiasm of not just the young players on the pitch. It draws in the club officials, their supporters their families and their communities. I hope my Department will be able to continue to explore with the GAA those areas where we can guide and support their activities.”

Minister Edwin Poots, MLA

Attendees of the online launch on Wednesday evening heard Padraig Fallon of the Clan na Gael club in Dundalk outline a recent energy saving project the club undertook with significant outcomes. The project involved major insulation, ventilation, and maintenance works, including switching to LED bulbs throughout their campus, and has resulted in annual energy and maintenance savings of €10,000, vastly improved lighting on their playing pitches while achieving an annual reduction in CO2 emissions of 30 tonnes.

The club submitted an SEAI grant application through Louth Co. Co./Louth Energy Sustainable Energy Community, receiving 50% funding for the project. The club contributed the remaining balance through a seven-year loan paid by savings on their reduced energy spend.

Clan na Gael is one of three mentoring clubs selected, due to their significant existing work and plans in the field of sustainability, to participate in Phase One of the Green Club Programme, along with Mullingar Shamrocks, Westmeath, and Culloville Blues, Armagh. A Green Club Working Group, involving representation from all stakeholders, is overseeing the implementation of Phase One of the project.

Learn more:

For further information or media interviews, please contact: greenclubs@gaa.ie

You can also visit www.gaa.ie/community for more information

Who is involved?

Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

LAWCO

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

EPA

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

DECLG

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.