Fantastic turnout and support for the launch of the Kinsale Community Energy Project, on March 7th, which was hosted by Transition Town Kinsale. There was at least 60 + people, young and old, including local residents and businesses from within the community. The Chamber was represented by Kilcaw House B&B, Actons Hotel and The Trident Hotel, who openly supported the project by offering to take part in The Energy Master Plan for the area.
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Contributors: Elizabeth Creed (acting coordinator), Tara
Shine, Madeline Murray, Andy Ashford, Piluca Garcia
A vibrant and resilient economy is based on societal
well-being and can only exist in a healthy environment. A key learning from the
survey carried out by ‘Inspired by Kinsale’ was the priority given by
respondents to both, looking after our environment, and how we plan for our
sustainable future. We may not talk in ‘zero or low carbon’
terms, but 76% of the respondents believe that Kinsale should be at the
forefront of climate action.
Echoing the Citizens’ Assembly recommendations to the houses
of the Oireachtas in 2018 there is a recognition that we need to do things
differently; and that our vison of a sustainable future must determine the
actions we now take across all sectors. What we do, and how we do it over the
next 12 years, is going to impact, more than any other time in history, the
‘place’ we leave for future generations.
As a town we understand that this pillar of environment /
sustainability isn’t an isolated pillar but needs to underpin our vision for
Kinsale and all the projects been undertaken under the ‘Future of Kinsale’
banner. We have identified four sectors not
covered by the other pillars – food, waste, energy and biodiversity. We will
look at these. But firstly, we’ll acknowledge
what we have been doing already so we can build on it:
Tidy Towns has worked for over 40 years to
promote Biodiversity in the area.
Kinsale College was the birthplace of the global
Transition Movement; the Permaculture course is internationally recognised.
Transition Town Kinsale has been working towards
our low carbon future since 2005 across many forums.
Plastic Free Kinsale created momentum in 2018
looking at how to reduce our use of single use plastics
Kinsale Environment Watch has been lobbying for
many years in the Cork area.
Table 1 outlines activity already ongoing under the
headings, food, waste, energy and biodiversity.
The first project we will undertake is awareness raising and
education which will empower us to recognise and take the actions to create our
sustainable future.
Food: Where
do we get our food from? Could more be sourced locally?
Energy: How could we be more energy efficient? Could
we power our own town?
Waste: Where does our waste go now? How could we
reduce our waste?
Biodiversity: What steps can we take to protect
the biodiversity of the area?
Workshops will give us the opportunity to explore where
Kinsale is now, and where it could be if we take action, or where it would be
if we make no changes to how we live our lives. Finally, to achieve success across the
projects undertaken by ‘Future of Kinsale’ we have to:
Engage with each other, reach consensus as to
what we want to achieve, acknowledge the risks and benefits while understanding
that some of the work we undertake may bring with it some disruption
temporarily! This initiative needs to earn what is described as its social
licence.
Work with the decision makers within Cork County
Council, and other state agencies, towards participatory engagement, and
decision-making.
Activities ongoing, and some proposals, under the sectors; food, energy,
waste and biodiversity. We hope to build
on these and we would love to see more people getting involved with their ideas
and their energy to get things done. Apologises for any omissions (this is a
working draft!)
Future Kinsale 