Background:
The Abbeyleix Climate Action Project is supported by Creative Ireland Laois as part of the Creative Ireland Programme (2017-2022) in partnership with Laois County Council Heritage Office, Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and Midlands Science.
Solution:
The Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk is designed for the public to discover ceramic tiles dotted along Main Street Abbeyleix, and guide them along a walk which starts at Heritage House and ends at Abbeyleix Bog. A unique QR code is printed on each ceramic tile, which will trigger a mobile device to open an animation or video hosted on youtube. An online Story Map has also been published so anyone in the world can “virtually” follow the path of the walk. The Storymap is on the Climate Action section of the Laois County Council website HERE.
Benefits of Solution:
By encouraging people to walk it helps to reduce our carbon footprint aligning with Governmnets national emission targets.
Additionally, the project has a big impact in improving peoples physical and mental health by encouraging them to get outdoors and to engage with nature.
The Project helps people to engage with the science of climate change and to understand how we as individuals can have an impact on climate change. One of the best ways we can enable our society to address climate change effectively is to raise our overall level of scientific literacy and engage in actions and discussions on climate issues.
Climate Action begins at a local level and initiatives such as Abbeyleix Climate Action Walk serve as driving forces for other towns and cities in Ireland to follow suit.