A few years ago, who would have guessed that Skibbereen would be home to Olympic and World champion rowers? It just goes to show what can be done with talent, know-how and a lot of hard work.
Now let’s also work on tackling the climate crisis!
A group of local environmentally focussed organisations, led by Sustainable Skibbereenand Green Skibbereen,has set up a Sustainable Energy Community (SEC). The steering committee is spearheaded by Liam McLaughlin, a local expert on alternative energy and energy conservation.
The SECis committed to making Skibbereen carbon neutral by 2040 with an interim goal of a 50% reduction on energy-related emissions by 2030. These goals match the science behind the Paris Agreement, signed in 2015. Carbon neutral means that there will be no net increase in the release of carbon dioxide, with a corresponding reduction in our dependency on the harmful burning of fossil fuels.
The SEC willdraw up an Energy Master Plan (EMP) for Skibbereen town in the course of 2022. Funding has been obtained from the Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland (SEAI) https://www.seai.ie/. The Master Plan will provide a pathway for the decarbonisation (reduction in carbon-dependent energy use) of homes, businesses, public services, and transport within the town.
The SEC calls itself Net Zero Skibbereen (NZS) and aims to achieve the target by engaging with the community and encouraging as many individuals and businesses as possible to learn about the causes and effects of climate change and to participate in efforts to decarbonise the town.
There are many challenges and barriers to achieving our goal. However, the benefits of reduced expenditure on energy, improved health and comfort are well worth the effort and will benefit everyone. After all, the downsides of continued inaction are potentially catastrophic in terms of extreme weather effects, rising sea levels, and biodiversity loss.
Ambitious? Yes! Will we achieve it? Like the Olympians, we can use the available talent and work hard in the right direction. We hope to raise as much, if not more, public support for this project as the Olympic rowers generated.
Anyone from the Skibbereen locality is more than welcome to get involved in this ambitious and critical initiative. Please contact netzeroskibb@gmail.com. As soon as a public meeting is called you’ll hear it first.Here, and on our Sustainable SkibbereenFacebook page!
Waste management. I cannot believe this is not mentioned as part of the Development plan as it is integral if areas are to have increased housing and business. While Ireland currently recycles 33% of all plastics, higher than most EU countries, that figure needs to rise to 50% in 2025 and 55% by 2030 to meet EU targets. 40% of all municipal waste is recycled. But where?
General. Recycling and waste bring centres should be expanded and rationalised so that a visitor is clear what materials are taken and the same things are taken across the county. Each centre should also have the facility to take some domestic rubbish especially in small towns where the surrounding areas may not have door to door collection.Skibbereen has just adopted this scheme, which, although expensive, is appreciated. Recycling of cans and bottles is well established, but a deposit scheme for glass bottles would save on energy (Energy) if they were washed and reused. A collect and return scheme would be needed to get them back to the manufacturer or a bottle sanitising plant. Which could return the clean bottles to the manufacturer in the same way the new ones were sent out for filling.
Recycling systems can include a more rigorous sorting of materials into say plastic bottles, soft plastic and black plastic to improve prices fetched for recyclable material.
Communities could be funded to set up repair cafes. An attempt in Skibbereen was scuppered by the lack of insurance cover. Insurance companies need to be held to account for their refusal to cover community schemes. O’Donovan’s hotel in Clonakilty had to stop the rent a bike scheme through lack of insurance. This needs addressing countywide and nationwide. Repair cafes and freecycle groups keep materials out of the waste stream for longer and provide opportunities for socialising and innovative business. (Community). Principles of the circular economy should be adopted to keep as much material in circulation for as long as possible in its different forms before it finally goes for recycling.
Recycling Centre with more space could devote and area for people to buy or take for free others unwanted but usable items. Skibbereen has Lisheens House which takes used furniture and sells it for funds and is a much valued resource for furniture and for assistance with mental health.
Food waste: The average household in Ireland is responsible for 117kgs of Food Waste pa. Provision of land for allotments and community gardens in town areas provide not only a space to restore well being and meet others, but also a place to grow food.(Community) This reduces food miles (Energy), is more likely to be produced organically (Biodiversity) and can provide composting areas to keep food and vegetable waste out of the urban waste stream. One Green Village Baltimore is setting up such a scheme. In areas where this cannot happen, collection points at the local recycling centres could be serviced by local farmers or other enterprise with space and facilities to compost efficiently. Money could be recouped by selling bags of compost. Tidy towns and other interested parties could be involved in smaller scale ventures, perhaps on street and housing estate level. This is being looked at by Sustainable Skibbereen. Local food markets selling local food reducing food miles (Energy) should be encouraged as people tend to bring their own bags and only buy what they need, rather than the ‘two for one’ special offers encouraging over buying where often the second often unwanted portion lands up in the bin.
Plastic.
It is quite clear that plastic has become a major pollutant of land, sea and more recently, air.
Another huge issue is the pollution of the seas, beaches and coastline especially by plastics. A lot of this is in the form of ghost fishing nets found at sea, but also it is clear that on some piers, Baltimore being an example, uncontrolled waste due to net maintenance, where small pieces of cut off nets are left lying around and blow straight into the sea, as is quite evident from the plastic collected from nearby beaches by volunteers. These could be hoovered up from the pier as soon as the net maintenance is finished if there was the machine and enough pressure to do so. The harbour masters should be educated to see the problems of waste plastic in the oceans and given the responsibility of clearing up everything. In my experience some people ignore the small pieces as the large nets are put to one side. Collection of plastics from the sea by boats is encouraged but it is common knowledge that a lot of rubbish is still thrown overboard out of sight of land. County Cork could work towards a more responsible fishing industry community and port management. The County spends a considerable amount in disposal of unwanted nets collected at port and the reason for this waste could be examined with the purpose of reducing it. The leisure craft side also holds a huge responsibility here. (Maritime Cork)
The Blue Flags awarded to beaches should include an element where the rubbish on the beach is included in the assessment for the award. (Green infrastructure). This should be made clear on the beaches themselves and visitors encouraged to take their litter home. On the busier beaches in the summer a beach patrol could be set up a mix of funded workers and volunteers to make visitors aware of the damage done to wildlife and a bit of fun around clearing up.
Ultimately because the plastics industry is driven by the oil industry and the marketing of plastic products is production driven not consumer led, there is a huge role for government on local, national and European levels. Presently the responsibility for disposal is pushed squarely in the shoulders of the consumer and the costs of disposal / recycling borne by them and the County Council. The choice of wrappings in the supermarkets is skewed in the case of fruit and veg towards plastic wrapped fruit as it is usually cheaper and so much easier to pick up one pack rather than select 6 individual apples for example. Plastic is an amazing product which does its job exceedingly well but it shouldn’t be an instantly disposable product. We have only got to this stage because the cost of disposal/ recycling has not been taken into account in the manufacture. This has to be reversed. And less plastic used in wrapping will also reduce the amount of plastic rubbish strewn in our hedgerows and beaches. It is difficult to see how to dissuade the section of public who throw rubbish out of car windows and dump bags in the countryside.
Although Ireland recycles 40% of its waste, recycling of plastics has been shown to be a poor system. In the best of worlds it can only be recycled a small number of times and only 9% is generally recycled. How does Cork County Council check that what is sent for recycling actually gets recycled? This is an important question in the light of recent reports where UK recycling has been found on Turkish beaches. Technologies should be looked at where plastic can be recycled locally ( Energy) or turned back into oil by pyrolysis to use as a raw material Incineration is a short term answer and its value increased by producing heat or electricity, but it is controversial as unless very carefully run it produces air pollutants. Incineration should not therefore be relied on as a way to remove plastic waste. Certain plastics can be used to produce long lasting structural plastics for domestic and commercial use such as fences and outdoor structures. This could be more easily achieved by better sorting of plastics at the source of collection to provide a cleaner supply. Deposit on bottles is a system long operated successfully in Germany. There is no reason why the reverse vending machines cannot be used in Ireland. Wy not start in County Cork? The Refill program for drinking water refilling stations reduces the need for plastic bottles of water (Energy). This is already in place I Skibbereen and Baltimore and could be further be rolled out in Cork County with the help of community groups, such as One Green Village Zero Waste and Tidy Towns. Keep cups are a growing trend but it has been up to individuals to take this up. Coffee outlets need to be encouraged, perhaps by. Increasing the tax on single use cups and reducing tax on the keep cups. The County Council and UCC have set a good example here by banning the disposables. While some single use plastics are being banned, the Council should take the matter to Government to reduce the production of the single use plastics again maybe by taxation and invest in development to produce long lasting reusable containers for transport of goods which can be taken back up the supply chain to be refilled. This could happen if suppliers got together to streamline container designs and rationalise supply chains. Tax incentives could work with supermarkets given a break if they adopt such schemes. Compostible containers have their place but it’s often confusing as to whether they are fully compostable in the domestic situation or whether they need high temperature composting by commercial facilities. Plastic producers could accordingly be taxed on the amount of material used for single use plastic bags for instance, or given the responsibility of their disposal or recycling. If being imported from outside the EU plastic rich products could be subject to higher import tax. The number of different types of plastic should also be reduced to enable easier recycling. The council could continue the analysis of their own (plastic) waste and look to its reduction. There could be prizes and recognition for companies who reduce their waste by a given amount.
Textiles usually include some synthetic forms these days, so a form of plastic. Waste is partly created by cheap imported clothing, items being worn very few times before discarding. Charity shops and others selling second hand clothing could have rates reductions as they are keeping clothing out of the waste stream. Enterprises using used cloth and other materials could be encouraged though schools and universities
Another increase in points for Skibbereen Tidy Towns this year, rising to 7 out 39 towns in West Cork! (not that it is a competition).
Great mentions of the work of Sustainable Skibbereen in general and Zero Waste, Herbville, Men’s Sheds, Incredible Edible, Schools Group and Wildlife Project in particular.
From the judges report
“We were particularly impressed by the number of community and voluntary groups who help you out with Incredible Edible Skibbereen, the plastic recyding project, the Herbville project, the Wildlife Project and Mens Sheds all actively engaged in your work. Your communication strategy is both comprehensive and effective with both traditional and digital communication methods used. We were delighted to read that your committee have built up a close partnership with many of the schools in the town and that schoolchildren are now involved in a range of exciting projects.
It is also pleasing to see that additional tree planting (in partnership with the schools) is taking place and the Herbville initiative (started by the sustainable Skibbereen group and helped by Mens Shed) is applauded
We applaud your decision to undertake a wildlife scoping study over the next three years and we note and appreciate the aims of this study.
The range of excellent projects under way in St Patricks Boys School which include planting the herb spiral, keeping chickens, growing organic fruit and vegetables, making compost, planting native trees and hosting workshops for West Cork primary educators is applauded. The excellent work of the new Gaelscoil, Abbeystrewry National School. St Josephs National School, the Skibbereen Community School and the Sustainable Skibbereen Group is similarly impressive and we urge them to keep these high-quality projects up.
The Incredible Edible Skibbereen initiative is wonderful and we wondered if it is possible to quantify how many locals are growing food and what impact it is having. Perhaps a survey could be undertaken of the participants to establish this? The zero waste Skibbereen group is a wonderful initiative and we encourage you to run follow-up events to monitor what it’s 90+ members are doing and the impact it is having on waste minimisation and sustainable resource use. Recording the results of all of the above actions and the other laudable initiatives set out in your application form will enable you to quantify the overall impact of all of this work and allow you to conclude more environmentally sustainable behaviour is taking place.
heloo he
We are a collaboration of groups based in Skibbereen working to make our town and environment attractive and sustainable .
Our members include Skibbereen Tidy Towns, Chamber of Commerce, Incredible Edible, Apple Town, Herb Ville, Plastic Recycling Project, Wildlife Group, Men’s Sheds, Skibbereen Walks and Zero Waste. We are a not-for-profit organisation supported financially by Cork County Council, The Gwendoline Harold Barry Trust, Skibbereen Chamber of Commerce and Tidy Towns. We are working with the Heritage Centre, Schools, Russagh Mill Hostel, Taste of West Cork Food Festival and Co-Action.
“Sustainable Development in Ireland sets out the challenges and options to ensure that quality of life and general well-being can be improved and sustained. Translating these goals is simple. It starts with each individual, in the community, taking a first step. Many people are already contributing to a sustainable future in their day to day lives. Many others only need to make small adjustments to everyday actions to reach the Sustainable Development goals. Education and awareness initiatives can help us meet these Goals”. Tidy Towns Ireland.
“The EU Next Steps for a Sustainable European Future 2030 is committed to development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. A life of dignity for all within the planet’s limits that reconciles economic prosperity and efficiency, peaceful societies, social inclusion and environmental responsibility is at the essence of sustainable development.’
next-steps-sustainable-europe-2016
We have started a number of projects around the town to protect and enhance its environment. We will be launching soon with a website and full information about our projects.
In the meantime please click the link below to our contact form and send us a message and/or ask to be kept informed by joining our emailing list.
You can message us and be kept informed by clicking the link here, and joining our mailing list. Volunteers, collaborators, suggestions, donations and offers of help all welcome.
Chair: Bev Cotton, Vice Chair: Paul Granaghan, Treasurer: Susan Boland. Address c/o Russagh Mill Hostel, Castletownsend Rd. email contact@sustainableskibbereen.com tel: 089 4352675 Bank TSB Skibbereen.
Calling all residents and business owners in Skibbereen.
We are hosting a WEEK LONG clean up before theSuperValu Ireland national tidy towns judging competition commences next week!!
Every night Monday to Friday this week we will be going out doing one big clean sweep of the town. Meeting at 7 PM behind the Fairfield bar.
Can you come out just one night and help us?
Think how you could improve your own premises:
– Brushing
– weeding the footpath
– cleaning moss from the base of your building
– washing windows
– power hosing your building
– painting your building or gates
– hanging flower baskets or putting out pots of plants
We lose marks every year in the competition due to unkept premises, litter and especially cigarette butts!
Please rally together this week and see what you can do for beautiful Skibbereen! 😊
Let’s win silver this year!!
SKIBBEREEN TIDY TOWNS MULTI ANNUAL PLAN 2018 – 2021
Skibbereen is a market town with a population of approximately 2000 people in the urban area. It serves a hinterland of about 10,000 within a ten mile radius.
It has a busy cattle mart, the NCT and driving licence centre for West Cork, 1gb Digital Hub (The Ludgate Centre) and is the gateway to the Mizen. So it’s a busy place.
Our committee has worked ceaselessly over the years, always trying to improve and upgrade the town and it hasn’t always been easy.
However, in 2018 Skibbereen faces enormous challenges, the lion’s share of which are infrastructural.
Briefly we are in the throes of a flood relief plan which will continue for the next one and a half to two years. Added to that we are awaiting the appointment of a County Council architect to implement a plan which has already been drawn up, but which so far we have not been given sight of. Our local council rep has also been replaced with an official with a wider brief who no longer has the time to meet with us or with the Chamber of Commerce so our ability to liaise and plan locally is restricted. FAS have had problems with recruitment which has reduced the number of FAS people working with us from 11 to 4. In view of the above, we have decided to aim our plans for this year and next, at establishing really good relationships with all our other business and community partners highlighting different projects that are within our grasp while we lobby and wait for the infrastructure to be sorted. In the longer term the flood relief work will leave the town in better shape, and we are working with those engineers to plan for the landscaping and greening of the areas affected.
We have a number of goals, which have a three year time span;
Targets: presentations to 50 schools and groups by 2019. Collaboration on 10 projects by 2019
Targets: 6 training sessions on Zero Waste and Sustainability and promotion of the Sustainable 7 across the town by 2019
Target: launch of SS website and social media summer 2018. Establish annual funding for SS for 2019 onwards.
Target: 10 local businesses to work with us on waste management by 2020
Targets: E.g. Apple Town, our goal is to plant 2020 apple trees by 2020, in all the schools, housing estates, and any available green areas. A sub committee of Incredible Edible and Herb Ville are working on a similar planting plan which has huge benefits for all the members of our community. The plans over two years include planting 20 herb boxes around the town, sponsored by local businesses and organisations and supported by herb growers and schools, with accompanying culinary and educational materials. Wildlife project aims to enlist the support of Heritage Centre, West Cork Birdwatch, Wildflower groups and whale watching groups by 2019.
Target: 50 new flower and bird boxes and beehives by 2020
Target: Initial report by May 2019. Signage and literature by 2019. 5 projects launched for completion by 2020
Target: Work with Chamber of Commerce and other SS groups to establish regular liaison and co-working meetings with CC by 2019. Increase the no of FAS workers to 10 by 2019. Plan and develop a bird friendly observation garden in North Street overlooking the river for use by schools, in conjunction with flood engineers and CCC.
Target: 5 regular sponsors of TT and SS projects by 2020, with annual fundraising efforts to raise 5000 pa in total.
Target: 3 wildlife trails by 2020.
Target: 4 new collaborative projects on town maintenance by 2020
Target: full dossier of photos by end 2018. Regular annual updates for 2019 and 2020.
Target: 20,000 annual hits to website and 1000 followers on FB and twitter by 2020.
Target: Build on and promote the 3 tidy towns walks and annual walking festival with wildlife walks, Friends of the Rock walks and riverside walks by 2020. Develop and promote walk to work and walk to school initiatives.
Target: 10 sub groups of SS permanently established by 2020 covering the full range of TT annual competition categories.
Target: To triple the number of regular volunteers attending TT meet-ups, litter picking days and Sustainable Skibbereen working groups from 10 to 30 by 2020. To increase the wider number of volunteers working on other Sustainable Skibbereen projects from 25 to 75.
We hope that you will find this plan useful, and will help you understand our current limitations.
There is more detail in the actual application form, which should supplement the information you need.
We are a voluntary group working in Skibbereen towards the National Tidy Towns aim “to encourage communities to improve their local environment and make their area a better place to live, work and visit”.
Regular planting sessions around the town during the spring and summer. Usually on a Tuesday evening. We plant beds, tubs and borders along the approach roads, in the streets and parks around Skibbereen. Through our involvement in the other Sustainable Skibbereen groups we are also involved in wildlife, recycling and composting.
We also organise litter picking days in and around the town and at Lough Hyne.
If you are interested in becoming involved with Skibbereen Tidy Towns contact 0876220132
