Workshops will be taking place in the midlands to assess community need for training to engage with their local peatlands.
Connecting Communities with Peatlands, the Just Transition Fund project which launched on October 18, in Co. Offaly, is hosting the workshops in Laois; Offaly; Longford; Roscommon; east Galway; north Tipperary; Kildare; and Westmeath.
The workshops will take place in each county throughout the month of November and carrying into early December.
The priority of Connecting Communities with Peatlands is to provide transitioning supports to community-led groups in the wider midlands region by supporting community engagement with peatlands.
The project is led by Irish Rural Link and the Community Wetlands Forum.
Community involvement in peatlands conservation
“A ‘just transition’ refers to the transition or change that a community experiences when climate action policies impact the community’s economic and social activities,” Irish Rural Link said.
“Communities in the midlands have been impacted by the closure of peat harvesting plants and the move away from extracting and burning peat for energy to establish renewable energy sources and rehabilitate peatlands for the storage of carbon, in line with national and EU climate action policies.
“This kind of transition can be very difficult for communities if the process does not include them.
“Irish Rural Link and the Community Wetlands Forum realise the importance of community involvement in conservation of peatlands.
“The intended outcome of the project is to have community groups across the midlands engaging in their own projects in relation to their local peatland, which in turn can support the local economy.”