Over the past few months Quentin Crowley, Director of Trinity Centre for the Environment, Trinity College Dublin and Trinity IKC3 project lead, and Subhash Chandra, Assistant Professor in Climate Innovation, Trinity College Dublin, had the pleasure of working on a community-based education programme called SISEC (Systems Innovation for Sustainable Enterprise and Communities). Quentin and Subhash worked closely with Laois County Council, who came forward as a local challenge owner, linking IKC3 with the Portlaoise community. Together, they co-created a pilot programme to share knowledge and ideas about local climate action to contribute to the Portlaoise Low Carbon Town project.
There were 45 local participants taking part in the project from different sectors, and different educational and professional backgrounds. Throughout the project the participants received customised training via a series of online and in-person workshops to better understand the complexity of the sustainability challenges they face. This resulted in a portfolio of projects to help Laois County Council with their overarching challenge of decarbonising the Irish Midlands.
This week saw the culmination of this IKC3 based education programme with a SISEC Summit on May 8th. During the summit, we had the opportunity to further develop and share project ideas to decarbonise the Midlands of Ireland, and specifically Portlaoise town.
IKC3 would like to thank Suzanne Dempsey, Climate Action Coordinator and Dr. Karen Moore, Community Climate Action Officer and all their colleagues at Laois County Council for their leadership, and for being so flexible with their approach in developing the programme.
“Thank you for your unwavering dedication and commitment. Together, we can make a meaningful difference in building a more sustainable and resilient future for our community and beyond.” Suzanne Dempsey to the IKC3 co-ordinators, “Your collective guidance and mentorship were crucial in fostering the high level of engagement and collaboration that has characterised our journey together.”
If you would like to take part in this programme you can find out more information here or contact info@ikc3.ie.
