Dublin

How is Dublin utilising parks to make the city greener and more resilient?

Bronagh Loughlin — Fri, 17 May 2024 08:16:34 +0000

How is Dublin utilising parks to make the city greener and more resilient?

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Sustainable City

Urban Planning

Dublin

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Sustainable City

As cities grow, access to open green spaces within the city is at a premium, and research has shown that we need nature for our well-being.

Green cities have become a buzzword in the last few years, and this has shifted the approach to designing and managing projects within the Parks Services at Dublin City Council.

These types of cities prioritise environmental sustainability by integrating green spaces and developing sustainable infrastructure in our urban environment besides implementing sustainable water management practices, permeable paving and green infrastructure that mitigate flooding and conserve water resources.

On top of the environmental benefits, cities should champion green spaces, which have been linked to improved mental health and reduced stress levels.

Deirdre Prince, Landscape Architect and Parks Officer for the Central Parks District in Dublin City Council (DCC), works on park projects in the Central District area and highlights that any available green space with the built environment has to work very hard to deliver for all stakeholders.

“The challenge is to incorporate as many environmental uses as efficiently while still creating beautiful spaces for people to enjoy, whether it is creating areas for pollinators, implementing Suds (Sustainable Urban Draining Systems), growing trees to absorb particulate matter or creating amenity space for the public,”

she explains.

Green spaces in cities are essential to mitigate climate risks and improve people`s well-being. Image: Canva

Dublin City Council Parks Services are already protecting the natural environment and driving biodiversity in various ways.

They are increasing the urban tree canopy, creating green or wildlife corridors within the city, incorporating green infrastructure into urban planning projects, and eliminating the use of pesticides to protect pollinators and other beneficial insects.

“One area I feel we should pay attention to is the identification of locations within our city that could have potential for habitat restoration, such as wetlands, canals, and riparian zones along rivers and streams. In the current climate, landscape architects need to consider a range of factors to create resilient and sustainable landscapes,” Deirdre shares.

She stresses the importance of designing landscapes that are resilient to the impacts of climate change, such as increased temperatures, extreme weather events, drought and flooding.

“We need to select planting which is drought-tolerant or dry-loving to withstand periods of low or no rain,” Deirdre adds, noting that it also involves incorporating more green infrastructure to manage storm-water run-off and designing adaptable spaces that can withstand changing environmental conditions.

John Stack, Senior Executive Engineer at the Protection of Water Bodies office in Dublin City Council, shares that under the Water Framework Directive, EU member states are required to develop River Basin Management Plans, and each project involves measures and actions to improve water quality.

He also works on several projects that involve nature-based solutions, all of which are at different stages.

One of these is the Santry River Restoration and Greenway Project, a legislative initiative that envisions the future of the Santry River as an attractive river park flowing through North Dublin as an integrated green-blue landscape for ecology and amenity.

“This landscape will become the backbone of a new green infrastructure project to facilitate nature, pedestrians and cyclists and form a route from the biosphere of Dublin Bay to St Anne’s Park to Dublin’s winter hinterlands at Sillogue.”

To ensure that the project met people's needs, they invited locals and communities from the planning phase to suggest what they would like to see in this area and express their concerns. In saying that, he points out that there is hesitancy and apprehension about leveraging nature-based solutions rather than traditional methods due to a lack of understanding of the concept.

“One of my key objectives is to complete some nature-based demonstration projects so that people can just go and look at them. Once they see the benefit of something, they definitely become more open to change,”

John further explains.

He adds that there are situations that allow them to adopt nature-based solutions, but often, they still have to use traditional methods alongside them to meet planning requirements.

John sees the monetary value of preserving and enhancing natural habitats, biodiversity, and clear water, highlighting the importance of a multi-objective approach to handling interconnected issues.

“Where we have habitat loss, we have climate issues, where we have urbanisation, we have biodiversity issues, so it tends to grow wings quite easily.”

Besides water-related considerations, landscape design also has to factor in sequestering carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by planting more trees and other vegetation that store carbon.

One of Deirdre`s favourite projects she worked on in recent years was the development of a new park, Bridgefoot Street Park. This park is located in the Liberties area of Dublin City Centre and was designed by Dermot Foley Landscape Architects.

“Not only was it exciting to create a brand-new park in an area with a large deficit of access to green open spaces, but the park was also built using a variety of reused building materials and materials on the site.”

Construction phase of Bridgefoot Street Park in Dublin. Image: Dublin City Council

The aim was to create a playful and exciting urban landscape for all ages while transforming a hard landscape site in the city centre with sustainability at its core.

To stay true to their mission and reduce the amount of construction waste going into landfills, most materials used were moved from other building sites in Dublin.

In the end, 180 new trees, in addition to a mixture of herbaceous and ground-cover planting, have been planted in the park, increasing the urban canopy and assisting in reducing carbon emissions due to the uptake and storage of carbon.

These trees provide much-needed shade for park users and increase the space for biodiversity within the city.

Re-used materials on the surface at Bridgefoot Street Park. Image: Dublin City Council

Deirdre adds: “The Bridgefoot Street Park design highlights some important sustainability objectives, demonstrating how we can help to reduce our carbon impact in the design of new public spaces and also how to change the public perception of secondary raw construction materials.”

In 2023, the park development won the prestigious Landezine International Landscapes Award (LILA) in the Public Landscapes category.

The jury highlighted the reasons for selecting this project:

“Bridgefoot Street Park is a story about public space, community participation, circular economy, and ecological measures, and, above all, it is a project that well reflects our growing care for social and environmental issues of urban open space in the 21st century.”

In addition to creating a new green urban area, locals also have a sense of ownership while enjoying the playground and community garden, which adds value to a development like this.

“We have no choice but to move in this direction, and working with nature is the key to achieving climate targets and creating more liveable and sustainable cities.”

Bridgefoot Street Park is an award-winning development in Dublin, demonstrating the integration of nature-based solutions and sustainability in a city environment. Image: Dublin City Council

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May 2024

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Accelerating innovation through enterprise-student collaboration in Dublin

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 11:41:41 +0000

Accelerating innovation through enterprise-student collaboration in Dublin

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The award-winning ENFUSE program led by Dublin City Council (DCC) and Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Dublin City is open for applications to match local enterprises and social enterprises with teams of Master’s university and college students in Dublin.

During the spring 2024 semester, teams of students will work with selected enterprises to provide insights, propose solutions, and ultimately present a bespoke and tangible plan that sets out how the enterprise can innovate, address challenges, and develop opportunities.

Student teams can assist participating enterprises with various topics ranging from strategy, marketing, and design thinking to finance, data analysis and machine learning.

Steve O'Reilly, communication manager at The Rediscovery Centre, the National Centre for the Circular Economy in Ireland, participated in the program in 2023 by providing a communication challenge to students.

He highlighted that “taking part in ENFUSE helped us think outside the box, provided us with a framework for how to translate theory into publicity, and shaped our marketing for the years to come.”

“With ingenuity, creativity, and flair, the fantastic team of students devised an intelligent marketing campaign that translates a complex topic into something that will really resonate with our target.”

The overall objective of the ENFUSE program is to support local enterprises by providing bespoke plans to innovate, address challenges and develop opportunities while providing Master’s students with real-world experience and enhancing the local innovation and entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Businesses can benefit from new ideas at no extra cost with extra promotional opportunities, screen potential future employees from the student teams, and avail financial support to employ graduates.

“I highly recommend businesses to participate. It keeps businesses in touch with emerging trends and fresh thinking from the students and allows students to gain live experience with businesses in their community,”

said Kate O'Moore from MAKER, a previous participant of ENFUSE.

The application is open to enterprises, social enterprises, and entrepreneurs primarily based in Dublin, with consideration given also to enterprises based outside Dublin.

The submission deadline is 23:59, 18th of January 2024, through an online application platform.

Shortlisted student teams can also compete at the ENFUSE finals in May, where teams can represent their university and compete by pitching to expert judges on the plan they created for their assigned enterprise.

Greg Swift, head of LEO Dublin City, adds that the competition allows the LEO to "tangibly support local enterprises and also promote the benefits of hiring graduate students who are well placed to support the digital and green transitions, amongst other challenges a business may face”.

ENFUSE final student pitch session 2023 at the Wood Quay Venue, Dublin. Image: Dublin City Council

ENFUSE began in 2019 and has gone from strength to strength since. Involving more universities and colleges, its impact has increased as more enterprises, students and project partners have participated and benefited.

The program was selected as a National Winner in the European Commission’s - European Enterprise Promotion Awards (EEPA) 2022 under category 3, which recognises innovative projects and approaches that improve the business environment and support the digital transition.

In addition, ENFUSE was shortlisted as an overall EEPA European finalist project and shortlisted at Chambers Ireland - Excellence in Local Government Awards 2022 in the category of Promoting Economic Development.

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January 2024

Innovation and sustainability trends showcased in Dublin

Business Spirit News reporting — Mon, 17 Oct 2022 09:50:05 +0000

Innovation and sustainability trends showcased in Dublin

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Event to connect Innovation, Sustainability and Technology in Ireland.

The Furthr Festival will present game-changing innovations, future technology, and business opportunities in sustainability on Friday, 21st October, at the Convention Centre in Dublin, Ireland.

The event, previously known as Futurescope, comes under a new name and branding but with the same passion for bringing together business leaders for a day of inspiration, learning and networking.

Attendees can explore topics across five main stages focusing on Insights, Innovation, Sustainability, Transformation and Investment with more than 100 high-profile international and Irish speakers.

Keynote speeches include topics like Guardians of the Future, presented by Sophie Howe, Future Generations Commissioner for Wales and Think global: Move quickly, delivered by Michael Culligan, CEO at Furthr.

The event is best suited for innovators and innovation seekers looking for trends, insights, ideas and connections to take their businesses to the next level.

One of the highlighted sessions will be the One2Whatch startup competition, where pre-selected innovators will pitch for the ten thousand Euro cash prize and become crowned winners as the most promising startup.

With an expected attendee number of around 1600, this is the ultimate meeting point for business leaders striving to be at the forefront of change, unlocking market opportunities.

Additional highlights of the conference include the Future Tech Arcade, The Innovation Exchange, panel rooms, an exhibition area and plenty of networking opportunities during lunch and the after-event drink reception.

One2Whatch startup competition at Furthr Festival with 10K prize money. Image: Furthr

A particular emphasis will be on facilitating collaboration opportunities between diverse stakeholders such as startups and scaleups, investors and academia.

Tickets are available on the event’s webpage.

Furthr, formerly Dublin Business Innovation Centre, has accelerated funds and connections for Irish startups since 1988, empowering entrepreneurs to advance their ambitions.

Over the years, Furthr has helped Ireland’s innovative startup founders to raise a total of €500+ million.

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October 2022

Celebrating social and circular enterprises in Dublin

Business Spirit News reporting — Sun, 02 Oct 2022 12:15:49 +0000

Celebrating social and circular enterprises in Dublin

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Social Entrepreneurship

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A new initiative led by Dublin City Council aims to shine a light on social enterprises and circular economy players.

The SoCircular event will take place in Dublin on 5th October to bring together social and circular enterprises and other stakeholders to connect, learn and build connections.

This new initiative is driven by Dublin City Council in collaboration with strategic partners from various sectors and will be hosted at a prime venue, The Mansion House.

The event aims to facilitate the transformation of Dublin's economic ecosystem to become more resilient and competitive by better integrating enterprises and innovators with strong sustainability and social values.

Organisers will provide a forum for discussions, exchanging ideas and gaining insights while showcasing exhibitors and cultural programs.

Besides networking and learning, the goal is to encourage businesses, organisations and government departments to buy from these organisations to empower this sector's growth.

“This event will raise awareness of these innovative enterprises.

Buying from them will bring about many benefits, such as shorter supply chains, creating resilient local employment, improving social and environmental impacts, and supporting fairer, greener and thriving communities,”

says Mary MacSweeney, Deputy Head of Economic Development and Enterprise.

Mary MacSweeney, Deputy Head of Economic Development and Enterprise highlights the importance of integrating social and circular enterprises into supply chains.

Pointing out the role of businesses and government in strengthening social and circular enterprises is one of the core messages of the event.

Buying from these companies could add to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and department strategies while helping them raise their profile by walking the talk and filling slogans with actions.

At the event, participants can meet with innovative entrepreneurs embracing sustainability and circular economy in their business model and join panel discussions to learn more insights about available supports and key players.

Attendees can find the detailed program and register online free of charge.

Cultural performances and a trade expo with more than 50 local social and circular enterprises will allow people to connect and network.

Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, expressed how much social and circular enterprises can help counteract the impact of environmental and economic crises.

Another element of the program is to raise awareness about how socially driven businesses can address environmental challenges and, the other way around, how environmentally focused projects can easily solve social problems.

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, emphasised the importance of this sector in helping the city fight upcoming challenges associated with the impacts of climate change and economic crises.

The event is being hosted as part Dublin's involvement in the European Social Economy Regions project of the European Commission.

Various stakeholders and organisations have rallied behind this initiative, including the Department of Rural and Community Development, CRNI, EMWR, Dublin Place Brand, Social Enterprise Dublin, and Dublin Regional Skills Forum, among others.

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October 2022

New program preparing Dublin-based businesses for rapidly growing Green Economy

Business Spirit News reporting — Fri, 28 Jan 2022 12:51:15 +0000

New program preparing Dublin-based businesses for rapidly growing Green Economy

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Micro and small enterprises in Dublin can join a new Circular Economy training program to become more sustainable and unlock business potential.

The MODOS Circular Economy training and mentoring program provides practical knowledge and networking opportunities to SMEs in the Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown areas in March and April 2022.

With business trends shifting rapidly towards sustainability, it is inevitable for all shapes and sizes of enterprises to take up this challenge and turn it into an opportunity for innovation and growth.

The four interactive online training modules are designed to help embed sustainability into business strategy efficiently and effectively while fostering innovation and profitability.

Up to twenty participants per program will learn from highly renowned experts about Circular Economy, carbon management, resource efficiency, supply chain sustainability, and engagement.

“MODOS helped me to apply circular economy principles in my business. I was able to appraise in real terms how small changes in processes can yield big results (and higher margins). Completing the MODOS program was an important step in working towards the goal of carbon neutrality for my company,” says John Burke from Burke’s of Rathnew Homevalue business about his experience of the training.

Besides the learning sessions, enterprises can benefit from networking, mentoring and an opportunity to promote their sustainability credentials.

Free to join online information sessions will be held on 2nd and 3rd February 2022, where businesses can learn more insights.

The program is designed for businesses active in all sectors who have been trading for a minimum of 6 months, with 1 to 250 employees.

Kate Purcell from Green Aware, who participated in a previous MODOS training, said that

’the information and guidance provided during MODOS were instantly practical’ and that ’the course resources are relevant to every organisation, no matter where they are on their sustainability journey.’

Dublin City Council and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council brought the program to life in response to the challenges facing micro and small enterprises in building their capacity and understanding of Green Business and the Circular Economy.

With funding from the Environmental Protection Agency, the cost of the programme is subsidised, making the course more accessible.

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January 2022

Citizens are invited to shape the future of parks across Dublin city

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Mar 2021 09:34:36 +0000

Citizens are invited to shape the future of parks across Dublin city

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A new research survey aims to find out what people want to see in Dublin’s parks.

The reality of “social distancing” and “self-isolation” became the new norm as part of consecutive lockdowns, and we were all faced with a sudden and radical change in our daily routine and lifestyle.

However, parks in Dublin and nationwide in Ireland have remained open, providing an important outlet for people to support their physical, social and psychological needs.

Dublin City Council (DCC), in partnership with Dublin City University (DCU) are hosting an online survey to identify what roles and functions the parks fulfilled for all Dublin citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The research will also focus on how these features can be maintained after the pandemic and what future developments people would like to see in the parks.

This is an opportunity for the public to share their opinions and experiences, shaping the development of parks across Dublin in the coming years.

The research team behind the project highlight that there are significant insights available in terms of the frequency, type of usage and volume of activities that have taken place in the capital’s parks during this time.

“People access parks for a whole variety of reasons, for exercise, to enjoy nature, for their overall wellbeing and by hearing from them it will help to inform the ways in which parks should be improved and developed and, crucially planned as a space that all generations can enjoy together”, said Research lead Dr Carol Barron, DCU School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health.

Parks have provided a safe haven for many during COVID-19; Image: Pexels

This study may have a direct benefit to individuals by helping to identify the specific reasons people are using parks during the era of COVID-19 and plan for the future development of parks as sites of recreation, play, leisure, health, socialisation and biodiversity.

“Parks have provided a safe haven for many during COVID-19, and undoubtedly, the volume of people using their local park has increased substantially.

While the country remains under current restrictions and people are using their parks frequently, we want to find out from respondents what they would like to see developed in their park”, added Dr Marcos Dias from DCU School of Communications and Joint Research Lead.

Organisers want to consult with as many people as possible who use Dublin parks to identify what visitors currently like about Dublin parks and what services, facilities, and events they would like to see in the parks in the near future.

Launching on 15th March, the survey seeks responses from people across Dublin city and county until Sunday 28th March 2021.

The findings will be used to help inform planning and development policy concerning public parks by DCC. It is envisaged that the results will be disseminated via Dublin City University communication platforms.

This project is being funded by the School of Nursing, Psychology and Community Health Publication Grant and a COVID-19 Research Network seed funding grant.

The survey is a collaboration between DCU’s School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health, DCU School of Communications and Dublin City Council.

Headline image: Mina-Marie Michell from Pexels

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March 2021

Social Innovators in Dublin received €50,000 funding to realise greater impact

Anonymous — Tue, 17 Nov 2020 13:31:39 +0000

Social Innovators in Dublin received €50,000 funding to realise greater impact

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Five social innovation projects received significant funding in Dublin to bring more benefits to communities and economy

The annual Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2020 took place in early November, as a fully online ceremony in line with the Irish government Covid-restrictions.

At the ceremony, five awardees received funding from a total pool of €50,000 along with supports which will assist their social enterprises in achieving a greater impact among the individuals and communities that they serve.

Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2020

The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu delivered the keynote address in which she praised the awardees:

“This year’s Dublin City Social Enterprise awardees are actively and innovatively working to address inadequacies, contradictions and underlying issues within our city.

They are delivering change, progress and hope to individuals and communities while also bringing about economic, community and policy benefits.”

The social challenges that the awardees are seeking to address include: diversity, social inclusion, disability, unemployment, mental health, family support, old-age care, education and sustainability.

This year’s Dublin City Social Enterprise awardees:

Outhouse, the LGBT Community Resource Centre.
The Open Doors Initiative provides opportunities to some of the marginalised members of the society.
MyMind has created a unique movement for community-based mental health services that work towards giving every person in Ireland equal access to mental health support early, affordably, directly, without stigma or delay.
The Great Care Co-op is Ireland's first ever carer-owned cooperative in home care.
ReCreate Ireland is making art materials and educational supplies affordable and accessible to every sector of the community for all kinds of creative purposes.

Chair of the Dublin City Social Enterprise Committee and MC of the ceremony, Mary Mac Sweeney congratulated the awardees.

She highlighted the importance of raising awareness of both the awardees and social enterprises in general. ‘It is so important that we collectively promote the significant impact that social enterprises deliver in local communities and economies. The awardees, along with an increasing and dynamic array of social enterprises in Dublin, are creating employment, opportunities and improvements where they are based’. said Mac Sweeney.

“This award is going to allow us to work with fifty Primary Schools within Dublin City.

We are going to deliver fifty boxes packed full of materials directly to these schools, which will be accompanied by some creative consultation sessions.

Schools will also get a full membership until the end of 2021 which will give them the chance to continue being creative with minimal environmental impact.”

Kevin McLoughlin, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Recreate Ireland

says Kevin McLoughlin, Head of Marketing and Business Development at Recreate Ireland, about what this award means to them.

The Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards seeks to celebrate and support innovative social enterprises, highlighting their role in the city’s ecosystem.

Great Care Co-op social enterprise - awardee of Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards 2020

Aoife Smith, co-founder and director of Great Care Co-op social enterprise, explains how this award can open up new opportunities to create value in the community through their work.

“We started off to support disadvantaged migrant women in home care and to create equal opportunities in this sector for all. We see that our way of operating will bring a real systemic change in the home care system in Ireland.

With the financial support of this award, we will be able to set up a hub, which usually takes up to six months to sustain itself. This is going to be crucial for us in getting this model out there.”

The programme and competition aim to increase awareness of the important contribution that social enterprises make to building communities, creating employment and developing the skills of the participants who get involved.

The awards are funded by Dublin City Council and the Department of Rural and Community Development and are managed by Inner City Enterprise.

The funding awarded to social enterprises will allow them to develop their plans, activities further and bring benefits to more individuals and communities.

The scheme was first established in 2015 through a collaboration between Dublin City Council, Inner City Enterprise (ICE) and the Local Enterprise Office (LEO) Dublin City to provide funding to kick-start the creation and development of social enterprises in Dublin City.

This year’s award ceremony was part of a series - which represents Dublin's involvement in the European Commission’s: European Social Economy Regions - 2020 Project. The objective of the project is to build networks of Social Economy and Social Enterprise stakeholders and to raise awareness about the Social Economy at the regional and local level.

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Dublin City Social Enterprise Awards

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November 2020

Supporting businesses to adopt sustainability in Dublin

Szilvia Szabó — Mon, 08 Jun 2020 13:35:21 +0000

Supporting businesses to adopt sustainability in Dublin

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Circular Economy

Business

Dublin

Zero Waste Festival in Dublin

Szilvia Szabó — Thu, 09 Jan 2020 11:22:23 +0000

Zero Waste Festival in Dublin

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Date

9th January 2020

Venue

Science Gallery, Dublin

The free, two-day Zero Waste Festival at the Science Gallery will bring you a zero waste themed market, talks, workshops and swap shops.

The two-day Zero Waste Festival festival on January 25th and 26th 20202 will be part of the ongoing exhibition on PLASTIC in the Science Gallery.

The PLASTIC exhibition in the Science Gallery hosts a huge variety of engaging exhibits suitable for all ages that deal with the one material we can’t live with but also not without. Plastic has great power, and with great power comes great responsibility. It has changed our daily lives and our environment more than any other material. The unsustainability of our relationship with plastic is well documented, but to stop using plastic entirely is not an option.

But we can try to refuse single-use items, reduce what we consume and truly recycle valuable materials. Learn more about each of these steps during the event which is free to attend and open to everyone.

You will find a Zero Waste themed market with vendors and info stands, a wide range of talks and workshops on both days plus a swap shop.

The Zero Waste Festival is a non-for-profit and completely volunteer-run event that aims to help visitors to transition to a more sustainable, minimal-impact and Zero Waste lifestyle.

Zero Waste Festival - Dublin, Science Gallery

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