GAA lead unique biodiversity project thanks to National Lottery funding
The National Lottery Community Fund has today announced funding of £404,543 to Ulster GAA, for a first of the kind project in Northern Ireland, to help raise awareness, change behaviours and produce action on biodiversity and protecting water sources through their club network.
Ulster GAA is working with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Northern Ireland (RSPB NI) and Northern Ireland Water on ‘Sporting Nature,’ a project to change practices and make it easier for volunteers to support climate and sustainability, changing the culture across clubs and the wider community.
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Diarmaid Marsden, Head of Club and Community Development Department, Ulster GAA explained: “Thanks to this National Lottery funding, 30 clubs and associated members will take action by promoting awareness of biodiversity. Learning will be shared across GAA and other sports clubs, building on what they’ve done before and complementing existing local authority action.
“We will be training leadership teams and young leaders on biodiversity, supporting club ‘Green Teams,’ providing help and advice for clubs to improve their walkways and create habitats within sports grounds, as well as protecting water sources.
“This project will bring about physical and behavioural change together with long term sustainable cultural change in the GAA club and community landscape. We are delighted to partner with RSPB NI and NI Water to provide expertise in these areas.”
This funding comes from The National Lottery Community Fund’s UK wide Climate Action Fund, which was set up to help communities reduce their carbon footprint and show what is possible when people take the lead in tackling climate change.
Joanne Sherwood, NI Director, RSPB commented: “RSPB NI are delighted to be building on our work with Ulster GAA and NI Water, through the Sporting Nature project. We are looking forward to raising awareness of the importance of standing up for nature, by encouraging GAA clubs and our local communities to take action to protect and restore local wildlife, flora and fauna.”
Rebecca Allen, Catchment Officer, NI Water said: “We have a strong focus on protecting the environment and are committed to tackling pollution issues that impact our watercourses. We are delighted to support Sporting Nature, working with RSPB NI and the Ulster GAA community, who are passionate about their clubs and surrounding environment.
“We already worked with Ulster GAA on their Green Club Programme and the public engagement and education around nature, water conservation and protection on club grounds have laid an excellent foundation to continue our partnership. The programme has the potential to help drinking water catchments be more sustainable, making a real difference to local areas.”
This year marks 30 years since the first National Lottery draw in 1994, and over this time, thanks to people who play the games, billions of pounds have made life changing projects possible.
Kate Beggs, NI Director of The National Lottery Community Fund said: “We’re pleased to award Ulster GAA this substantial grant. Supporting the environment is a consideration in all our funding as we move forward with our new strategy to support communities.
“Through our Climate Action Fund, we’re looking for projects that encourage more community-led climate action and Sporting Nature is a great example of that. We look forward to seeing what is achieved over the coming months and years.”
The Climate Action Fund is currently open for applications with grants of over £500,000 available to organisations working in partnership to help communities tackle climate change and be more environmentally sustainable. For more information visit https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/funding/programmes/climate-action-fund-our-shared-future
- Date published
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- Northern Ireland
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