Grant will help Dundalk Inclusive Garden engage new audiences

Dundalk Inclusive Garden (DIG) is set to benefit from grant funding from the Climate Actions Work Engagement fund to support their work to bring people from Louth and the region together, and share information on climate action.

The fund is focused on climate engagement, awareness and communications - helping communities to reach new audiences in their locality. It will also provide opportunities for community groups to promote their work and spread the message of community-led climate action. 

DIG, Dundalk Inclusive Garden, has been working as a group since 2022 and established a garden in 2023. The group came together with the specific aim of building a garden where many people of many abilities and levels of knowledge and expertise could come together to learn how to grow food and spend time in nature. This funding will allow DIG to run a series of workshops on gardening, sustainability, and healthy living, providing valuable learning opportunities for community members of all ages.

Minister for the Environment, Climate and Communications Darragh O’Brien, and Minister for the Circular Economy Alan Dillon this week announced the awarding of €500,000 worth of grants nationally under the Climate Actions Work Engagement fund.

The fund is administered by Community Foundation Ireland which as part of its mission of Equality for All in Thriving Communities has been empowering local groups, researchers and advocates to take action on climate and nature since 2000. The foundation's work in this space is informed by its 25 years' experience of partnering with 5,000 voluntary, community and charitable groups as a philanthropic hub. A network which continues to grow.

Announcing the grantees, Minister O’Brien said: “Our local communities are delivering great work on climate action, much of which often goes unseen. This funding will help groups in those communities raise awareness of that work and bring the climate action message to a wider audience.

"From workshops to events to content creation, this fund is really targeted at storytelling – helping people to tell their stories about climate action. I am very pleased to help these initiatives showcase examples the great work going on across Ireland.”

Congratulating Dundalk Inclusive Garden, Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland said: “Partnership is key to meeting the climate challenge. At Community Foundation we are proud to have contributed knowledge and insights from our network of local community groups to inform and deliver this Government initiative. A network which underpins all our work as a philanthropic hub.  We look forward to seeing the impact of these imaginative projects.”

The fund is a core component of the Climate Actions Work Programme. This programme has built on engagement with community groups through the National Dialogue on Climate Action over the last few years. The engagement showed that many community groups and organisations are supported through volunteers who often have to give up nights and days to undertake engagement and communications activities.

The fund is intended to provide support to promote the work already underway, and to encourage new participation. The fund supports groups to work with audiences who have not previously engaged in climate action at a local level or beyond.