This article is from page 33 of the 2008-02-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 33 JPG
NEIGHBOURS in O’Briensbridge and Montpellier are coming together later this month to consider how they might be able to tackle global change at a local level.
The two communities are getting involved in the Kulyana Project, which looks at how small groups can make a difference by acting locally on climate change.
Kulyana is a Hawaiian word mean- ing both privilege and responsibility and the O’Briensbridge Community Group has organised two nights for local people to hear about the project and talk about how they can get in-
volved.
“Everyday, we hear about ‘climate change’, ‘global warming’, ‘care for our environment’ and ‘fossil fuel de- pletion’. How these things affect us, or even more importantly, how we can live with and possibly change these things can be answered all the more effectively when we work as a team.
“Rural communities are more likely to find the solutions required for climate change than urban com- munities because the answers le in our natural resources and most of these are rural,” a spokesman for the project said.
The meetings are being held at
Montpelier Community Hall at 8.30pm on Wednesday, February 13 and the following Wednesday, Feb- ruary 20.
Everyone is welcome with as many people as possible being asked to at- tend.
The first evening will include a short explanation of the project and a slideshow presentation and the second evening will also allow peo- ple to ask questions and make sug- gestions.
“It’s a way of seeing what we can do as a community and with the two communities so close together, there are bound to be a number of good Suggestions for how we can make
a difference,’ said Mick Murtagh of the O’Briensbridge Community Group.
“This project should be something that will benefit the majority of the community, provide a focus for en- gaging in sustainability and pro- vide inter-community support,” the project spokesman said.
The Kulyana Project is adminis- tered by the Clare Association of An Taisce and is funded by Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partner- ship Fund 2007 facilitating sustaina- ble development at community level from Clare County Council and the Department of Environment, Herit- age and Local Government.