Trim woman honoured with a Climate Ambassador award
Trim woman Hannah Gilligan has been honoured with a Climate Ambassador award for 2024 from An Taisce.
An Taisce’s annual Climate Ambassador Awards bring together citizens who are passionate about protecting the planet and rewards their local efforts to reduce the impact of climate change in Ireland.
Every Climate Ambassador was recognised with a framed certificate, and 10 were distinguished with special awards for their impactful climate actions.
Throughout the year, they engaged their networks with biodiversity, circular fashion, education, nature restoration, youth communications, sustainable travel, sustainable energy, tree planting, rewilding, flood prevention, degrowth, food waste, and environmental advocacy. In addition to their impressive impact and extensive list of achievements, the awardees were also commended for uniting communities, boosting neighbourhood bonds, building trust, bridging generational gaps, and raising hope for our future.
Among them was Hannah Gilligan who has collaborated with nearly every group in Trim, as well as a few national organisations. She conducted climate conversations with the local youth club and women’s shed and gave climate talks to 480 students from three schools.
Hannah collaborated with her local Tidy Towns, Sick of Plastic group, Meath Co Council, National Spring Clean, Friends of the Earth, VOICE Ireland and the National Biodiversity Data Centre. She even got a small grant from the National Parks and Wildlife Service to set up another citizen’s science project connecting people to nature. This group put on events like a dawn chorus walk, biodiversity walks, a kayak trip up the river Boyne and a workshop on cyanotyping. It is no surprise given the community spirit, that Hannah was pivotal in Trim winning the International Community Involvement Award at the ‘Communities in Bloom’ ceremony.
Speaking about the programme, Hannah said: "It gave me the push to get involved with action in my community. I started the Connecting Trim to Nature group, and it has gained huge momentum."
“An Taisce has no doubt that Hannah will continue to inspire others to take action locally in Trim and indeed across the country,” added Gráinne Ryan, Climate Action Manager in An Taisce.
Some 148 citizens from a wide range of backgrounds including primary school teachers, secondary school students and teachers, university students, academics, farmers, and business people were all chosen to be Climate Ambassadors in 2024.
This intergenerational programme, which is funded by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications and has been in operation since 2017, continues to expand, as proactive citizens decide to upskill in climate science, solutions and communications, enabling them, with support from An Taisce, to carry out climate actions.
Throughout the year they are asked to undertake four key tasks – two climate communications and two climate actions, though many participants achieve much more. This programme allows individuals to join a strong network of dedicated people who share knowledge, gain insight from one another, and forge long-lasting friendships.