This weekend The Irish Times reveals the longlist of nominees for its competition, Ireland’s Greenest Places 2025.
The greening of so many places across Ireland has developed from the cosmetic into a movement delivering tangible environmental dividends.
This competition builds on previous projects by The Irish Times, which looked at Ireland’s Best Places to Live, and Best Shops to celebrate the powerful spirit and meitheal in communities across the island.
In many instances there is transformative action, backed by understanding the need to do things differently, ranging across nature restoration; embracing renewables, becoming resilient for climate disturbances to come and enabling the natural world capture carbon at scale.
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One of the judges, former Green Party leader Eamon Ryan, says “at a time when people are anxious about climate change and biodiversity loss, it helps to think global but act local”.
“Taking action gives you hope and calms anxiety by showing we can turn things around,” he says.
The long-listed entries show the variety of what is happening, “whether that includes a big vision for rewilding, greening everywhere from old graveyards out to the nearby sea or else creating social enterprises to improve the circular economy in our own backyard”.
“It can work in every part of the country because we all have a sense of pride and love about our own place.”
The longlist of greenest places includes towns and villages from across Ireland, as well as suburbs in our cities.
Evidence of the progression in greening projects is shown in the quality and scale of the nominated projects.
For example, the Dysart River Project aims to restore the quality of a river feeding into Lough Ennell in Co Westmeath.
A collaborative effort with 23 farmers in the catchment worked with agencies to find solutions, including Local Authority Water Programme scientists and Teagasc experts.
“Farmers within the catchment wanted to play their part in protecting and improving water quality. Remedial actions such as solar-powered cattle drinkers on farms were put in place,” says Edel Ennis, Westmeath County Council’s Just Transition Officer.
After four years the water status improved from “poor” to “good” status. “It’s an amazing turnaround. This is a really good example of building awareness and getting people on board,” she says.
The entries to Ireland’s Greenest Places, Mr Ryan says, “are only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what is happening on the ground”.
“People in every community seem to be looking to see what they can do by promoting pollinators, planting trees or establishing sustainable energy or transport solutions”.
Gone to is the sense that solutions to climate change and biodiversity loss are the State’s responsibility.
“Everyone can now see the returns that can come when you work from the bottom up as well as the top down.”
You can read the full longlist of greenest places includes towns and villages, here.
David Labanyi
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