Over 120 trees planted at St. Vincent’s GAA as community and private group come together on climate action.

06/03/2025

St. Vincent's GAA with Greens Space for Health and a team from Revolution, a digital marketing & web development company in Wilton, recently undertook a tree planting drive at their facility as part of their climate action plans. The club has been funded under the Community Climate Action Fund to upgrade their buildings internal lighting, and plant trees on their sporting campus.

Sinn Féin Councillor Kenneth Collins is the treasurer of St. Vincent's and on researching the species and type of trees they wished to plant, he contacted Maria Young, from Green Spaces for Health, another recipient of the Community Climate Action Fund.

Cllr. Collins said: “I knew our club would be a great site for trees, but I didn’t know what to plant. I met Maria through the Community Climate Leadership meetups and found out from her that there are schools and communities across the city growing saplings. The tree saplings needed homes, and we had land to plant them in, so it was a win for everyone, including nature and climate!”

Maria from Green Spaces for Health highlighted the connections made across the city. She said: “There is a wonderful interconnectedness in our process this year. The acorns were collected from two Cork City trees by local school children. They were planted in the specialised boxes by school communities across the city, then potted on and minded by them for two years. Now more hands are planting them out. The amount of people involved is wonderful.”

Helping hands on the day were provided by the team in Revolution. The group were up first thing in the morning, picking up the saplings from the tree nurseries and bringing them to the St Vincent's site. This is the second year that Revolution has worked with Green Spaces for Health.

Owner and founder of the company Matt Sroka said: “It was so enjoyable to get involved in tree planting again this year. We, as a company, embed initiatives like this that are good for people and the planet in the way we do business. It comes from our strong urge to “give back”. We can make a greener future one tree at a time, but it takes a city working together to grow a community that can act for climate.”

With next week being National Tree Week 2025, further community planting will be continuing with over 20 community groups taking part.

Community Climate Action Programme Fund

23 community groups have received a share of €860,000 to support the city’s climate and biodiversity ambitions. Cork City Council’s Community Climate Action Programme Fund is supported by the Department of Environment, Climate & Communications, and will see concrete actions such as the installation of solar panels and tree planting be delivered throughout the entire city.

Community Climate Leaders, Cork City

One of the actions in Cork City’s Climate Action Plan was to create a Community Climate Leadership Programme. Recipients of the Community Climate Action Programme Fund have been facilitated by Cork City Council to meet and learn together on various topics relevant to their climate action work. In November 2024, groups attended the Community Climate Leadership Mingle where they learned about each other’s projects, and found areas to collaborate on further. In the upcoming Lifelong Learning Festival, five of the groups will be hosting local events highlighting their work, and others in their wider community.

Green Spaces for Health

Green Spaces for Health is a city-wide, community-led initiative.

One of the most important aspects of the work of Green Spaces for Health is fostering a reverence for nature. GSFH recognise the profound benefits to our physical and mental health in reconnecting with the natural world. GSFH further recognises the transformative power of coming together with others to build a resilient, inclusive community. Green Spaces for Health - Cork Healthy Cities

National Tree Week 9th – 16th March 2025

National Tree Week is an annual event organised by the Tree Council of Ireland in partnership with Coillte. It is the largest tree celebration in the country, providing a unique opportunity for people to come together and celebrate the beauty and importance of Ireland's trees!

Sapling trees are provided by Coillte to County Councils for distribution to Communities across the country. Following the success of the last year’s public tree giveaway, Cork City Council distributed 3000 trees to the public in two local parks during Tree Week 2025.