Outside of these core responsibilities, Mervyn explains that because of the nature of the facility, at any moment, any of the staff members at the Lifetime Lab may need to take bookings or take a family on a tour of the facility, but it is clear that he loves the diversity in his job and enjoys the fact that he gets to answer all types of visitors needs whether they are the needs of top corporate clients, families or primary school children.

Having always had an interest in education, Mervyn is truly at home at the centre and takes great pride in the achievements of the lab since it first opened its doors.

He explains how the three main priorities at the centre are to promote sustainability, promote the uptake of science subjects and promote sustainable development, all of which have become easier over time as the lab continues to grow and people become more and more interested in the environment, becoming eco-friendly and finding out more about science.

He says that whoever the visitor at the centre may be, that the Lifetime Lab has evolved over the past three years to ensure that everyone can benefit from a visit to the centre and whether people just want to find out about how they can make their homes more environmentally friendly or take part in exciting experiments, they can do just this at the Lifetime Lab.

He explains that aside from providing information on renewable energy and energy conservation, the centre offers itself as a working example, with geothermal under floor heating, a hydro-powered electricity supply to provide green electricity from nearby River Lee, solar panels running the outdoor lighting and a windmill now installed to generate electricity to pump water as a demo model. In fact more than 80 per cent of the required energy is provided form renewable resources available on site.

Mervyn is also acutely aware of the importance of the Lifetime Lab's unique setting and says that efforts are underway to provide more information about the history of the site. To this end, the Lifetime Lab will officially launch a new historical aspect to the facility next week from when visitors will be able to find out more about the old waterworks facility with the help of new interpretation boards.

Looking to the future, Mervyn says that while there's no doubt that the centre is "evolving and alive" that he fully realises that more has to be done at the lab over the coming years. One project he is keen to get further off the ground is to get the steam trains running. "We have three steam trains here and it would be a dream to get them up again after 101 years,' he said.

Mervyn is also keen to develop the Lifetime Lab's corporate business and hopes to attract more and more companies to the site this summer to enjoy family fun days, barbecues and tours of the facility.

While the schools project is already fully subscribed to, Mervyn also hopes to make the Lifetime Lab a centre of science in Cork and hopes that the facility becomes a "science nursery" for pupils which will encourage more and more students to go on to study science in the future.

Most importantly, Mervyn believes that all these goals can be achieved with the help of the centre's dedicated team and continued support from Cork City Council, the Department of Education and it's corporate sponsors who continue to allow the centre to grow and evolve.

Lifetime Lab,
Lee Road,
Cork.

Phone: 021 494 1500
Fax: 021 494 1519
E-mail: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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