County Mayor's Diary
Life in the council has been busy in the past few weeks. We are full steam ahead with the countdown to Christmas.
I would like to start this week’s column by asking the people of Cork to continue to shop locally in the run up to the big day. Cork County Council is proud to support several Christmas markets this year throughout the county. They are a wonderful way to experience the absolute best of what county Cork producers have to offer.
As we are well into the colder months of the year, now is a suitable time to start thinking about the minor changes that you can make to combat climate change. I have no doubt that the people of Cork will rise to the challenge and make the necessary changes to secure the future for generations to come.
Climate change is one of the most significant challenges impacting our local communities in Cork county. The Community Climate Action Programme (CCAP) is an exciting funding programme which will empower our communities to address climate change and deliver meaningful change at a local level. I would encourage our active community organisations to consider developing a proposal and making an application to the CCAP before the deadline of Thursday 7 March 2024.
I am extremely excited to announce that a second collaboration with social enterprise Education for Sustainability is bringing an eight-week climate literacy course to eight additional schools in the county.
It is wonderful to see schools in the county taking part in such worthwhile initiatives to promote climate literacy among students, empowering them to become informed and active participants in building a sustainable future.
I was proud to recently attend and speak at the Best in Cork Awards for North Cork where sustainability was at the forefront of events. The independent panel of judges had a difficult job to do, such was the high quality of the entries we received from businesses right across North Cork. We had entries from talented crafts people, innovative service providers, popular food businesses and leading retailers. Well done to all the entrants and big congratulations to the winners!
Finally, I would like to talk about an exciting time for Skibbereen, a community display of the town’s draft Town Centre First Regeneration Plan will be held this week.
It is an exciting time for the community in Skibbereen as a shared vision for the town is brought to life. I commend all who contributed their views and worked to identify solutions to the challenges that are common across many towns. Your collective voice will truly be reflected in this exciting new plan for Skibbereen.