30012023 - Beaches & Dunes for Climate Adaptation project

Descriptions

The Beaches & Dunes for Climate Adaptation project aims to build the capacity of local communities to adapt to climate change. This will be achieved through developing and delivering a toolkit and educational workshops that will build the knowledge and skills for communities to take positive action in response to the interconnected challenges of climate change. This Project will focus on training community groups and leaders on how to best utilise beaches and dunes as a coastal protection option (communities are defined here as local stakeholders interested in a specific beach-dune system). Hands-on learning will equip participants with the skills and know-how to enhance their local beach-dune habitats as resilient, long-term solutions to coastal flooding and erosion. Climate change impacts are one of the most critical issues facing society. Mitigation and adaptation are two ways to tackle the climate emergency. While mitigation may slow down the change, it is the adaptation actions that will have the most obvious benefits to society, building our resilience at the community level. Training coastal communities on how best to enhance their local environment as a cost-effective response to coastal storms and sea-level rise has clear added value: fosters local stewardship; increases habitat health and biodiversity; enhances local outdoor amenities; enhances landscape value and tourism potential; fosters collaborative relationships between communities and authorities; potential to transfer good practice (QQI module).The Project will blend theoretical and practical workshops. These workshops will be delivered in person to communities across Mayo, Leitrim, Sligo, Galway and Donegal. A total of 10 one-day workshops will be delivered (2 in each county). In addition, a half-day networking event will be delivered outlining the Project's outputs.