Search

03 Apr 2026

PICTURES: Laois community tackles climate change through pilot Portlaoise project

Reporter:

Reporter

09 May 2024 10:00 PM

USE ARROWS OR NEXT BUTTON TO SEE MORE 

Organisations and businesses across Laois are celebrating after completing a pilot course in Portlaoise aimed at providing communities with the skills to tackle climate change. 
The course, which focused on the Portlaoise Low Carbon Town Project, was delivered over a period of three months by Ireland’s Knowledge Centre for Carbon, Climate, and Community Action (IKC3) in partnership with Laois County Council.
One of the highlights of the Summit held on the final day of the course was the awarding of certificates of participation along with unique Brat Bhride scarves, handcrafted by the Portarlington Arts Collective from upcycled materials decorated with wool. 
Speaking about the 'Systems Innovation for Sustainable Enterprises and Communities (SISEC)' course, Suzanne Dempsey, Climate Action Coordinator at Laois County Council, said it has been instrumental in fostering a deeper understanding of climate resilience among participants.
"It has empowered them with practical skills to address sustainability challenges in the Portlaoise Low Carbon Town and within their own organisations," she said. 
Dr Quentin Crowley, Associate Professor, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin and IKC3 lead in Climate Innovation and Experiential Learning, expressed enthusiasm about the pilot stating that “It was a great pleasure to collaborate with Laois County Council over the past few months.
"Together, we created and delivered a really great community-based education programme. Rather than students coming to us in Trinity College Dublin, we travelled to the Portlaoise community for in-person workshops, and we delivered online classes. Participants shared their knowledge and learned
useful techniques to develop their own project ideas for the Portlaoise Low Carbon Town project.”

To continue reading this article,
please subscribe and support local journalism!

Subscribing will allow you access to all of our premium content and archived articles.

Subscribe

To continue reading this article for FREE,
please kindly register and/or log in.

Registration is absolutely 100% FREE and will help us personalise your experience on our sites. You can also sign up to our carefully curated newsletter(s) to keep up to date with your latest local news!

Register / Login

Most Popular

Sponsored Content

Multimedia

We've got Donegal Covered...

Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie

Buy a paper

Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.

Buy Now
Get the news

Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.

Register Here
Iconic Media is Ireland's largest independently owned regional newspaper and media group, with an unrivalled audience in print, online and mobile. We have 19 regional newspapers and 21 digital sites.

Iconic Digital Titles

  • Carlow Live
  • Clare Live
  • Derry Now
  • Donegal Live
  • Éire Bheo
  • Inish Live
  • Ireland Live
  • Kildare Live
  • Kildare Now
  • Kilkenny Live
  • Laois Live
  • Leitrim Live
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Live
  • Longford Live
  • Louth Live
  • Mayo Live
  • Nenagh Live
  • Offaly Live
  • Tipperary Live
  • Waterford Live

    • Iconic Print Titles

  • Clonmel Nationalist
  • County Derry Post
  • Derry News
  • Donegal Democrat
  • Donegal Post
  • Dundalk Democrat
  • Homes in Donegal
  • Inish Times
  • Kilkenny People
  • Leinster Express
  • Leinster Leader
  • Leitrim Observer
  • Letterkenny Live
  • Limerick Leader
  • Longford Leader
  • Mayo News
  • Midland Tribune
  • Tipperary Star
  • Tullamore Tribune

    • This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.

    © 2026 Iconic Media