UNIVERSITY of Limerick Postgraduate Students’ Union (ULPSU) in collaboration with Limerick City & County Council (LCCC) will today turn the sod on a new Tree Planting Initiative to help Limerick become greener.
Starting at Mayorstone Quarry, this event marks the first step towards planting thousands of trees across Limerick city and county.
Speaking of the event, ULPSU outgoing officer, Sanjana Shashikumar said, “We, as the UL PSU want to contribute towards the environment and the community, so we thought what better way than planting trees.
“Planting a tree is one of the easiest and most powerful things you can do to have a positive impact on the environment. These trees will not only reduce the carbon footprint in Limerick but also clean the air, prevent rainwater run-off and help Limerick combat global warming first-hand.
“When this idea came to me, one of the first people I contacted was the Mayor. He and his office wholeheartedly supported this event and together with Michael Sheehan from the LCCC Parks Department, we have made this event possible.” he said.
This event is also symbolic marking the handover to the new ULPSU officers. Andrea La Touche, the current ULPSU Presidentr said, “2020 has been a chaotic year for everyone. With so much changing, having to adapt to new norms rapidly, trees represent stability and continuity.
“We want to show that in Limerick, postgraduate students, many of whom are international who have come to Limerick for education, are embracing this challenge and want to give back to the community in this very tangible way.
“I hope we can set the example for other organisations or groups, whether big or small, that they can contribute towards combating global warminge.” she added.
This initiative is one of many greening initiatives underway at present across Limerick including European Green Leaf, Urbact Health and Greenspace as well as Horizon 2020 GoGreenroute.
Anne Goggin, Senior Executive Engineering LCCC, who coordinates these projects said, “Trees are the lungs of our land, the more trees, the better we can breathe. They also increase biodiversity of an area, support climate action and are a fantastic amenity in any community and we are delighted to work with UL PSU to make this happen”.
Limerick City and County Council will plant over 1000 trees across the city and county over the next 2-3 years and invite organisations and businesses large and small to get involved. For further information contact:
