By John Harrington

The GAA’s Green Club Programme will be profiled on the RTÉ One programme 'Heated' this evening, Thursday, November 23rd, at 8pm.

Louth club Clan na Gael, Westmeath club Mullingar Shamrocks, and the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence will be highlighted in the programme which delves into the implications of climate change for Irish people.

The GAA Green Club Programme was established to support Gaelic Games clubs in taking simple and effective sustainability action in their grounds and activities.

The Programme is structured around the themes of Energy, Water, Waste, Biodiversity and Travel & Transport and is designed to promote sustainability awareness and action in GAA clubs and communities.

Clan na Gael are a Green Club Programme mentor club who, among other initiatives, completed an energy saving project that resulted in annual energy and maintenance savings of €10,000 per annum and a massive reduction in CO2 emissions.

Mullingar Shamrocks have made positive changes to their club grounds for the betterment of their flora, fauna, and pollinators that included a Biodiversity Walking route.

The Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence has undertaken a range of energy-saving and environmentally-friendly initiatives including the installation of 1,000 solar panels, rainwater harvesting, and planting native trees and bushes.

While Phase 2 of the Green Club Programme is currently closed as 200 Clubs from around the country progress through their Green Club journey, a new phase will open in late 2024.

In the meantime all Clubs are encouraged to use the extensive toolkit developed with expert partners to support activities across themes of Energy, Water, Waste, Biodiversity & Travel. It contains resources, advice and guidance, tailored especially for GAA clubs and members, and also contains inspiring, practical case studies from Green Clubs from across the island of Ireland.

The Toolkit is available to all GAA, LGFA and Camogie clubs and members at:https://learning.gaa.ie/greenclub