GMIT is celebrating keeping Galway environmentally friendly with its third annual Green Open Day on next week as part of the Loving Galway festival.
The GMIT Green Day programme will feature workshops, talks, tours, and an expo area with stands from a wide rage of organisations an environmental groups.
They’ll be teaching people about sustainable practices and giving out information on the latest trends in living an environmentally friendly life.
School pupils from the nearby Gaelscoil Dara will be coming along to find out more about how their ongoing Green School efforts can help make Galway a cleaner place.
And Minister of State or Natural Resources and Rural Affairs, and Galway West TD, Sean Kyne will be there for the launch of the ‘Green Campus Initiative’.
The initiative will provide students and staff at GMIT a chance to be a part of numerous projects meant to promote sustainability.
Chair of the GMIT Green Campus Committee, Dr Mark Kelly, said: “Once again, we are delighted to host the Annual Green Campus Day in GMIT.”
“The focus of the event this year is engagement and we will be launching a range of sustainability-related initiatives to engage students, staff and the local community over the coming academic year.”
The Loving Galway Sustainability Festival is a celebration of the city’s many green and blue spaces that will run from September 20 – 30.
It’s a collaboration between the city council, local schools and colleges, and many other community and environmental groups investing in keeping this city blooming.
The Loving Galway festival builds on decades of environmental activism that won the city the European Green Leaf designation last year.
GMIT is doing its part with many events showing people how they can keep the city green at the Open Day on Monday, September 24.
An electric car demonstration with e-cars and hybrids will be on at the campus Pay-and-Display car park on the Ballybane Road.
While the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland will be holding a workshop on how to get Energy Upgrade Grants.
There will be seminars by the Sustainable Energy Communities groups from GMIT, Claremorris and Inis Oírr, and Voice Ireland Recycling Ambassador Programme will be running a workshop on recycling tips.
There a range of other exhibitions on with confirmed vendors like ProAir, Galway Co Council, Barna Recycling, Refill Ireland, Coke Zero Bikes and Ecological Building Systems.
Students from GMIT’s campuses in Galway, Letterfrack, Castlebar, Mountbellew, and Cluain Mhuire will also be showing off their own green projects.
“The Green Day is free and open to the public and we would encourage anyone interested in sustainability-related issues to come along,” said co-chair of the Green Campus Committee Mr Sean Fahy.
“We have a wide range of excellent exhibitors and workshops focusing on energy and water conservation, biodiversity, waste prevention and recycling and sustainable transport.”
GMIT’s campuses in the city and Cluain Mhuire first registered for the Green Campus status awarded Foundation for Environmental Education and An Taisce three years ago.
The Mayo campus was the first in Ireland to be awarded that status back in 2011.
