Mayo man turns Connacht GAA green!
An Taisce’s annual Climate Ambassador Awards bring together citizens who are passionate about protecting the planet and rewards their local efforts to reduce the impact of climate change in Ireland.
From Donegal to Dublin and Mayo to Meath, on November 30 last the room was filled with inspiring changemakers.
Among the 10 people honoured with a special award this year for impactful climate action was Kurt Reinhardt from Ballyhaunis, Co. Mayo, who went above and beyond as a climate ambassador for An Taisce in 2024.
Kurt is an excellent example of a citizen driving climate action in both their place of employment and community. During his time with Connacht GAA, Kurt used innovative initiatives to increase sustainability and created a blueprint for climate action that can be adopted in GAA clubs and communities across Ireland.
What Kurt has achieved with the Connacht GAA Centre of Excellence in Bekan is truly inspirational. Tree-planting has been a major focus, with over 10,000 planted. This year saw a ban on single-use plastics at the centre, while the Connacht GAA Recycling & Waste Plan – a three-year initiative developed with MyWaste – was adopted to drive waste reduction.
The Centre of Excellence is home to the world's largest air dome, which is powered by solar energy. The dome is now exporting solar energy, with the first category B export licence to go live in Ireland – a landmark project in the country.
Kurt also negotiated a €2 million partnership with Pinergy which will guarantee renewable power supply to clubs at below market price across Connacht from Lacken wind farm. Connacht GAA was also recently honoured as Ireland's top sustainable energy community at the national awards.
“The Climate Ambassador programme gave me the confidence, education and tools to go out into the community in an effort to transfer knowledge, promote and sow the seeds of change. From there, hopefully, our communities can begin to take their own positive steps and actions to impact the thematic areas for the good of our future generations,” said Kurt.
OUTSTANDING
Hailing from communities, clubs, businesses, schools and colleges from all over Ireland, the ambassadors' collective achievement in 2024 is nothing short of outstanding.
A total of 148 climate ambassadors were trained by An Taisce’s Climate Action Team earlier this year, and together they delivered 658 climate actions, directly engaging over 265,000 people. The group also released 2,375 climate communications, reaching an estimated 4.5 million people in 2024.
Every climate ambassador was recognised with a framed certificate, while 10 – including Kurt – were distinguished with special awards.
Throughout the year, the ambassadors engaged their networks with biodiversity, circular fashion, education, nature restoration, youth communications, sustainable travel, sustainable energy, tree-planting, rewilding, flood prevention, degrowth, food waste, and environmental advocacy.
In addition to their impressive impact and extensive list of achievements, the awardees were also commended for uniting communities, boosting neighbourhood bonds, building trust, bridging generational gaps, and raising hope for our future.
“An Taisce has no doubt that Kurt will continue to inspire others to take action locally and in GAA clubs across Connacht,” concluded Gráinne Ryan, climate action manager.