County Mayor's diary

By the Mayor of Cork Cllr Christopher O'Sullivan

Last week I had the pleasure of meeting food blogger and chef Lilly Higgins for the launch of the third Reuse Republic Event in Cork County Hall. 

Brought to you by Cork County Council, this initiative gives people the opportunity to meet those who are leading the way in upcycling, reuse and sustainable business. Adapting to, and mitigating the effects of climate change will require changes to the way we live our day to day lives. 
As climate change impacts our ability to produce food, we need to be very conscious of waste. 
Lilly will be on hand at the Reuse Republic Event on Thursday 24 October to share tips and recipes that will help with reducing food waste, aiding the environment and even saving money in the process. 
Lilly will be joined by other pioneers of reuse and upcycling initiatives like Badly Made Books, Cork Zero Waste, Food Cloud, Handmade By Kata, Mamukko, ReCreate and The Twig Refill shop from my hometown of Clonakilty.
I’ve visited the Twig Refill shop on many occasions. They provide simple solutions, which if we all embraced would lead to a huge reduction in single use plastic. All these businesses show us that making the necessary changes to live sustainably is achievable and even enjoyable. 
This event is not to be missed and I hope to see you there!
I have also had the pleasure of meeting some exceptional young people in two recent school visits celebrating some remarkable projects.
The students of St Catherine’s National School in Conna were the winners of the Cork School Gardens Awards. 
As far as sustainable recycling initiatives go, this project is a model of excellence. 
The students have managed to use nearly every inch of available space to grow and recycle. 
Their garden features water harvesting, reused plastic, a bug motel, a wildflower garden, a vegetable garden, and a homemade composter. 
Once again, the youth of county Cork are leading the way when it comes to looking after the planet.
I also visited Carrigtwohill National School to celebrate another kind of sustainability. One of the most integral parts of our cultural heritage is the Irish language. 
The students of Carrigtwohill National School have recently been awarded a 'Gealbhratach', which I had the pleasure of helping them raise outside their school. 
The Gealbhratach is a special flag which is given to acknowledge the school’s efforts in introducing conversational Irish. 
Their work will go a long way towards keeping the Irish language alive and well in our communities for years to come. The young people of Cork are truly exceptional!