Official Launch of Dream for Our Land

Sligo PPN is delighted to invite you to the launch of ‘Dream for our Land’, an artistic vision for the landscape of Sligo in The Model Niland Centre. Enjoy this amazing visual experience of our county, combined with delicious treats from Osta. Click here for the flyer.

While the invitation is open and all are welcome to drop in, we would appreciate an indication of numbers just so we can make sure there is enough food to go around. If you know for sure you will be coming along please let us know at ppn@sligococo.ie

Background

PPNs have a growing place in supporting communities to take positive climate action and to ensure a sustainable future for all generations.

A traditional approach to climate consultation would be to ask participants to raise issues and ask them for solutions. However, the whole concept of climate change can be so overwhelming that it is often reduced to only thinking about the practical steps groups can take – can we make sure we don’t use plastic, can we as a neighbourhood look at community composting, can tidy towns groups remove pesticides, etc. While all of these are hugely important and one of the roles of the PPN is to help groups learn from each other in taking these practical steps, in this project, we wanted to take the time to first remind people why taking these steps should no longer be an option, but something that we as a collective community commit to doing to preserve this amazing county we are lucky enough to call home. This land existed long before us and it should not just be our duty to protect it but rather it should be something that we all want and need to do because it is so special.

In short, we wanted to bring thinking around environmental action back from being seen as an added pressure on groups, as something they have to do, to something that is core to community operation as current custodians of this county.

In trying to think how we would go about this, the Sligo PPN Secretariat decided that the most powerful way to reconnect people with this land would be through one of our strongest cultural traditions – through song, music, and poetry.

In November 2022, a group of environmental and community activists, writers, poets, artists, and musicians gathered over 4 weekends to discuss a vision for a sustainable and inclusive Sligo. Following these discussions, a poem and video were produced by Stephen Murphy who facilitated the discussions. This piece represents his interpretation of the aspects of the county Sligo landscape that community members feel are essential to preserve and protect. On February 20th, in The Model Sligo, we will officially launch this video and then gather for a short networking workshop where we will discuss ideas on how we can work together to manifest our own vision and actions for a sustainable and inclusive Sligo.