Thomas Gould (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There is another issue. I am the chairman of St. Vincent's Hurling and Football Club. Our treasurer, Mr. Kenneth Collins, who is a Sinn Féin councillor in Cork, is working with Cork City Council to designate a part of our sporting complex as an area of biodiversity. We are always looking to keep everything trim and tidy – the pitches, the land around them and the banks – and it looks beautiful, but as we learn more about biodiversity, perhaps GAA clubs, soccer clubs, rugby clubs and other sporting organisations should be looking at doing something else where they have land that they do not use for training. It could be along the side or a corner that is rocky or soft for most of the year. As part of a good initiative, we are working with Cork City Council and have pinpointed an area that we will now let grow wild. We are also working with the council on planting trees. This is another good initiative. I would like to see it being rolled out to all sporting organisations with green spaces. Consider how many sporting clubs Ireland has. Sporting organisations should be encouraged to get on board with this. For example, the GAA has Croke Park. It would not cost much money. We were always so keen to have everything tidy and prim, but now we know that biodiversity and working with nature are something we need to pursue for the health of the planet and our communities.