Mr. Aidan Gammell:

I am here to talk to the committee about the town environment. The council has nearly €3 million to use for the benefit of the town. So far, it has used it on roads, which we already have a huge quantity of and of a decent quality. We have presented to members in The VISUAL, they have spoken to us in our classroom and they have even put us in the newspaper. Still, after all of this, no progress has been made. This is why we have accepted the kind offer to speak to the committee in these Government buildings today. We are here to advise and inform the committee about the problems that could be fixed for the benefit of our town.

I am here to talk about the big area of wasteland and unused space and the advantages of foliage and greenery around Carlow. When we took a look around the town and on Google Maps, we found a good few examples of wasted space. We also found the town was lacking in greenery. This is a problem we find recurring throughout the town and it is something to be fixed. We have spent a lot of time throughout the past year researching, thinking and talking about what we would like to see happen in our town. I know there are changes happening at the moment. We spent a lovely lunchtime in the newly upgraded Hanover Park a few months ago and cycled on the newly installed protected bike lanes. However, there are other things we found that we think could be changed.

One of the things we noticed when walking around the town is the lack of trees on our main streets. One of the advantages of trees in an urban environment is that mature trees can produce the same cooling effect as ten room-sized air conditioners. This makes urban trees effective in reducing urban heat and hotspots in cities. Studies have shown that if people have more breathable oxygen in their lives, their mood and well-being will significantly improve. The planting of native trees is also good for biodiversity. Small native Irish trees that are good for urban areas include spindle, rowan, hawthorn and bird cherry.

The photo on the screen is one example of trees in an urban landscape. In Carlow, there is a lack of pollinators and greenery in parts of the town centre, especially at street level. There are some attractive and colourful flower displays in some areas of town but we discovered that colourful bedding is not the best for pollinators. On screen now is an example of greenery in an urban space. The area is pedestrianised and there are lots of mature trees planted. Would this not be lovely at the fountain on Barrack Street?

Here, in this image in the presentation, is an example of trees in an urban area. Trees like these provide shade and better oxygen. Hanover Park has lots of trees like this but other areas could do with more being planted.

I love the VISUAL art gallery. I love the art exhibitions and interesting sculptures there, but this site right next to it is ruining it. It would be nice to put something that would go well with the grounds of the VISUAL or St. Patrick's College. If sites like this remain undeveloped, the council could make a pocket park or allow people to use it for something. Unfortunately, there are a lot of sites like this around the town.

This site in the presentation is the one that is probably most familiar to my classmates as it is right next door to our school. The site of the old sugar factory is humongous. I am not sure of the quality of the land, but planting more foliage will improve the air quality for our students and there would be a lovely huge park near the outskirts of the town. It runs all along the river and could be a great public amenity. It is privately owned but maybe something could be changed.

Another image in the presentation shows derelict land right next to the town park. This is a horrible site to look at and even worse for the environment. Even just removing the amount of rubbish and planting it up would be much better for the town. If you take a look at other towns and cities, they will have a lot of their infrastructure built on their river. If you compare that with our town, it seems pretty bad, but redoing this and making it a public space would transform this wasteland into a relaxing place to socialise and spend time with nature.

Thanks for listening to our presentation on our town environment.