Introduction: A Milestone We Didn’t Particularly Want to Hit

Congratulations, Earth, you’ve done it again. Another record-breaking year! 2024 has claimed the title of the hottest year on record, tipping over the critical 1.5°C global temperature threshold. While this may sound like the Earth’s equivalent of a fever we just can’t shake, let’s not just dwell on the problem; let’s talk solutions—specifically, education’s role in turning this crisis into an opportunity for action.

Education, particularly Education for Sustainable Development (ESD), has never been more important. It’s not just about understanding the problem but equipping individuals and communities with the tools to create meaningful solutions. Let’s dive into the science, what’s at stake, and how education is our way forward.

The 1.5°C Threshold: Keep Your Cool

You’ve probably heard “1.5°C” tossed around in climate conversations more times than you’ve heard the phrase “net zero.” But what does it really mean? Think ...

I am an advocate for taking personal responsibility when it comes to environmental sustainability. 

Every individual choice and action we take has consequences.

Take, for instance, our use of water. There is a perception that it is an abundant natural resource, however, it is limited. Of the 70% of our Earth that is covered in water, only 3% is actually fresh and drinkable. Of this 3% it is not that easy to get! 80% of it is actually frozen in the polar ice caps. So, what does this leave us with? A shocking 1% of fresh water available to us- globally.

As our world population and industries grow, there is a huge demand placed on our water resources. As of 2019, a total of 17 countries are now feeling the stress of water shortages. 

The World Data Institute (WRI) says that about one quarter of the world’s population, approximately 1.7 BILLION people - live in a place where farming, industry and cities use 80% of their available water supply every year.

This means that only 20% i...

I am blessed that because of my job, I get to work alongside secondary school students but also the hospitality industry workers, through our Hospitality programmes. 

As an educator, I've always been aware of my own shortcomings. With English being my second language, I've always felt my language is lacking in many areas, and I often wish I could write and speak in a more professional and fluid way. For this reason, I have always felt I wasn’t good enough.

Surprisingly, it is because of my use of layman terms, that makes our programmes more appealing to my students, for young generations and adults alike.

I came across this TedTalk from John Marshall and I was hooked from the first minute, when he he had the following to say about Climate Change:

“What we have here, is a failure to communicate”. The terminology around Climate Change is a difficult one and so it seems a totally abstract concept to people, words become obstacles rather than aids, and this confusion becomes a deter...

Last week I was invited to speak at the Hospitality & Tourism Expo organized by the Restaurants Association of Ireland.

When I finished my presentation the audience and I had an opportunity for a quick Q&A, with one questions coming up several times:

How can I get my team to engage with Green Actions?

This is a recurring issue for many business owners and a difficult barrier to get through.

While I do not have all the answers, namely because this barrier involves human psychology and our adversity to “change”… I do have 8 tips that you can try out:

1. You cannot implement a Green Programme alone if you run a medium to large business. Period. You will need a Green Manager and a Green Team. Choose these people with care. The first instinct here would be to work with all your heads of department, but while they need to be involved in some capacity, it is important that you do not forget about your Junior Staff. There might be many hidden “green gems” within your team. People that alre
...

Human’s relationship with food is a theme that has haunted me for the past couple of years.

Why such a strong reaction do you ask? Primarily because I feel that our relationship with food and our current systems to produce it and feed the population are disconnected and broken, causing major degradation of the planet’s natural resources and ecosystems.

Only a few days ago I had the chance to watch the SeaSpiracy documentary on Netflix, which merely corroborated this frame of mind even further - we need to change our entire relationship with food.

When trying to reflect as to how our food systems started to become so unmanageable, one theme always comes to mind and that is our own relationship and respect for the food that we eat.

Do we have respect for the food that we eat?

Last month I travelled to Spain and during my trip I had a chance to visit a new fish & seafood shop near my mother’s house. The shop is beautiful, with endless counter displays of whole fish and seafood. When ...

The Irish Times has published an article titled:

Food & Drink companies facing mandatory emission targets. 

The article starts by saying: 

“All major Irish food and drinks companies will in future have to commit to reducing carbon emissions if they are to be part of Origin Green – the national sustainability programme run by Bord Bia.”

This is not surprising at all, what is surprising to me is that these measures are not part of our real world right now.

The Paris agreement is a legally binding international treaty on Climate change adopted by 196 parties in 2015. All countries participating need to achieve Zero Carbon by 2050.

Implementation of the Paris Agreement requires economic and social transformation.

But how do we achieve social transformation?

Social transformation is not something that can be achieved in a couple of years. Our culture, politics, economy, the way we think and live, needs to be transformed in a way where carbon emissions are part of our DNA. 

Carbon ...

Last month, we were delighted to officially launch our environmental education programme for secondary schools here in Ireland.

Since the launch, we have been lucky to engage with these students and create a space where we encourage them to ask us anything that may be causing anxiety in regards to Climate Change.

One student, asked a very important question in relation to plastic waste last week:

How can we make a difference when the big companies are the ones who create the products we buy?

I love these types of questions, and students don’t hold back thankfully with how they feel. We appreciate this honesty no end.

But, how do you answer the above question?

To be fair it is absolutely a valid point to make. Our current consumer society has been created by large corporations, they thrive by sending us into a frenzy of convenient consumerism of cheaper products, disposable items, etc.

Nowadays some people feel if they do not have a new dress or suit to wear at the next party for...

Last week I saw the amazing Clover Hogan, a young climate activist from Australia give a TEDTalk 

The link to her talk is on this week's written blog on our website, I encourage you to watch it - it's fantastic!

 “Climate change is not your responsibility, because it is outside your control, but what is your responsibility, is the things inside your control.”

So what does Personal Responsibility for Climate means?

For me, it all comes down to the things I have been speaking about on my weekly blogs for the past 2 years.

You can choose to;

1. Continue to live your life as you are..

OR

2. Continue to live your life with an added commitment to reducing your impact on the planet.

Two clear choices and no wrong answer.

YOU are in charge of your life and what do you with it is completely up to you.

I would not chastise anyone for choosing Option 1, however know that I am choosing Option 2 because I want to look back on my life in 10 years time and know that I did everything I poss...

First of all a very HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

I hope 2021 is kinder to all of us than 2020 has been...

As we all delve into New Year’s resolutions, I wanted to start my year talking about a country I admire and have followed the progress of for a few years now - Costa Rica.

This blog, is a little longer than my regular blogs because I found the story of the development of Costa Rica so interesting and inspiring that I couldn't make it any shorter!

The moral of the story for me, is that a government that invests in protecting its natural resources and educating its people on the importance of the same, is on a winning trajectory.

In the era of the world wide web and fake news, it is difficult to determine which “facts” are real or not so to write this blog I partnered with Luis Murillo from Costa Rica and I found the story of their sustainable developments fascinating. 

Here is what Luis told me:

According to Luis, there were 4 elements of the history of Costa Rica that allowed ...