Trinity College Dublin launches Green Pearse Street campaign
Jane Stout, Vice President for Biodiversity and Climate Action, and The Lord Mayor of Dublin, Caroline Conroy, officially launched the Green Pearse Street campaign in partnership with several businesses in the area. The objective of Green Pearse Street is to ‘green’ the street while improving air quality, creating a health and biodiversity corridor and adding more social space.
Along with Trinity, other members of Green Pearse Street include All Human, Bread41, Chartered Accountants Ireland, Cloud Picker Coffee, Dublin Chamber of Commerce, Grant Thornton, Headstuff, Henry J Lyons, Honey Truffle, Iput, Jobcare, O’Neills Victorian Pub and Townhouse, Pearse Street Management, PLM Group, St Andrews Resource Centre, The Lombard, and William Fry, with more businesses expected to join in the months to come.
Prof Jane Stout adds:
“Trinity occupies a significant portion of the south side of Pearse Street, from College Green all the way to Trinity East at Grand Canal Dock. We are delighted to be part of this initiative to green this important route that connects our campuses. Safe, active, accessible and sustainable transport options, and more trees and other greenery (like the green wall on Trinity Business School), would benefit the mental and physical health of all of our communities, and contribute to tackling our climate and biodiversity crises.”
As one of the main arteries in the city, Pearse Street regularly records elevated levels of harmful pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO²) and particulate matter (PM 2.5). According to EU research, air pollution is the largest environmental health risk in Europe, causing chronic illness and premature deaths, particularly in urban areas.
Working in two parallel streams, the Green Pearse Street campaign includes action at individual organisation level, and on the collective level to create street-wide change for businesses, local communities, tourists, and other street users. Coordinated work by businesses along the street has already commenced with measures including planters to provide food for pollinating insects; the construction of living walls and roofs; the installation of bird boxes and feeders to provide space for nesting and foraging; and a programme of local community engagement.
In the longer-term, the group will campaign for the optimisation of this significant streetscape to make greater provision for Dubliners and visitors to the city to stop and enjoy the surroundings.