Pathways: Building Community Resilience to Climate Change

A creative project aiming to increase community involvement in addressing rising sea levels and coordinating responses to flooding.

The Creative Climate Action Fund is an initiative from Creative Ireland Programme, funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport & Media in collaboration with the Department of the Taoiseach.

The Creative Climate Action ‘Spark’ grants are funding 24 projects that pilot new ideas for public engagement at a local, community level. These projects will be completed by the end of 2024.

Youghal Blue and Green Community Networks project ‘Pathways’ is one of the 24 projects chosen.

Latest News

Community Unites to Tackle Flood Preparedness at Town Hall Event

The community of Youghal came together on November 14th at a successful Town Hall event titled “Community Response: Creating Planning for Future Flood Events.” Held at the Mall Arts Centre, the event provided an engaging forum to address the increasing threat of flooding in the region and explore proactive, community-led solutions.

The evening began at 6pm with refreshments and an inspiring showcase of artwork produced through the Creative Ireland Pathways Project, a visual reminder of the power of community collaboration. A sample of the local-voices soundscape created by artist Daniel Clancy was aired and as Daniel said “A ‘citizens army’ can make change happen in protecting our community in flood events”.

At 7pm, a distinguished panel, comprising scientific experts and local voices, set the tone for the event by discussing the urgent need for collective action in the face of flooding challenges. Their insights highlighted both the technical and social dimensions of flood preparedness, emphasizing the critical role the community plays in planning and response. A lively Q&A session followed, where attendees posed thoughtful questions and shared their concerns.

Presentations were made by Professor Robert Devoy of UCC; Jordan Delmar of Met Eireann; David Moran from the Office of Public Works along with Veronica Santorum, lead artist on the Creative Ireland Pathways project; Caroline Leahy of Midleton Flood Forum and local Councillor Mary Linehan Foley.

As speaker Caroline Leahy said, “To lose your home to a flood is something difficult to comprehend unless you’ve experienced it…you house needs to essentially be reconstructed. This is hard enough to do with insurance, but an impossibility without…the consequences of a devastating flood is that your safe place has been changed forever and you now live in fear of something that happens all too often in Ireland – rain” She further added “the community response in [Midleton] was the growth after the rain…if a coordinated community plan was in place in advance of future flood events it would ensure an optimal response and recovery phase and would utilise community volunteers efficiently, making them the best asset we have”.The interactive portion of the evening saw participants splitting into four discussion groups to delve into key themes: Preparing, Preventing, Responding, and Recovering from floods. These discussions sparked vibrant exchanges of ideas and fostered a shared understanding of the community’s role in mitigating the impact of flooding.

The turnout was exceptional, with attendees demonstrating their commitment to future actions. A major highlight was the enthusiastic signing up of participants for a new community group dedicated to developing a flood preparedness plan.

Graphic artist Hazel Hurley created a visual record of the event, which will be seen in community locations over the next phase of action.

The next phase of this initiative involves forming and organising the community group to begin drafting actionable plans. Many attending are already signed up to this working group. Updates and future meeting details will be shared through the Youghal Blue and Green Community Network’s social media channels.

This event was both the final action of the Pathways: Building Community Climate Resilience project, funded by Creative Ireland, and the first action in developing a robust Community Flood Response Plan over the coming year. The organisers wish to thank all who attended, contributed, and engaged in this vital conversation. Together, Youghal is proving that community action is at the heart of creating a safer and more resilient future.

Youghal’s Blue and Green Network hosts Public Meeting on exploring Community Response to Flood events as part of Pathways project.

Book your place here!

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/community-response-planning-for-future-flood-events-tickets-1074192842709?aff=oddtdtcreator

On November 14^th at the Mall Arts Centre from 6 – 9pm, Youghal’s Blue & Green Network climate action project Pathways: Building Community Climate Resilience hosts its final event – a public meeting at which expert speakers and local community members come together to discuss how a community-based flooding resilience plan can be developed.

There is an open invitation to all walks of people in Youghal and the Network hopes that people will welcome the opportunity to engage in discussions around what is needed to prepare and respond to flood events, which may increase as sea levels rise.

The discussion will be chaired by Aoife Deane of MaREI, UCC and six panellists will give a short presentation. The panellists are Professor Robert Devoy of UCC; Jordan Delmar of Met Eireann, David Moran from the Office of Public Works, Veronica Santorum, lead artist with the Pathways project, Caroline Leahy from Midleton Flood Forum and local Councillor Mary Linehan Foley.

Following the presentations, participants are invited to take part in one of four facilitated discussions, themed PREVENT, PREPARE, RESPOND and RECOVER and in each they will explore two questions: ‘What can local communities do’ and ‘what does the community need in order to take action’?

The findings from these discussions will pave the way to developing a Community Flood Response Plan, work which will take place in 2025 – everyone taking part in this meeting will be invited to stay on board for the journey.

Prior to the meeting start, from 6-7pm there will be refreshments, networking opportunities and a chance to see elements of the creative work produced during the project – textile art and soundscapes reflecting local voices and local environment – which will be on display. Lead artist Veronica Santorum says “The natural-coloured sandbags were originally presented in the form of a site-specific trail on Claycastle Beach, within sight of town and the ancient tree stumps and peat that are underwater at high tide. Time and urgency, coexistence with other life forms and the community’s search for a map or pathway to deal with climate change are themes…explored with natural dyes, stitch and the written word. The work is a response to engagements with the community over the course of the Pathways project and the natural environment of Youghal’s coastline”.

Flood prediction models for Youghal suggest that 1-in-10-year floods currently cause €65,000 of damage in each flooding event, due to wave overtopping at the quayside at Allin’s Quay and Green’s Quay and at Claycastle and Summerfield areas behind the defences.  If climate change is not slowed and sea-level rises by 1m in Youghal, increased frequency of flooding is predicted to cost €53.5 million of damage in each event (2018 prices), with 477 homes and businesses at risk. (Figures based on the OPW Flood Risk Management Plan for the Blackwater (Munster) River Basin (UOM18, 2018). Dealing with flooding involves more than just the emergency response during a flood. Prevention and Recovery are important parts of a Flood Resilience Plan. It therefore needs different organisations and the community to work together, and this Town Hall meeting creates an opportunity for people to come together and start the process of planning.

Pathways: Building Community Climate Resilience was funded through the Creative Climate Action Fund 2023, one of 24 Spark projects chosen nationwide to be supported by the Creative Ireland Programme and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC) The project aims to help Youghal adapt to climate change and be more resilient to flooding by using creative practices to open conversations, bring people together and to share learning. The Youghal Blue and Green Community Network is well placed for this work having representation from over 40 community organisations as well as many individual members and over 600 people have engaged in the project since its outset in November 2023. Textile and stencilling workshops, conversation walkshops in coastal locations and installations and actions on Claycastle beach have enabled access for a broad range of ages and backgrounds, bringing community together in an enjoyable, purposeful way.

More project information is available  the Network’s facebook page. Places can be booked by emailing info@youghalblueandgreennetwork.ie or on Eventbrite – see link at top of post.

Climate Action Week: Pathways art in the Kathleen & May Experience

A window display of artwork created during the Pathways project is currently on show at the  Kathleen & May Experience in South Main Street. 

Featuring pieces created and workshopped by Veronica Sandoval and Jackie Nevin, with the Spring Chickens Club, Liam Power, Paul Verling and Youghal Men’s Shed, it is well worth a look. Mark and Hayley enjoyed hanging the textiles and prints – the fishing nets already in place were a great help with that! 

Our thanks for the generosity of all at the Kathleen & May Experience for letting us access and use the space. It’s good to link the past and future of the sea together. The display is up until Sunday 20th October.

Textile Trail & Soundscape…days on the shore

21st and 22nd of September saw our Pathways installation finally taking place on Claycastle shore. This textile trail and soundscape, created by artists Veronica Santorum and Daniel Clancy, with the input of participants throughout the project, was a wonderful and poignant sight. Many people, both local and visitors, took the trail and, sitting comfortabley on deckchairs, listened to the soundscape of natural sounds and people’s voices, talking about rising sea lebels, tallking about flooding and how we respond as a community…with the sound of the waves behind them. Participant Martha said “This was a great experience on the beach today. The recordings were great… good to see that Daniel collected such an array of ages, all giving their stories..
I loved the real Youghal accents, too.. and the set was so colourful and made it all so cosy and relaxing.
Veronica’s textiles were beautifully finished and presented, the words were touching, and the prints of wood slices representing the ancient forest evocative”. She also added “…a recording or film of the sea as a back drop could help bring this whole set up indoors in a future presentation” – this is something we may look to for our next event, the Town Hall Public Meeting on November 14th.

Thanks to our volunteers who made the two days run so smoothly – and thanks to the weather for keeping the rain away!

We filled the bags!

Thanks to all our volunteers who joined us last Saturday to fill the stencilled sandbags which will form part of our installation this coming weekend. Don’t miss us – we’ll be on Claycastle beach from 2 – 4pm Saturday and Sunday!

Stencilling workshop with our Ukrainian community

In preparation for our art installation and soundscape on 14th & 15th September at Claycastle, today some of our Ukrainian community stencilled messages on hessian sandbags which have also been dyed with bark, leaves, iron, copper and aluminium.

We will be filling these with sand tomorrow (Saturday 7th) from 11am-1pm at the Community Garden in Golflinks Road. All are welcome to take part, observe and join in some chats about sandbags and flooding – whether for a few minutes or the whole duration. 

Race Against the Tide – the Sandcastle Challenge!

On Saturday August at the Front Strand of Youghal, environmental artists called on the people of Youghal to help build 477 sandcastles to highlight the number of homes and local businesses at risk of future flooding due to rising sea levels.

Visual artist, Veronica Santorum, known from Creativity at the Hub project, and audio-visual media producer, Daniel Clancy, known from Decarbonising Together: Garryowen, were assisting sandcastle artist Seán Corcoran of The Art Hand in creating the sandcastle project, showcasing Youghal. Over 200 people attended the event, help build the sculptures and then watch as the perfect sand sculpture of Youghal was washed away by the high tide. During the event, conversations about the estimated rise in sea level of 1m by 2050, as well as ways that we as a community can implement actions that hep deal with current flooding and its effects.

Jacob, volunteer and local social campaigner, who attended the event says: “Rising sea levels are putting Youghal’s coast at risk, threatening the safety of homes and the future of our community. But often people seem to ignore it, so it is good to spread awareness of the issue through interactive events like this.”

This event is connected to a bigger project called Pathways: Building Community Climate Resilience is led by Youghal Blue and Green Community Network in collaboration with their members. The project focuses on developing community resilience to climate change through creative approaches – art, interactive events and workshops/’walkshops’ in the field.

Dr. Maria Power, Chairperson of the Blue & Green Network, said: “Rising sea levels and frequent storms are making Youghal more vulnerable to flooding. We need to bring people together to find solutions that can be achieved at a community level.”

The project learns from YOU!

We’re finding interesting learning and purposeful suggestions coming out of our artists meeting people and having conversations about sandbags and flooding in Youghal – and also from the recent art workshop ‘Sandbag Trivia’. These ideas will be very useful for both the Pathways project itself and particularly, in the longer term, the Network’s development of a Community Resilience Plan in collaboration with local people and local services. You can hear more about these ideas, and bring your own to the table, through further textile art workshops and the ‘Town Hall’ meetings that will be held in the autumn. Do watch this space for details of forthcoming activities, we hope you’ll participate!

Textile Art Workshop 

On May 22nd the first textile art workshop was held with Veronica Santorum and Daniel Clancy. This starts the process of decorating sandbags for the final installation and also provdeied an excellent focus for more discussion on flooding and how we can be more resilient to the changing climate. Daniel played some of his recorded interviews (which will form part of the soundscape aspect on the installation) and these recordings were a great stimulus, getting people straight to the heart of flooding. Stencils were made in the comfortable surroundings of Cork ETB and participants are looking forward to the next one!

Spring Chickens Workshop

The Spring Chickens Older People’s Club welcomed artist Jackie Nevin and Climate Community Worker Mark Falvey  yesterday for a fun and informative workshop as part of the Pathways: Community Climate Resilience project.

The group members shared their knowledge and experience of flooding and were very articulate about what’s needed to form an effective response to flooding in Youghal. This was achieved through art work – using inks and paper, creating a seascape which will form part of the final exhibition (more on that next time!) 

Conversations also led to tangible ideas for group activities during Climate Action Week in October, and exploration of what biodiversity means in daily life.

Upcoming

Next Monday artist Jackie Nevin will deliver a full-day workshop with members of the Spring Chickens Older People’s Social Club. Hearing the voices and experience of the older generation is vital in looking to the future as we work towards community resilience in floods and rising sea levels.

Progress to date

Last night’s Pathways Talkshop with Emergency Services went super well. The reduced number of 12 participants really helped make it a quality, insightful experience. We better understood more the reality of the emergency services’ experiences during flooding, how they co-ordinate, the role community might have in helping vulnerable people prepare for flooding and checking in on them during flooding. There was a lot more and some issues like difficulties with sandbags arose again.

It’s not just the emergency response during a flooding event: being resilient means we need to be able to respond to climate change and flooding before it happens, and try and lessen the impacts. We have been learning about the different stages of a resilience plan, such as prevention and discussing what can a community do at all stages. Doing this in a creative way, on the beach, makes the conversations a lot more fun!

This is part of our ‘Pathways to Community Climate Resilience’ project, funded by the Creative Ireland Programme and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications (DECC).

#YoughalClimateResilience  #ClimatePathwaysYoughal  #YoughalBlueandGreenNetwork

#CreativeClimateAction #CommunityClimateResilience

The second Walk-shop took place on Sunday 18th February, 2024

17 people attended this Walkshop, and despite the large size of the group, all voices were heard and great information was shared.

Artists Veronica and Daniel felt that facilitating these smaller groups allowed for more engagement and participation and retained focus and attention. The complex information regarding stages of a Community Resilience Plan was effectively communicated and interest in what resilience means practically, with the different elements of resilience planning and their interdependency was addressed with a light and creative touch. People enjoyed making the Resilience Mandala.

Suggestions for possible community actions for resilience before and after flooding events emerged. People with experience of flooding shared their experiences which added depth and reality to the conversations. The presence of a mix of ages was welcomed, particularly by the older generation.

Overall, the Walkshop helped develop positivity, cooperation and a ‘we can do it’ attitude amongst members of the Network and recognition of the Network’s strengths and possibilities. The visibility of the workshop, and engagement with passersby, helped publicise the project and work of the Blue & Green Network

Some group interests were identified – for intergenerational work on the Resilience Plan and in response to flooding and to connect with other communities and groups in the same situation of having been flooded.

Maria Power, Chairperson of the Network, explains: “Rising sea levels and frequent storms are making Youghal more vulnerable to flooding. We will be using this grant to bring people together to find solutions that can be achieved at a community level.”

The project is underway and takes a creative approach. Veronica Santorum, one of three artists working on the project says, “Flooding and climate change are challenging issues to face up to and talk about. Working with artists and taking a creative approach can make the conversations easier and stimulate new ideas. Discussions are more relaxed on walks, art workshops and over a cup of tea.”

The first walks have already revealed gaps in how information about imminent flooding is shared, the lack of a designated safe place in Youghal to go if flooded, the need for co-ordination during a flooding event and the need for supports after flooding, for the clean-up and to help people through the emotional impacts. As part of their research, Network members will visit the emergency services and learn about their experiences dealing with flooding emergencies and how the community might support them. They are also researching what is being done to prevent flooding.

Art workshops, open to all, begin in May. Non-artists are welcome. On these workshops, people will have opportunity to consider the issues and offer their insights in a relaxed setting. The art created will be a mixture of textile, sound and sculpture that captures the ideas generated on the project. It will be exhibited in town in September 2024. All these conversations and ideas will feed into a Community Climate Resilience Plan for Youghal.

To find out more and get involved contact Gráinne Furey, Project Lead on 086 1512525. And you can keep up to date with the project at www.youghalblueandgreennetwork.ie/Projects and by using the hashtags: #YoughalClimateResilience; #ClimatePathwaysYoughal; #YoughalBlueandGreenNetwork

Launching the Project

Councillor Mary Linehan-Foley officially launched this exciting project in Cumann naDaoine last December at the Network’s Christmas event at which Network members, artists and collaborators came together.

Pathways: Building Community Resilience to Climate Change aims to engage our community through a series of walk shops & arts workshops as we explore our community’s concerns about rising sea levels, coastal erosion and flooding.

 Our three artists Veronica Santorum, Daniel Clancy and Jackie Nevin will facilitate the walk shops and workshops to co-create an immersive audio-visual sandbag installation using natural textiles – this will be exhibited in September 2024 in the Mall Arts Centre, Youghal. The project will leave a tangible legacy in the form of a copper artwork mounted on the Cumann na Daoine building which references the ongoing floods and  the participation of local people: the design of this artwork will be informed by the community through workshops. 

We invite everyone in the area to join us and collaborate in our vox-pops, walk, talk & workshops. Together, let’s explore the community’s perspectives on the effects of rising sea levels and flooding in Youghal. Your support is crucial, and we value the input of every community member as we journey on our  Pathways whilst building resilience to climate change.

The First Walkshop

The first walk-shop took place on Sunday November 12th, 2023

Network members enjoyed a 2-hour interactive experience, facilitated by sound artist Daniel Clancy and eco-artist Veronica Santorum with a range of activities at each pre-planned stop along the route structured to provoke thought and conversation about flooding. 

Local resident of South Abbey, Elia Kirwin, shared her stories of the many times her home flooded. This sparked a lively conversation about how communities can respond to, and prepare for, future flooding events.

Further discussions took place afterwards in the Community Café at Cumann na Daoine where we enjoyed soup, sandwiches and cakes.

The attendance and feedback were extremely positive and though flooding is a serious topic the facilitators managed to keep all focused using playful yet sensitive methods.

Follow us here and our social media pages as we journey these Pathways together.