Two climate activists from Donegal were honoured at An Taisce’s annual Climate Ambassador Awards last weekend.
Letterkenny student Dana Manlagnit and Eddie Bradley of Malin Sustainability were among the ten recipients of special awards for their impactful climate actions.
Pictured Above, From Left to Right: Gráinne Ryan, Climate Action Programme Manager. Sharmila Bano, Liam Coyle, Hannah Gilligan, Trevor Seery, Ruth Barron, Eddie Bradley, Rachel Smyth, Dana Manlagnit. Conor Anderson, Department of Environment, Climate and Communications. Sarah Bennett. Credit: Conor Healy/Picture It Photography
Dana, a fifth year student at Loreto Letterkenny, was distinguished for a variety of projects. She set up a collaborative art and literary e-zine ‘Climate Culture’, participated in the National Youth Assembly on Climate and spoke at the Mary Robinson Climate Conference on youth panel.
Eddie was celebrated for his slow cycle from Letterkenny to Cork. The journey was taken as part of Eddie’s sustainable transport advocacy, during which he shared stories along the way to promote the joy of active travel.
From Donegal to Dublin and Mayo to Meath, on Saturday the 30th of November, the Hyatt Centric Hotel in Dublin was filled with inspiring changemakers for An Taisce’s annual Climate Ambassador Awards.
148 Climate Ambassadors were trained by An Taisce’s Climate Action Team earlier this year, and together they delivered 658 climate actions, directly engaging over 265,000 people. The group also released 2,375 climate communications, reaching an estimated 4.5 million people in 2024!
Every Climate Ambassador was recognised with a framed certificate, and 10 were distinguished with special awards for their impactful climate actions.
The Climate Ambassador Programme is operated by An Taisce and is funded by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications under the National Dialogue on Climate Action.
Throughout the year they are asked to undertake four key tasks – two climate communications and two climate actions, though many participants achieve much more. This programme allows individuals to join a strong network of dedicated people who share knowledge, gain insight from one another, and forge long-lasting friendships.
