Events
Public Screening of “The Letter” – A Message for Our Earth
Following the success of their recent environmental Film Festival, Carlow County Environmental Network are once again offering the community of Carlow a unique opportunity to take positive Climate Action by providing a Public Screening of “The Letter – A Message for our Earth”.
In 2015, Pope Francis wrote Laudato Si’ (The Letter); an encyclical letter about the environmental crisis to every single person in the world. He called to people of all faiths and of none, to come together as one humanity, to seek to resolve the tragic effects of environmental degradation on what he calls our common home.
“The Letter” produced by the Laudato Si’ Movement, together with the Oscar and BAFTA-winning team Off the fence, is a visually stunning documentary that follows the journey of 5 courageous changemakers, hailing from Senegal, the Amazon, India, and Hawai’i, who journey to Rome and bring perspective and solutions from the poor, the indigenous, the youth, and wildlife into a conversation with Pope Francis himself.
On October 4th, 2022, a Laudato Si’ movie, The Letter – A Message for our Earth, was launched in Rome. In just three weeks it had 8 million views on YouTube! Even our own President Higgins hosted a special screening of The Letter – A Message for our Earth at Áras an Uachtaráin.
“We are a voluntary group, based here in Carlow who are working to increase awareness of the urgency to take positive environmental action and minimise the impact of climate change” says Martin Lyttle, a volunteer with County Carlow Environmental Network. “We are excited to bring a screening of The Letter to Carlow as it explores the brutal situation our world is in right now as we try to address the climate and biodiversity crises, but it also gives us hope, as it shows how ordinary people are doing what they can to make a difference”.
The event commences in An Gairdin Beo, Dublin Road, Carlow on Sunday 2nd of April at 5.30pm where attendees can find lots of information covering climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and the resulting migration/refugee crisis. There will also be an opportunity to chat to local and national interest groups over a cup of tea and a slice of pizza. Screening of The Letter takes place at 6.30pm and will be followed by a short discussion and more pizza for those who missed out before the film.
This is a Free Event but booking required via Eventbrite.
Festivals & Meetings
With a host of environmental crises looming, where does a new, enthusiastic, local environmental network begin?
Meetings
We used to meet on the first Tuesday of every month between 7pm and 9pm in An Gairdin Beo, providing each other with a support network of like-minded individuals. In recent times we’ve moved that to online but hope to return to in person soon, or provide an opportunity for a blended meeting. Contact us to get a link for the online call.
Following a few meetings and lots of chat, the Carlow group decided to focus on the many festivals here, helping them to reduce their carbon footprint. We’ve also hosted our own festival.
Festivals
We began with St Patrick’s Festival in Carlow town by providing volunteer ‘Bin Angels’ on hand to help festival goers sort their rubbish and recycling.
This was followed by the Zero Waste Festival, held in An Gairdin Beo. Bringing the festival outside of Dublin for the first time, and despite an orange storm warning, it was a great success and one we hope to repeat in the future.
We also worked with the Festival of Writing and Ideas in Borris, offering suggestions for water re-fill points, compostable cutlery and cups for vendors, and compost bins for food waste. Members and friends volunteered for the weekend, litter picking and helping people to sort their rubbish.
Volunteers
We’re always on the look-out for volunteers to help at these events. If you’d like to help out, contact us and we’ll add you to the list.