Volunteering and Community

It has been a memorable November for the Cabragh Wetlands Trust. The Star gave great coverage to our manager, Michael Long, who was awarded top prize in the environment category at the Ireland Involved Awards Night in Dublin, where prizes were presented by the President. Michael must take much of the credit for the expanding range of activities at the Wetlands Centre, and thoroughly deserved his moment of fame!

This week a group of us attended an Awards evening in Kilcommon Hall, where the North Tipperary Community and Voluntary Association (CAVA) Awards for 2009 were presented. The guest of honour, our MEP Alan Kelly, spoke about how CAVA was his favourite organization, because it is there to encourage, support and recognise the importance of work done by volunteers in local communities. Voluntary work is at the heart of do much that is good in our society today, and as we approach a very unsettled period in history, with climate change, economic downturn and many other problems threatening our futures, there is more and more recognition that the way forward has to be through local action and voluntary involvement.

Have we become too reliant on governments and local councils to tell us what to do? If more of us had the initiative to tackle problems in our communities by direct involvement and local leadership, the world would quickly be a much better place. One of the best ways of defining the difference between man and other species is that humans are working and creative animals, but we live in a period of history where we have been slowly transformed into consumers of the goods produced by others. Are we in danger of losing our creativity and independence as a result?

Think about your own community. Talk to friends and see what you can identify that could be improved by collective participation. The Cabragh Wetlands Trust came together to conserve an area of outstanding natural interest that was under threat. Do you have something similar in your area? Perhaps there is some old woodland that needs protection, or some waste ground that could be transformed with a bit of local effort. Non-environmental issues may be your concern – supporting local businesses, a farmers’ cooperative, preserving a village shop or local school, provision of cycle routes, help for the disabled or disadvantaged. Over the next twenty years, energy will be a massive issue for all of us. Is there something that could be done to provide renewable energy to your community? Could your local river be harnessed to produce power via a small water turbine? Can wind be used? Friends of mine bought a house in 1949, used a little windmill (about a metre across) on a ten foot pole to power a generator and spent the last 50 years of their lives using their own free and renewable electricity to run the house. Why not do this at a community level?

The possibilities are endless. Already we see farmers’ markets and allotments flourishing, as people recognize the need to take more control of their own lives and their own communities. If we all make sure our own piece of the planet is in good order, the threats we face in the coming century will be much reduced.

CAVA is there to help, developing networks of similar groups, providing training, helping with funding, empowering people, promoting equality and social inclusion, providing a forum where ideas can be shared and issues discussed, lobbying on behalf of member organizations to influence policy at all levels of government. You can contact CAVA at the Council Offices in Nenagh. Find a way to get involved and make use of this excellent organization