GoGreen Trails Climate Walk

GoGreen Trails Climate Walk puts nature to the foreground of the outdoor experience. A planetary health perspective is used to promote dialogue on the interactions between human health and planetary health in light of climate change challenges. Technology is used to assess and monitor the natural ecosystem forming a citizen science component. A key element is the psychological dimension, whereby nature is viewed as a metaphor for resilience to promote participants adaptability to change.

The walk is 2km in duration and is conducted at a leisurely pace to facilitate reflection and give time to listen to the birdsong and connect with nature. The walk will be led by Sara Lynch, a researcher on the GoGreen Next project where she has advanced the traditional ‘climate-walk’ approach with EU Climate Pact Ambassador Tadhg MacIntyre, Principal Investigator on the project. Sara is a psychology graduate of TCD and a funded researcher on GoGreen Next.

The climate walk will include a) Physical activity (walking, balancing exercises, movements like lunges with modified exercises based on individual physical capacities) b) Attentional control tasks (e.g. listening to the natural soundscapes), c) Citizen science activity (using mobile applications on an iPad to identify trees or birds), and d) Nature connectedness activity (e.g. touch and feel the local flora) and e) reflections on our relationship with nature and planetary health. Start Point: TSI Blg. Maynooth University, North Campus.