Displaying items by tag: Brownie

7th October 2014

Wicklow Brownies Get A Taste of Sailing at Greystones Harbour

#greystonesharbour – Delgany Brownies, Greystones Brownies and some of the Greystones Guides took part in a sailing taster day at Greystones Sailing Club on Sunday 5th October. The 40 girls spent half the day sailing Laser Picos with instructors outside the harbour learning how to sail while having lots of fun - the giggles and screams of delight could be heard by on lookers walking the newly opened North Pier. The girls loved their experience on the water with almost all of them having never sailed before. Event organiser and Senior Instructor Emma Hett said it was a "privilege to be able to facilitate the girls going sailing for the first time and I hope this will be the start of many more collaborative sessions between local community groups and Greystones Sailing Club." Emma also thanked the sailing club for hosting such a successful event and giving the girls an experience they will never forget.

The second half of the day was spent on shore with the girls completing their Irish Girl Guide Conservation badge and Water Safety badge. The girls completed a litter sweep of the local area collecting five large bags of rubbish. After the sweep the girls came back inside to learn about protected species in Ireland and make informative posters from recycled materials to illustrate all they had learned. Instructors Sarah Hoolahan (Greystones Sailing Club), Conor Duff-Lennon (Greystones Sailing Club) and Triona Harvey (Wexford Harbour Boat and Tennis Club) all said they learnt lots about conservation and the importance of teaching these issues to the young girls. All the instructors said that while the girls had fun they too had a blast and were delighted to be involved in the day. Safety Coordinate and Senior Instructor Steven Tyner "it was great to have so many girls come down to go sailing and see their excitement on the water in boats."

At the end of the day Brownies, parents, instructors and club members all gathered together in Greystones Sailing Club for a BBQ with special thanks to The Steak Shop, Greystones for part-sponsoring the costs of the burgers. David Nixon, Greystones Sailing Club Secretary and Fiachra Etchingham, Greystones Sailing Club Trustee both welcomed new members to the club and re-iterated Greystones Sailing Club's openness to new members, both old and young.

The day was run completely by volunteers giving up their time and a special thanks has to go to the instructors who all volunteered their Sunday to give back to their local communities. Finally a special thanks must go to Cllr Grainne McLoughlin who sought sponsorship for lunches for all the instructors and also homemade chocolate brownies for them all which went down a treat.

Published in Greystones Harbour

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Offshore wind

ESB know the importance of offshore wind in tackling climate change and delivering net zero. Ireland has a unique capability given its prime location to take advantage of the potential of offshore wind. ESB are working hard to develop offshore wind projects for the benefit of everyone across society in Ireland and the UK. This includes ongoing engagement with marine users and local communities so ESB can deliver these significant projects.

Offshore wind will play a major role globally in our fight against climate change. It will help to replace energy generated by burning fossil fuels with that from a clean, safe and secure renewable energy source. Ireland’s geographic location on the exposed edge of the Atlantic presents us with a significant opportunity to generate electricity from wind – both offshore and onshore.

Power from onshore wind farms currently provide over one-third of Ireland’s electricity needs. But, whilst its marine area is many times the size of its landmass, Ireland’s offshore wind potential is only starting to be realised. ESB have a coastline stretching over 3,000km but only one operational offshore wind farm – Arklow Bank, with a capacity of 25 MW. In contrast, Belgium’s coastline is only 63km long, but it has already developed more than 2,000 MW of offshore wind. In Great Britain, with a coastline four times the length of ours, offshore wind generation now equates to over 440 Arklow Banks, with an installed capacity of 11,0000 MW as of late 2021.

The Irish Government's target to install 5,000 MW of offshore wind capacity in our maritime area by 2030 is set out in the Climate Action Plan 2021. It also has the objective to source 80% of Ireland’s electricity needs from renewables by the same year. In line with this, ESB is applying its professional and proven engineering expertise to the challenges set within the Climate Action Plan.

ESB are committed to playing a strong role in developing Ireland’s offshore wind potential for the benefit of the people of Ireland. This will be done in consultation with marine users and local communities, and with due care for the marine environment.