REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE BALLYGOWAN/ECO ENVIRONMENTALIST AWARDS
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE BALLYGOWAN/ECO ENVIRONMENTALIST AWARDS TUESDAY, 23 MAY 2000
A chairde,
Tá athas orm bheith anseo trathnóna innu agus tá me buioch díbh as an cuireadh a thug sibh dom teacht anseo.
I am delighted to be here today to present the awards to the National winners in the junior and senior categories of the Ballygowan/ECO Young Environmentalist Award Scheme. Today is a day of celebration, a well earned reward for the hard work and commitment by so many of you. I‘d like to congratulate not only the award winners, but also those who didn’t quite manage an award, but who, nonetheless, worked hard on their particular project to bring it to fruition. Just by being involved you will have learnt so much and will now be capable of contributing so much to protecting Ireland’s precious and vulnerable environment.
Ireland’s natural beauty, our rich inheritance of magnificent countryside can be too easily taken for granted. These wonderful God-given resources have immeasurably enriched the lives of Irish people for countless generations. They have attracted hundreds of thousands of tourists to our shores.
We in this generation now realise that these resources are not indestructible. They require protection and careful nurturing if they are to survive the pressures of industrialisation, urban sprawl, the intensification of agriculture and the awesome human capacity for sheer carelessness and neglect. We are custodians of these resources in our time and for the times to come. We are links in a chain of care that can be broken and will be broken unless we take our responsibilities seriously and do the work that caring requires. The experiences of other countries including some of our European neighbours demonstrates clearly just how easily broken that chain of care is and what dreadful consequences flow when a priceless heritage is ignored or forgotten or traded for things which are in the end of little human value.
The Ballygowan and ECO initiative recognises one simple reality – that the future protection of our environment lies in the hands of our children. No-one has to wait until adulthood to take responsibility for the environment. From the moment a child unwraps his or her first sweet paper or disposes of an apple core the journey into responsibility begins. The objective of this Awards Scheme is to increase awareness of our environment by encouraging young people to focus on major global issues and how they may be tackled on a local level, to show the connection between the small things we do and the big cumulative results they can have, either for good or for bad. The depth of understanding shown in your projects demonstrates that you understand deeply that you have a part to play in protecting our world.
These awards place faith in young people and give them a real opportunity to vindicate that faith, proving their worth. I am sure that through the work you have grown in self confidence and self insight, in understanding of the issues and in understanding of your own place. Importantly through this work others have grown in respect and admiration for you - you have earned these gifts and earned them well.
It is said that we live in an era of growing cynicism and materialism which makes people more selfish and uncaring than they used to be. I do not know if that is true. I do know that it does not need to be true. Cynicism drains away energy, it mocks hope. It does little to build up the human person and we desperately need builders not cynics, doers not doubters. Certainly the enormous enthusiasm with which our young people have responded to this challenge is sound evidence that we don’t have any young cynics amongst us this afternoon. Rather we are in the company of energetic doers, young people who care about their environment and who are ready to play their part in helping all of us to live in a clean and healthy atmosphere.
For all of you who have worked on projects for the Awards, I hope you have discovered a new and exciting interest in the environment. You have embarked on a journey of self discovery, one that can take you in any direction you choose. You have learned new skills and broadened your understanding of yourselves and the world around you. You have demonstrated how we should appreciate the wonder of nature and that we all understand how delicate a resource it is.
This is the first year of the Young Environmentalist Awards Scheme and I understand that the number of entries exceeded all expectations and the quality of the entries was exceptionally high. I’m absolutely delighted to have been given the opportunity to present the awards. My role here today is to give recognition to the many young people throughout Ireland who have worked hard on their projects over the past few months. I would like to thank all of you for the effort and enthusiasm you have put into the projects and I would like to wish you every success in the future.
My thanks to Grainne O Leary, Director of ECO and Karen Coyle, Marketing Director, Ballygowan and to all those who worked so hard on this initiative from its instigation to this prize giving ceremony today.
I hope that everyone who participated in the scheme enjoyed themselves. I know at this time of year, for some of you, examinations loom large and enjoyment may not be a word you use too much at the moment! Nevertheless I think today you should take time out to reflect with pride on what you have achieved. I would also like to take the opportunity to wish you well in your examinations.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go leir.