Laois Mountain-biker presented with Climate Ambassador Award
He was chosen out of 179 citizens
Stephen McEvoy from Cappagh, County Laois was recently presented with a Climate Ambassador Award by An Taisce.
The Laois man is challenging the stereotypical litter-picker by hurtling down mountains on a bike. Through his social media, he seamlessly blends quality mountain biking clips with how simple it is to care for our beloved outdoor spaces. Normalising litter-picking, carpooling and the use of sustainable materials amongst a community of people with a shared love of the outdoors is a powerful action. He has started a revolution by organising litter picks for mountain biking clubs around Ireland as part of the National Spring Clean. Stephen also mucks-in at Climate Ambassador peat restoration days in the Wicklow Mountains.
"Joining the Climate Ambassador programme gave me the opportunity to meet people and be part of a community. It can feel quite isolating taking climate action on your own, but feeling like I was part of a movement was a very empowering and positive experience.", McEvoy said.
Climate Ambassadors receive training at the start of the year in climate science, solutions and communications which enables them to carry out climate actions. Throughout the year they are asked to undertake four key tasks – two climate communications and two climate actions, though many participants achieve a lot more.