Tullamore man wins major award for linking sport with biodiversity and environmental issues
An Offaly man has won an Outstanding Achievement Award at the Climate Ambassador Awards.
Tullamore's Peter Bracken, who is now based in Castlebar in Co Mayo, was recognised for his efforts to link in sport with climate change and the environment.
A former European Rugby Champions Cup winner, Peter played with Munster, Connacht, Wasps and was a Ireland A international rugby player during his career. He previously coached a women’s rugby Six Nations team to a grand slam.
Over the summer he took on a mighty challenge where he drove a fully electric car to all 241 rugby clubs in Ireland to promote biodiversity and sustainability within Irish rugby clubs and to remove Irish people's fear of electric vehicle “charging anxiety”.
He takes on various electric driving adventures which link sport, electric vehicles and the environment.
These challenges aim to prove how practical electric vehicles are in Ireland and bust the various myths surrounding them. He also interviews sports people in electric cars, talks about their sporting careers and what they are doing in their own personal lives to be more “eco-friendly”, all with the aim of using the power and influence of sport to inspire people to make sustainable choices.
191 citizens were chosen to be Climate Ambassadors in 2022. The programme, which has been in operation since 2018, has become stronger over time as Climate Ambassadors have acquired crucial skills and confidence to take action, motivating others to follow in their footsteps along the way.
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 actions – two climate communications and two climate actions, though many participants get involved in many more projects. This programme allows individuals to join a strong network of dedicated people who share knowledge, gain insight from one another, and forge long lasting relationships.
In 2022, Climate Ambassadors completed 661 climate actions, directly engaging over 274,000 people, creating 2,671 climate communications, and reaching an estimated 5.6 million people!
The Climate Ambassador Awards were held on Friday, November 18th, serving to recognise the tremendous effort and dedication demonstrated throughout the year.