Earth Day is an annual celebration of our wonderful planet that raises awareness of the need to protect our natural resources. Here at Ashdale we care deeply about the health of our planet and, this Earth Day, we wanted to take a moment to share our sustainability goals. We all have a part to play in taking care of the planet and, at Ashdale, we’ve set ourselves a number of short, medium and long-term goals intended to reduce our carbon footprint and protect our planet.
Our short-term aims
Improve biodiversity
All Ashdale homes are in semi-rural locations with extensive outdoor space. Our aim is to create safe havens for our young people, and we believe that getting the environment right is the first step in doing so. We’ve introduced wildflower meadow areas and bee gardens in a number of our homes as part of our “don’t mow it, grow it” initiative. This lets areas of land grow wild and free to attract insects, bees, butterflies, birds and small mammals. Not only this, the wildflower meadows look wonderful and create the perfect place to relax and reflect.
In addition to this, we place emphasis on “getting outside” and run outdoor activities for children and young people when it can be of benefit
Reduce single-use plastic
We’re in the process of installing freshwater filters across all of our homes. Single-use plastic is one of the biggest environmental contaminants and we’re looking to eliminate it in our homes. As such, we place emphasis on staff using their own “bottle for life”.
Our medium-term aims
We’d love to wave a magic wand to ensure that all Ashdale homes were immediately self-sufficient and sustainable but some things take time. Rest assured, this is our aim and in the medium term we’re working to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by:
- Increasing the renewable forms of energy we use
- Installing energy efficient heating systems.
- Reducing oil consumption
- Installing thermostatic controls
- Upgrading windows and improving installation
- Maintaining and improving sewerage system
- Installing sensor lights in communal areas
Our long-term aims
With 14 homes across Ireland, each housing between 2 and 4 children and young people who must attend school, sessions at our hubs, extra curriculur activities and more, it follows that we depend on cars to get us from A to B. We’re looking to introduce electric cars to our fleet with the long-term aim of eventually being completely electric. We’re also investing in renewable forms of energy with a long-term goal of reaching complete energy self-sufficiency.
This Earth Day, take a moment to consider how you could play your part in protecting our beautiful planet. Take a look at the resources listed below to find out more.