Young Laois woman wins prestigious national award

AN Taisce has awarded a young Portlaoise woman for leading the way in community climate action.

Sarah Bennett from Kilminchy in Portlaoise was one of the ten young people who were honoured for going above and beyond as a Climate Ambassador in 2024.

An Taisce’s annual Climate Ambassador Awards brings together people who are passionate about protecting the planet and rewards their local efforts to reduce the impact of climate change in Ireland.

The awards ceremony heard how 148 Climate Ambassadors were trained by An Taisce’s Climate Action Team earlier this year, and together they delivered 658 climate actions, directly engaging over 265,000 people. The group also released 2,375 climate communications, reaching an estimated 4.5 million people in 2024.

Sarah Bennett secured her Climate Ambassador Outstanding Achievement Award for using her crafting talents to encourage others to adopt a more circular and sustainable mindset.

A knitter and sewer, Sarah set up a regular repair café, where she taught people how to repair their clothes, enabling them to become more resourceful. A strong generator of community engagement and youth-led climate action, Sarah also set up ‘An Tionscadal Cniotála’, or ‘The Knitting Project’, where they offered beginner Knitting classes and ran a community Knitting Group.

This was in response to fast fashion, and participants were invited to develop an appreciation for slow, mindful and handmade items of clothing.

Sarah put her passion for preventing waste to further use by organising a month-long event in her student accommodation to enable students, particularly international students, to sell or give away items such as lamps and bookshelves, at the end of their residency. 

As a student of law, she put her strong sense of justice to task by writing a piece with the Youth Advisory Panel on ‘Waste Colonialism’ to be shared with the Irish Climate Youth Delegate for COP29, as well as an article exploring fundamental rights and freedoms, and how they empower young people to advocate for meaningful change in response to the climate crisis.

Accepting her award Sarah said: “The Climate Ambassador Programme has shown me the power of collective changes. Small things that we do every day have a huge impact on the environment. I feel immensely inspired and grateful to be introduced to a network of incredible people who share my hope for a sustainable future.” 

Climate Action Manager in An Taisce Gráinne Ryan said: “An Taisce has no doubt that Sarah will continue to inspire others to take action locally in Laois and across the country.” 

 In total 148 people from a wide range of backgrounds including primary school teachers, secondary school students and teachers, university students, academics, farmers, and businesspeople were all chosen to be Climate Ambassadors in 2024.

Throughout the year those taking part in the programme are asked to undertake four key tasks – two climate communications and two climate actions. It allows individuals to join a strong network of dedicated people who share knowledge, gain insight from one another, and forge long-lasting friendships.

The intergenerational programme which is funded by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications has been in operation since 2017.