ECO-UNESCO Inviting Applications for 'Clubs in Action' 2012

Toyota Ireland recently announced their continued support for the ECO-UNESCO ‘Clubs in Action’ programme by providing €20,000 in Seed Grants for 2012. ECO-UNESCO is Ireland’s environmental education and youth organisation. The ECO-UNESCO ‘Clubs In Action’ programme provides an outlet for practical and hands-on action projects that address specific environmental issues in local areas.

The ‘Clubs in Action’ programme offers ECO-UNESCO Clubs the opportunity to apply for Seed Grants to carry out a day-long or weekend activity to raise awareness about an environmental issue in their local area. Successful Clubs also have the opportunity to link in with their local Toyota dealerships. Clubs are invited to submit a project proposal in one of six categories including; local clean up, tree planting, energy saving, ECO-Transport, recycling or other environmental awareness raising activities. Bronze, Silver and Gold Seed Grants of up to €1,000 are awarded to successful Clubs in accordance to their budget.

In 2011, the Clubs In Action grant scheme was particularly successful. Toyota’s Seed Grants were awarded to 18 clubs from nine different counties who went on to complete environmental action projects in their local communities ranging from tree planting, community gardening clean-ups to energy auditing, seaweed composting and even the creation of a sustainable music festival. The ECO-UNESCO Clubs Programme has gone from strength to strength, with an increase of 39 additional clubs over the last 12 months, bringing the total number of active clubs across Ireland to 163, and directly involving 3,225 young people.

Commenting on the programme, David Shannon, Managing Director at Toyota Ireland said: “Toyota has long been a believer in the importance of environmental sustainability; we have pioneered the research and development of technology such as Hybrid that will ensure a greener future for our planet. We are delighted to continue our partnership with ECO-UNESCO and provide the resources to help young people in Ireland with the tools to generate awareness on the environment and help regenerate local communities across Ireland.”

“ECO-UNESCO was delighted with the success of our first ‘Clubs in Action Programme’ in 2011. In addition to completing outstanding environmental action projects throughout the country, the ECO-UNESCO Clubs delivered creative awareness-raising activities and successfully involved their local community groups, authorities and schools which ensured the highest level of positive sustainable impact. We are delighted with our continued partnership with Toyota and its dealer network into 2012. We believe this mutually rewarding relationship helps us achieve our goal of raising environmental awareness and empowering young people.” Elaine Nevin, National Director of ECO-UNESCO.

ECO-UNESCO’s ‘Clubs in Action’ initiative is supported on a European level by the Toyota Fund for Europe, which grants financial support to local projects that have the potential to have a positive impact on the local environment and society. As a key partner, Toyota Ireland also sponsors the ECO-UNESCO Club of the Year Award, and has provided an eco-friendly Toyota Prius to the organisation.

Find Out More

Clubs wishing to apply for a grant in 2012 can do so by registering online at: www.ecounesco.ie or by contacting ECO-UNESCO at +353 662 5491/ clubs@ecounesco.ie