At GAP, we are proud to be part of the “Better Ballymun Day” initiative: an annual day of action for the entire community in Ballymun.
Better Ballymun Day began with students at Trinity Comprehensive School who saw a need for change in their community.
Convinced of the potential of Ballymun, they decided to take action, organising a day where everyone – schools, businesses and community groups – could work together to make Ballymun cleaner, greener and stronger.
Their idea quickly grew into something bigger.
What started as a student-led initiative sparked a ripple effect. More schools joined, businesses came to support them, and community groups expanded the efforts beyond just one day. All over the town, people came out, to repair, paint, clean and improve. A renewed sense of pride spread through Ballymun.
The students didn’t just create an event: they began a movement for change.
And that is exactly what GAP is trying to achieve.
In our programmes, we want to help people discover their power to make a change, and to discover how their actions can inspire others. And we are seeing the ripple effect, every day:
- In our GLAS community gardens, we see how people discover that growing food together is a powerful way to re-connect with nature, and with other people. Over time, more people have got involved; schools have opened their own vegetable gardens; people who had never gardened before started their own small plots at home; and conversations about food, climate and sustainability are spreading beyond the garden gates, inspiring change across Ballymun and other places.
- In our “Ballymun Is Brilliant“ project we are trying to use the power of art to give people a way to express their pride, their hopes and their worries. Through art, people are discovering that their choices matter, and that their actions can inspire other people. Through our project, we help the community in Ballymun find its voice.
- In our Park Stewardship programme, we connect young people with nature in their local communities. The ripple effect is created when primary school students are encouraged to take an active role in the care of local parks. Through hands-on activities such as biodiversity workshops and park maintenance, students have developed a deeper appreciation for their environment and a sense of shared responsibility towards its preservation. And they are bringing what they have learned back into their homes and communities.
These GAP programmes all illustrate our Theory of Change: that by creating the spaces for people to gain confidence, knowledge and skills, we can create opportunities for people to take action.
Through our work, we want to highlight the significance of community engagement and unleash the power of local action. We want to show that our lifestyle choices are more than personal decisions; they are ways to create societal change.
And we want to encourage YOU to be part of this movement for change.
Whether through participating in local climate challenges, supporting educational workshops, or championing sustainable practices in your own community, your involvement can create ripples that lead to substantial positive change.
Grassroots efforts don’t stop at individual and community levels – they influence policies and corporate practices.
If we connect individual and local actions to the bigger picture, and if we make the myriad of small initiatives more visible, we can bring about systemic change.