IT’S A WONDERFUL TIME OF THE YEAR

CODESRES is an interdisciplinary research team based on the Iveragh Peninsula, with a focus on the following Sustainable Development Goals: quality education; sustainable communities; life below water; and life on land.

The team consists of artists, designers, engineers, marine biologists, media specialists and a curriculum developer all working within educational and community contexts.

The research is supported by the Environmental Protection Agency to expand an existing arts and design-led methodology as a tangible method for all of us to contribute to achieving the goals by 2030.

Many of our projects actively aim to reconsider how we can re-use waste materials such as plastic, bottles, and packaging.

Festive activities such as Halloween, St Patrick’s Day and Christmas become occasions not only to explore these ideas further but, also, raise awareness of the issues surrounding waste by gathering materials locally and sharing ideas for reducing our consumption by adding value to materials we may otherwise send to landfill.

As the Christmas season approaches, the CoDesRes team is beginning to look at how we can embed the sustainable development goals within the context of the season’s festivities.

With wrapping paper, décor and consumption, the tightrope between the wonder of Christmas with the waste and stress can be a difficult balance to achieve.

The festive season offers a great opportunity to embed the sustainable development goals in our daily lives.

One of our aims is to promote a circular economy where we consider potential waste as a resource.

The circular economy aims to move away from the ‘make, use, dispose’ approach by keeping materials in use for longer, therefore maximising their value as well as recovering and regenerating materials.

During the Christmas period we will be popping up at the various Christmas markets in Iveragh, with Sea Synergy Marine Education and Awareness Centre, Waterville. This is to share information about our projects and fun ideas about re-using plastic and packaging to bring creativity into the holidays and keep these materials in circulation for longer.

As part of our efforts we used recycled and upcycled materials to create Santa’s Grotto for Cahersiveen on December 8, an opportunity to celebrate communally while encouraging sustainable practices such as shopping local and a social family event.

We created a magical grotto with waste materials as part of the message of connecting with the season, our planet and each other.