Photo by Phil Magowan / Press Eye

myEARTH, a new digital hub for environmental knowledge and action, has officially launched in Northern Ireland. The website is designed to connect families and households to the organisations who are taking positive action for the environment – and crucially makes it easy for them to take part.

Developed by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, in collaboration with Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL), myEARTH connects and supports a growing network of local changemakers focused on environmental action. With early backing from these organisations, myEARTH is gaining traction as delivery partners across Northern Ireland begin to adopt the platform, including the National Trust, Ulster Wildlife, RSPB NI and The Weatherbies. Users can discover local events, activities, resources and opportunities from these, and many more, partners.

By creating an online community, myEARTH will help families discover local events and environmental activities, from beach cleans to wildlife watches, and encourage them to participate. Users will not only be able to find activities that suit their household – such as community litter-picks, tree planting, and recycling projects – they will be encouraged to use and collect digital Action Cards. Each card includes clear, step-by-step guidance, making it easy for anyone to get involved in a particular activity – and every activity makes a difference.

The launch of myEARTH is a significant step in raising the profile of environmental education whilst driving community action throughout Northern Ireland. It is also anticipated to accelerate digital transformation, and support the resilience of the voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) sector through innovative ways of working.

Rachael Thomas, Project Manager at myEARTH, said, “At its core, myEARTH simplifies environmental action by uniting the efforts of everyone on one easy-to-use platform. Our research told us that whilst there is a huge appetite for families and households to do their bit to tackle the climate emergency, there were barriers in place around sourcing and gathering the information required to take part. myEARTH uses tech to break down these barriers – ultimately, we are creating an online community of people and connecting them to local activities, events, and ideas to get them and their families involved and active in caring for nature, tackling climate change, and making a difference – right on their doorstep.

“From the very beginning, our goal has been to open the door to participation.  Everyone is welcome, not just those already involved in environmental efforts. With the summer approaching, we’re calling on families and households to get online, get involved and get active so we can all help protect the planet together.”

Max Bryant CEO at Northern Ireland Environmental Link said, “As the networking and forum body for organisations interested in the natural and built environment, Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) strives to connect this network for a more valued, resilient, healthy environment. The delivery of myEARTH with Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful extends our work through the website as a hub to highlight environmental efforts in NI to a wider audience via opportunities, action, resources and impact. We look forward to seeing the measure of this impact through the public interaction with myEARTH and our networks.”

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