Authors:Kalyn Potter, Project Manager GoGreenRoutes, Department of Psychology and ALL Institute, and Maria Fernadez de Osso Fuentes, PhD Researcher All Institute and Department of Business
Research Stream: Symposium
In January 2021, the Horizon 2020 funded project, GoGreenRoutes, moved to Maynooth University under the coordination of Dr. Tadhg MacIntyre. As a large-scale multinational project at the nexus of human health, climate and equity, GoGreenRoutes is particularly aligned with ALL’s mission. We aim to address complex issues of how the environment impacts human health and sustainability, especially for disadvantaged groups and minority populations who typically have less access to urban green space.
Authors: Tadhg E. MacIntyre Assistant Professor, Dept. of Psychology, Maynooth University and scientific coordinator of the H2020 project GoGreenRoutes. Chloe Mooney is a third year BSc. Psychology student and was an intern for GoGreenRoutes this semester. Cassie Murphy MA is second year MU Psychology doctoral student, on a scholarship funded by GoGreenRoutes, supervised by Dr. Elaine Gallagher and Dr. Tadhg MacIntyre.
Stephen Seaman (Head Groundsman) explains how they cultivate a green campus approach.
The Maynooth University green campus with 700-year-old trees provided an authentic backdrop to our GoGreenRoutes project Autumn School concerned with understanding the links between nature and health. Our award winning campus venue (see here for Green Shoots feature) was a highlight for participants who had a tour of the grounds with Stephen Seaman supported by Rachel Freeman (TU Dublin, PhD candidate on GoGreenRoutes).
The wonder of our bucolic campus, recently featured on RTÉ, was not lost upon our new President Eeva Leinonen who noted how nature may be vital for effective leadership too. Our president, a psychologist, quoted as she opened the event, the 44th President of the United States Barack Obama who, in his memoirs had said, how the one-minute open-air commute along the colonnades that bookmarked his day helped him clear his mind and free him from stress. This speech was followed by a superb strategic overview of gender, inclusion and diversity at Maynooth University and beyond, by Vice-President for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Dr Gemma Irvine, which set the tone for event, with strong gender representation across all the sessions (over 60% Women speakers) and more emphatically, an appreciation for inclusion at every level.
