Youghal Blue + Green Community Network visits Greenway Blade Bridge

The Youghal Blue + Green Community Network  paid a visit to the Midleton-Youghal Greenway Blade Bridge on 4 March 2023. The community network is based at the Cumann na Daoine community development centre, based in Youghal, Co. Cork, Ireland.

The visit was jointly hosted by University College Cork and Munster Technological University and facilitated by Cork County Council.

The Youghal Blue+ Green community network represents 45 active individuals and community groups in the local community and has a specific focus on projects and initiatives relating to the environment, coast, energy transition and sustainability.

The Blue + Green community network was initially consulted during the first phase of the Re-Wind project in 2021 and provided an early sounding board on the Re-Wind Design Atlas and the potential re-use and deployment options for wind turbine blades in the local area and the community benefits arising.

The visit was an opportunity for the Youghal Blue and Green Community Network to return to view , first-hand, the Blade Bridge, a sustainable pedestrian bridge on the Youghal to Midleton Greenway built using two decommissioned wind turbine blades.

Feedback from the community network was almost entirely positive on the design and re-use of the blade in the bridge.

Dr. Maria Power, Development Manager of the Blue + Green Community network, commented that:

‘We had an excellent visit to the blade bridge. It was an opportunity for the local community to view the final Blade Bridge on site. The adoption of the circular economy approach and the associated benefits of this walking and recreational amenity to the local area were clearly self-evident and the bridge is a unique feature of the green-way that has positive benefits to the local community.’

Dr. Paul Leahy outlined the work of the Blade Bridge spin out start-up company to the group.

“The demand for re-purposing wind turbine blades in infrastructure and amenity projects continues to grow.  We see many other opportunities in the local communities for the re-use of wind turbine blades and welcome further collaboration with the Youghal Blue + Green Network and indeed all Irish communities and Local Authorities.’

The group finished the visit with a facilitated ‘walk and talk’ session along the soon to be opened section of the greenway.  The use of walking as a methodological approach is a particular interest to the Department of Sociology, UCC.   The adoption of the ‘mobile methods’ approach to research is an innovative and emerging approach to community engagement with an emphasis on co-learning and co-creation between the academic participants and the community members.