In Northern Ireland all Councils are encouraged to reduce waste ,recycle and reuse. A small item that can be recycled and reused to help people in need are spectacles. On Monday Lion Club members from Newry, Downpatrick and Newcastle with apologises from Ballynahinch Lions met at Newry recycling centre Chapel Road to promote the recycling of spectacles at all Newry Mourne & Down District Council recycling centres. Permission has now been given by the Council for the Lions to place their distinctive spectacle recycling signs on a blue bin at each of the ten recycling centres and for the Lions to then collect donations of spectacles on a regular basis . Other Councils in Northern Ireland who are encouraging the recycling of spectacles, include Armagh ,Banbridge & Craigavon , Belfast City Council and Antrim & Newtownabbey. On a regular basis each of the four Lions Clubs despatch spectacles to Lions Medico France, the spectacles are then cleaned and calibrated before being distributed all over the world helping people in need.Â
In other news, Lion Club members who took part in the Environmental Zoom meeting on Monday, received a report on the progress of the great work Cork Lions have been doing where, approx. 80 schools through out the island of Ireland ,including County Down, involving 6-8,000 transition students who will take part in an on line Environment Education Event on 29th April .Lions in Cork have secured a Lab for the event. They will have five speakers presenting on climate change, biodiversity, sustainability etc in a designated classroom at lifetime lab to an audience of transition year students and also broadcasting online to the 80 schools throughout the island of Ireland. The beauty of this project is that the schools do not have to travel to take part in this event but follow it online in their own classroom.Â
Photograph: Lions Brian Cowan ( Newry Lions), Anthony Mc Parland NM&DDC,
Seamus Mc Mullan ( Downpatrick Lions) and Dan O'Reilly ( Newcastle Lions )
