by Alan Jacques
LIMERICK people engaged in outdoor pursuits and sports activities are being encouraged to row in behind a new environmentally friendly scheme.
And, as part of a reusable water bottle campaign, hundreds of bottles will be distributed to participants in St Michael’s Rowing Club 2015 (SMRC) Urban Run on Sunday, October 11.
The Environment section of Limerick City and County Council, in conjunction with the Southern Waste Regional Office, is providing 500 participants in the event with reusable bottles.
Launching the third SMRC Urban Run this week, Mayor of Limerick City and County, Cllr Liam Galvin congratulated St Michael’s Rowing Club for opening their doors to celebrate health, community and the spirit of competition. He also welcomed the involvement of St Michael’s Rowing Club’s Urban Run in this project which encourages the use of reusable water bottles.
“We are delighted to assist with this reuse project. Water is hugely important for rowing, from respecting the Shannon and other rivers as the natural resource they are, to ensuring that our athletes are hydrated,” said St Michael’s Rowing Club captain Antoinette Ahern.
“Our rowers are encouraged to drink water every 15 minutes during training. We have a fresh drinking water tap that we refill bottles from. I would encourage all those involved in sports at a competitive and leisure to invest in a reusable bottle,” she added.
The reusable water bottle project is part of the Local Authority Prevention Network (LAPN), which is funded by the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) under the National Waste Prevention Programme.
According to Helen O’Donnell of City Centre Tidy Towns, projects which encourage us to reuse are very important in relation to the national Tidy Towns competition.
