Air quality has been a hot topic in Cork this year.

Ever since the arrival of our controversial ‘robot trees’ on St Patrick’s Street and the Grand Parade, it seems like everybody has something to say about the air we breathe and our exposure to pollution.

Now you can put any lingering questions to a panel of experts; researchers from Cork City Council and University College Cork will hold a free virtual public talk on Cork’s air quality on October 15th, 2021.

I eventually got to experience the infamous €350,000 “Robot Trees” in Cork City.
Unpopular opinion, I actually don’t mind them 😬😬 pic.twitter.com/iBXwRL33fm

— Philip O’Reilly (@philthrill69) September 7, 2021

Participants will learn about the local sources and hazards of air pollution, how to track Cork’s air quality in real-time, and the UCC projects that are focused on better understanding and protecting our air quality.

In particular, the talk will showcase a new Cork Air Quality Dashboard, which launched in 2021. A free 30-minute talk will be followed by a Q&A session with the following panellists:

Speakers:

• Talk by Professor John Wenger, Atmospheric Chemist, UCC;
• Panellist: Dr Stig Hellebust, Atmospheric Chemist, UCC;
• Panellist: Dr Marica Cassarino, Environmental Psychologist, UCC;
• Panellist: Dr Dean Venables, Atmospheric Chemist, UCC;
• Panellist: Dr Kevin Ryan, Executive Scientist, Cork City Council;
• Host: Dr Tamela Maciel, Project Manager for the RADICAL project, UCC Academy.

1,500 trees to be planted in 2021

The Air Quality Strategy sets out a number of short, medium, and long-term initiatives to improve air quality in Cork City.

According to Cork City Council, these include the increase of tree cover in the city including the development and enhancing of ecological corridors, the securing of wetland areas, increasing the number of pocket parks and parklets and the expansion of areas to be used to offset carbon levels.

Next year, it is expected that up to 1,500 trees will be planted following the planting of 1,200 this year – a sixfold increase on 2020.

To register for the talk, which takes place at 1pm on October 15th as part of UCC Community Week 2021, book a free ticket here.