Climate Action at the Library
The national public library strategy aligns library services with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, including Goal 13: Climate Action. Libraries are encouraged to support community understanding of sustainability and environmental responsibility. The national library strategy specifically includes education on sustainable lifestyles and environmental awareness through its "Skills for Life" programme.
Kilkenny County Council Libraries are increasingly taking a leadership role in climate action, both by reducing their own environmental impact and by helping communities learn about and respond to climate change.
Kilkenny Library Service supports the national strategy through environmental awareness programmes, community events, sustainability-related resources, and participation in national library initiatives. Libraries across the county provide books, resources, talks, workshops, and exhibitions on environmental issues, biodiversity, sustainable living, and climate change. Examples include:
Seed library projects
Biodiversity and pollinator-friendly events
Repair cafés and circular economy workshops
Sustainable gardening and food-growing programmes.
Radon monitors
Esker Kits
Home energy Kits
The libraries also regularly promote environmental themes linked to the SDGs and Climate Action Week.
Please keep an eye on our events pages for updates.
Programmes and Initiatives
The libraries host practical environmental initiatives such as:
Community Energy Hub
Kilkenny Library Service is a partner of the Community Energy Hub which was developed by the South East Energy Agency, a not for profit energy agency based in Kilkenny, providing energy services to all citizens across the southeast of Ireland. In conjunction with POBAL, & Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford & Waterford Libraries, the South East Energy Agency have created the Community Energy Hub to help households, community groups and businesses to better understand energy efficiency and help streamline grant and funding information for citizens to undertake energy upgrades for their homes, communities and business.
The library's involvement is to act as a trusted local access point where residents can learn about energy efficiency, home retrofitting, grants and sustainability. Through the partnership, the library helps connect:
- Households seeking to improve home energy efficiency.
- Community groups planning energy projects.
- Businesses looking for information on energy upgrades and supports.
For more information, please check the Community Energy Hub website.
Energy Kits
The award winning Home Energy Saving Kit is available to borrow, free of charge, from over two hundred public libraries across Ireland. The kit contains five tools to help you measure how your home is using energy, where energy might be escaping and how you can make easy changes to start saving right away.
The Home Energy Saving Kit contains five tools to help you track your energy use, along with an additional exercise to measure your water flow rate. You can choose to use them all, or focus on one or two!
Kits include:
Theral Leak detector
Plug in energy monitor
Temperature and humidity meter
Radiator key
Fridge Freezer thermometer
For more information of what id in the kits please go to the Home Energy Saving Kit pages on the Codema website.
The energy kits are available to borrow at your local library. Please contact them for more information.
Esker Citizen Science Kits
ESKER kits are borrowable boxes of ecological recording equipment. The programme was launched as a pilot in 2023 and after some fine tuning, they have been relaunch making the ecology equipment more user friendly as they are packaged in themed boxes specific to the user’s needs.
• Bat Exploration Kit (Includes a Bat Detector and an Identification Guide to Irelands Bats)
• Bird Observation Kit (Includes a binocular, a tally counter and a Birds of Ireland Book)
• Plants and ecological Exploration Kit (Includes a compass, ID Guides for Wildflowers and Grasses)
• Insect Exploration Kits (Includes a sweep net, ID Swatches for Insects and a magnifying glass)
• Water Ecology Kit (Includes a kick sampling net, bathyscope and magnifying jars.
The project aligns with the Kilkenny Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030.
The kits are available to borrow from the Mayfair and Loughboy Libraries in Kilkenny City.
Radon Monitoring Kits
Radon is a radioactive gas that comes from the decay of uranium which is present in all rocks and soils. It has no colour, taste or smell and can only be measured using special detectors. Outdoors, radon is not a problem as it quickly dilutes to harmless concentrations. However, when it enters an enclosed space, such as a house or other building, it can sometimes accumulate to unacceptably high levels.
Radon decays to form tiny radioactive particles that when inhaled, can result in a radiation dose which may damage cells in the lung and increase the risk of lung cancer. In Ireland about 350 cases of lung cancer are linked to radon each year.
Homes in some parts of Ireland are more likely to have a radon problem. These are called high radon areas. The EPA’s updated radon risk map will tell you if your home is in a High Radon Area. High Radon Areas are shown in red.
Radon testing kits are available to borrow at your local library. Please contact them for more information.