South Dublin County Community Projects awarded LEAF 2026 Funding

SDCC is delighted to announce the successful community recipients of the Local Environmental Action Fund (LEAF) initiative, benefiting local community volunteer groups, Tidy Towns and Residents’ Associations and promoting greener shared spaces through climate action, biodiversity and local environment enhancement projects. In South Dublin County the €100,000 LEAF initiative is awarded across 19 community-led projects to empower local communities working together for Climate.

LEAF 2026 is a national €3 million community grant partnership between IPB Insurance and all 31 local authorities through the County and City Management Association (CCMA), established to mark IPB Insurance’s centenary year.

The joint commitment for LEAF 2026 in South Dublin County was launched by SDCC’s Mayor Councillor Francis Timmons and IPB Insurance and SDCC representatives in Rathfarnham Castle Park on Monday 6th July 2026. SDCC’s Mayor Councillor Francis Timmons noted that “the joint initiative will provide the support to empower Tidy Towns members and voluntary Community Groups to deliver visible and practical environmental improvements in local areas.”

The support of SDCC and IPB Insurance builds on the strength and legacy of the Tidy Towns movement and community volunteers in South Dublin County, whose contributions play a key role in enhancing quality of life and supporting Ireland’s climate and biodiversity goals. Graham Orr, Director of Member & Client Relations at IPB Insurance highlighted that “our mutual ethos goes beyond insurance, it’s about giving back and supporting initiatives that strengthen communities and enhance places.”

SDCC received significant interest in the LEAF 2026 initiative and a call for LEAF applications was heavily oversubscribed, with greater than 30 applications received seeking the LEAF scheme. The successful applicants are community focused high-impact local environment projects addressing sustainability, circular economy, renewable energy, pollinators, climate resilience, habitat enhancement and waste reduction initiatives.

Tidy Towns Groups, Residents’ Associations, Sports Clubs, Social Enterprise Groups, Men/ Women’s Sheds, Schools, Youth Projects and Community Organisations and Centres are all participating in the 19 high-impact local environmental action projects identified to benefit from the €100,000 LEAF support.

Projects awarded funding encompass a wide range of innovative biodiversity, sustainability and habitat enhancement measures including hedgehog/bat/native tree/pollinator/water/native bird/fungi and wildflower education and awareness talks and workshops, the installation of Swift Bird nesting habitats, the planting of pollinator plants, native shrubs and trees and the initiation of “The Orchard Way” introducing organic Irish heritage and Irish origin apple tree orchards in South Dublin County.

Climate focused local community projects incorporated in the South Dublin County LEAF initiative include the installation of a raingarden and rainwater harvesting systems, energy efficient LED lighting, rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) System, Clothes Swaps and Repair Cafés targeting younger audiences, herb garden and sustainable urban and age friendly food growing initiatives using reclaimed wood, textile Repair Train-the-Trainer Programmes and waste segregation/minimisation actions.

To view the list of successful LEAF 2026 Community Projects and Allocations please clickLocal Environmental Action Fund (LEAF) 2026 South Dublin County