MESSAGE at "iCRAG@10: Evolving for a Changing World" - February 2025 Event
MESSAGE members were invited to participate in panels and give talks during the ICRAG@10 event, on February 13th 2025.
The event marked 10 years of research supported by the iCRAG Research Ireland Centre for Applied Geosciences.
The event showcased innovative research projects from across the fields of geoscience, engineering, environment, climate, humanities and social research. The content reflected on the impact of iCRAG’s research over the past decade and attendees explored opportunities for future applied research topics to shape a sustainable society.
MESSAGE founder, Tomas Buitendijk, gave a talk on “The Public Perceptions of Marine Sediments Storing Carbon”, based on a paper published in Ecology & Society, which highlights the complex public perceptions of carbon-storing marine sediments in Dundalk Bay. The paper,(opens in a new window) "Place meaning, speculation, and emerging public perceptions of carbon-storing marine sediments in Dundalk Bay, Ireland", by MESSAGE members and UCD researchers Tomas Buitendijk, Britta Thiemt, Geertje Schuitema, Tasman P. Crowe, and Mark Coughlan sheds light on the maritime significance of these sediments and their role in climate change mitigation.
MESSAGE founder, environmental psychologist and Associate Professor at the UCD School of Business, Geertje Schuitema, was invited to give a talk on the EU VECTOR Project and asked “Does society want to be saved by Geoscience?”. She also participated in a discussion panel titled “The Future of Geoscience depends on who we inspire today; Preparing our next generation to tackle our planet’s challenges”.
MESSAGE member and Postdoctoral Fellow, Josie Taylor, was invited to give a talk on her research project the ENACT project exploring community narratives of energy transition to offshore wind in Whitegate, County Cork and Kilrush County Clare.
MESSAGE also had two posters to its name during the ICRAG@10 Event. The first presented the Research Group’s vision, as well as projects featured and supported by MESSAGE, such as Blue4All, MARBEFES and ENACT.
The ENACT project had its own poster, presented by Josie Taylor, which gave an outline of the community based research on energy transition currently explored by the project.