31 The SETU Living Lab at Carriganore

Dr Denise O’Meara introduced the Carriganore Living Lab, a 120-acre site adjacent to the Waterford Greenway that serves as a hub for teaching, research, and community engagement in sustainability. Developed by the Department of Land Sciences, the Living Lab brings together woodlands, wetlands, biodiversity areas, and agroforestry plots as living classrooms and research spaces.

Students from agriculture, horticulture, forestry, and environmental sciences use the site for hands-on learning, while postgraduate and PhD researchers conduct fieldwork on biodiversity monitoring, pollinator health, regenerative land use, and soil quality. Over 500 students and community members have participated in activities such as tree planting, habitat restoration, and biodiversity walks.

The Living Lab also houses the National Biodiversity Data Centre, providing opportunities for collaboration, training, and citizen science. Partnerships with local schools, Waterford City and County Council, and industry (including sponsors of tree-planting initiatives) strengthen its role as a regional sustainability hub.

Enhancements include pollinator corridors, native bee and bat boxes, biodiversity gardens, and sustainability-focused trails. A new Biodiversity Hub and outreach centre is also in development. The initiative is complemented by a Biodiversity and Sustainability Forum, launched to bring together academics, students, policymakers, and industry to address regional knowledge gaps and guide collaborative research.

Dr O’Meara highlighted the Living Lab as a scalable and inclusive model for ESD, linking theory with practice and fostering community engagement. It exemplifies SETU’s commitment to place-based sustainability, while inspiring active, experiential learning and interdisciplinary research.

About the author

name: Dr Denise O’Meara

institution: South East Technological University

Dr Denise O’Meara is a Lecturer in Molecular Biology in the Department of Science, School of Science and Computing at South East Technological University.