Mary Robinson Climate Conference 2026

Working Together for the Collective Good

Following her attendance at two days of discussions and insights in Ballina (July 2026), Ailbhe McEntee of Community Foundation Ireland shares her reflections on securing a better future for our planet, and the role being played by strategic philanthropy.

 

Food and Care

Representing Community Foundation Ireland at the 2026 Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference in Ballina has been a huge privilege This year’s theme, Food and Care: A Meitheal for Our Time, came through in so many conversations. It was a gathering of incredible people working for the collective good and sharing inspiring ways in which we can support each other through some very difficult times.

My overall experience of the conference was extremely positive, but the message was clear. The facts are stark. We are facing a climate, nature and food systems crisis, and the warning bells are ringing loudly.

At the Community Foundation we recognise this with our commitment to planet as a priority pillar. We respond to the crisis in climate and nature at every level. Partnering with those who protect plants, wildlife and habitats in their own community while adapting to end the throw away society. Delivering the evidence, research and advocacy needed to ensure the future for people, place and planet.

There was so much food for thought (excuse the pun). Discussions highlighted just how vulnerable our food systems are and how closely our future food security is tied to the health of our environment and biodiversity.

I don’t think anyone was pretending there are easy answers, but there was a strong sense of people acknowledging that it is care for each other and the planet, deep genuine care, that will provide us with solutions.

One of the highlights for me was the opportunity to spend time with fantastic grantees, partners and recipients of the Mayo Sustainability Fund. ACT Studios held a showcase for the four diverse groups they have been supporting across Mayo through the fund.

It was great to hear how organisations are being helped to strengthen their sustainability, position themselves for future growth and funding, and continue the important work they are already doing in their communities.

Ballina itself was a wonderful backdrop to the conference. I was also lucky enough to visit the Sensory Garden, a collaboration involving a number of organisations including ACT and Mayo Mental Health. It is a beautiful, thoughtful and serene space and a real asset to the town. It was also fantastic to meet the great woman herself in her ancestral home which has been transformed into a wonderful community asset in the town through Victoria House Foundation and Mayo County Council.

Most of all, it was great to reconnect with old friends and make some wonderful new connections.

Mayo continues to show what can happen when communities, organisations and individuals come together with purpose.

If there was one thing I took away from the two days, it was that while the challenges we face are serious, there are incredible people across Mayo and beyond already doing the work of building a better response to them.

Ailbhe McEntee is a member of the Grants and Donor Care Team at Community Foundation Ireland. The Community Foundation mobilises strategic philanthropy to advance equality, strengthen communities and protect our nature and environment.

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