Limerick’s natural habitats containing significant biodiversity are based around a large network of rivers, grasslands and established woodlands including the River Shannon, the Abbey River and the Ballynaclough River with associated wetlands, grasslands and established woodlands. While a rich network of urban greenspaces and habitats are in place, there is potential to further enhance the value and quality of these areas by creating strong, multifunctional linkages between them, in keeping with the principles of European Green Infrastructure Strategy.
Such linkages, if properly planned and implemented, can provide a range of ecosystem services including; creating ecological corridors for wildlife movement, providing active travel routes and encouraging healthier lifestyles, improving wellbeing through contact with nature, improving air quality and even reducing flood risk through Sustainable Urban Drainage features.
GoGreenRoutes provides the opportunity to create those linkages and to implement nature-based solutions that focus on contributing to green infrastructure within the built environment.