Trim is launching an initiative that it hopes will improve air quality in the town, as well as reducing its fossil fuel emissions. ‘No Idling’ signs have been erected   in a bid to reduce the pollution caused by exhaust emissions from vehicles of parents, guardians & bus drivers waiting to collect children outside schools.  

This idea came from a member of Trim Climate Action, Lil Coyne, who, when picking up her granddaughter from school one day, noticed that so many parents were sitting in their cars with engines running. She decided that something had to be done to reduce this pollution & suggested signage on the Trim Climate Action’s WhatsApp group chat.  

Trim Tidy Towns ran with the idea & designed a sign. The Church Carpark on Patrick Street, Trim, used by parents of both St Michael’s & St Mary’s National Schools is the area of the town that has been noted as being the most polluted by vehicle exhaust emissions in Trim. These Schools were approached & immediately agreed that there was a need for the signage, so Trim Tidy Towns erected 4 signs to cover the large carpark. Meath County Council’s Climate Action Department funded the new signage & as part of the Council’s ‘Climate Action Month’ are using the signage as an example of what local groups can do to combat climate change & air pollution.

It’s now hoped that all schools in Trim will agree to erection of similar signage around their school entrances.

A delighted Lil Coyne, after seeing her idea being actioned, commented that ‘I hope that people will get the message & take the health of our children seriously, as well as the health of our planet. This will also make a difference for anyone with a respiratory condition. The signs have just been erected outside schools for now, but we hope that drivers in other locations will get the message’.

Meath County Council have organized over 25 events that commenced on Friday, 19 September, and runs until Thursday, 23 October, for their Climate Action Month 2025. The schedule for Climate Action Month 2025 includes energy and information clinics, Eco Chic clothes swaps, green business networking events, beach cleans, and a cooking course with Catherine Fulvio designed to help eliminate food waste, in addition to many other events. For more information, please visit www.meath.ie/council/events/climate-action-month