The TEDx conference was a demonstration of making a virtue of necessity; since a traditional live event was impossible, a young team with its co-organiser based in Hungary yet attending Brown University in the US was able to co-ordinate with our Irish-based team of young volunteers and manage the running of a conference which was oversubscribed by 28% and received highly positive feedback (Results published on our website blog). Other Nationalities of Irish residents involved were Pakistani, Nigerian and Croatian. With our diverse mix we produced an extensive awareness campaign comprising event logos X4, an event artwork, several promotional and closing films, a T-shirt uniform and limited edition t-shirts and of course our new resource bank of TED talks focusing on our carefully curated panel of expert speakers with a focus on wellness, mental health and our endgame of an expanded programme extending beyond 2023 with an accelerated national target of 16% tree cover. Five of our 6 talks are now up on the TED Youtube and TED.com sites for you to enjoy, we are awaiting publication of the sixth as there was a formatting issue.
A Chairde,We have received the feedback from the questionnaires sent out by TED to our conference participants. It is all very positive indeed. We had just one comment where someone would have liked it all live but this option was not recommended by TED for us as the complexities of broadband not working etc. would have made it too uncertain.
Very well done to all our 6 speakers, Diarmuid and Joan represented our own board – a super contribution.
I have copied the responses below, with the note from Sarika at TEDx’s team and the link in case you have any difficulty with the attachment.
| Sarika (TED)Dear Orla, We are attaching your feedback from TEDxCrannTreesforIreland. You are able to view this in a PDF file. We hope this helps you to improve your event. Please let us know if we can do anything else! All the best, The TEDx Post-Event Team Warm regards,SarikaAttachment(s) delighted-trend-tedxcranntreesforireland-29-apr-2021_27-May-2021.pdf |
I found the webinar informative and engaging. It was well constructed and diverse. The hosts of each segment gave us the benefit of their expertise and it was much appreciated. Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 1 of 9 10 •••• •••••• May 15, 2021 – 10:30 am This was a very varied and thought-provoking conference. Ireland is unique in Europe in having least tree cover at 11 per cent, jointly with Malta. Most of our European neighbours have tree cover of about 33 per cent and the global average is 25 per cent. With a complex history including the denuding of our countryside of trees as part of our history as a colony for 800 years and a potato famine which traumatised our population, a conference on this topic is very timely. The counry’s low tree coverage is now at the point of going into reverse and reducing after a century of growth, just when for climate action reasons it would be of great benefit to increase tree cover. These talks will be most useful in persuading influencers to rapidly amend current policies stifling tree planting where there is a 2 and a half year wait for a planting license and a restriction on even school children planting anything more than a bagful of 300 saplings without official licenses. I look forward to sharing these talks once they are uploaded and to watching them again. There was a great balance of speakers with a teacher, a landscaper, a forestry inspector, a land manager, an expert from the government advisory service and the President of the Tree Council, a renowned ecologist. I liked that the talks were quite ordinary and not too slick and staged because it made the speakers very relatable. 8 •••• •••••• May 12, 2021 – 12:31 pm Thought it was excellent although it may be rather long for some people. I’d have given it a 10 if it was broken into parts which bore titles (bit like chapters of a book). On the whole I though it was excellent and most enlightening. Thank you Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 2 of 9 10 •••• •••••• May 7, 2021 – 8:26 am Refreshing and lateral thinking 9 •••• •••••• May 6, 2021 – 4:06 pm 9 •••• •••••• May 6, 2021 – 1:23 pm 10 •••• •••••• May 6, 2021 – 8:20 am 8 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 8:10 pm 5 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 5:26 pm 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 4:33 pm I grow and plant trees. I give trees as presents to others. Its nice to meet up wither like minded people. 8 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 4:06 pm Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 3 of 9 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 3:36 pm The presentations were impressive, well collated and would love to be able to revisit them at a later stage. Looking forward to future TEDx events. 7 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 3:08 pm Well it was a good presentation but I’m not in the habit of recommending such things but if someone asked I would recommend so 7. 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 2:54 pm The talks were very informative. The speakers were very knowledgeable and passionate. Facts and figures abounded-no loose statements. Great Tedx altogether. I have even asked for the data and am awaiting the same. 8 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 2:53 pm thanks 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 2:47 pm An excellent informative presentation on a very important subject Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 4 of 9 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 2:27 pm I would like to see the whole presentation, again. I liked the level of knowledge, which was explained clearly and the language which was used to encase the philosophy towards our home, the Earth. Is it possible to get a recording? 5 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 2:23 pm -not live -time of day 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 2:11 pm The curation of the talks and list of speakers was really good. Some of the talks like “Why we need biodiversity” and if it’s possible to plant a billion trees in Ireland were really interesting. I was also exposed to new ideas like the concept of Forest schools. I thoroughly enjoyed the conference. 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 1:48 pm 7 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 12:45 pm I think it is a worthy organisation Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 5 of 9 9 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 12:13 pm 9 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 11:52 am I enjoyed the talks and learned a lot from them. It was a little long 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 11:40 am Good mix of speakers all with different topics 8 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 11:31 am Very enjoyable 8 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 11:12 am 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 11:01 am I thought it was brilliant….very informative Such an important topic and very well done . Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 6 of 9 10 •••• •••••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:55 am This was a speaking programme with great variety; the speakers had a vast breadth of experience and covered very thought-provoking content. I very much look forward to watching these talks again when they become available because there was a lot of detail worth noting. I refer especially to the proposal to plant a billion trees on the island of Ireland; I would have thought this an outlandish ambition yet it appears in fact do-able. The pollinator trees list is also a very useful talk as with Biodiversity week coming up there is great interest in this topic. The Walk in the Woods is very suitable for children, very restful and informative, in simple language. I thought the Forest Schools talk was most informative and frankly polished, how lovely to have a talk from a garden. Éanna is someone I could listen to all day, I have been trying to implement her idea since in our own gardens of dropping herbicides with my husband, I would like to get him to watch this talk. And the Crann Director from Shankill spoke very well, I am sure his third level students are always entertained and informed, he had a real zeal for his work and his project is very inspiring. I could not believe that there was only one of these Countdown conferences that I could find in Ireland, I would definitely go to more. Technically this was very polished also I noted with seamless transitions. I loved the fact that the Irish language was used so often in the introductions, even by the Hungarian and Nigerian volunteers introducing the talks, it was a great mix of ages in that the organising team was very youthful (also diverse!). I would love to go to another one of these TEDxCrannTreesforIreland events as their local flavour was charming, with accents from Louth in the North, to UK accents, to Kerry to Dublin and the South East. Hats off to the organisers and speakers. It was also a very good length by the way and the 11.30 time meant I could fit in coffee and lunch while watching and did not miss too much time from work. Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 7 of 9 10 •••• •••••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:53 am Speakers were informative and interesting. 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:38 am Such an excellent communications forum – well structured and organised. Clear and concise presentations.Well done! . 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:37 am 9 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:34 am 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:33 am excellent speakers and relevant content 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:33 am Such an important message and a great charity – loved the event! Generated on May 27, 2021 at 11:52 am Page 8 of 9 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:30 am 10 •••• •••••• May 5, 2021 – 10:29 am It was a great conference with inspiring, educational and mind-opening talks. I feel that I’ve learned a lot by attending the conference. The TEDxCrannTreesforIreland team was excellent, too.
Easy Treesie 