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Residents around the shore of Carlingford Lough are being asked to look out for an unusual letter among their regular post this Christmas, inviting them to help decide how to balance nature recovery with local prosperity.
From Christmas week until the New Year, households along both sides of Carlingford Lough will receive invitations to take part in a Citizens' Jury, where local people will work together on one of the most important environmental and economic challenges of our time. The Citizens' Jury on the Future of Carlingford Lough is a unique opportunity for people from towns, villages and rural communities on both sides of the iconic shared waterway to explore how to protect the Lough's extraordinary natural habitats while also supporting thriving local livelihoods.
Invitations will be sent through a process called civic lottery, a random selection to ensure a diverse mix of residents from all backgrounds and perspectives. Those chosen will come together for three days in February 2026 to listen, learn and deliberate on issues such as restoring nature while respecting local jobs and economic activity, finding shared outcomes for tourism, access and protection of sensitive habitats, and developing community-rooted strategies for future policy and action.
Suzie Cahn, iCommunity: Shared Practices Hub and Shifting Tides Project Director, said the process puts local voices at the heart of real decision making. "There's something genuinely exciting about a letter arriving in the post inviting you to shape the future of your own place. This is your chance to have a real say."
The Citizens' Jury builds on work already underway through the Shifting Tides project, which has brought locals, scientists, creatives and stakeholders together since 2023 to explore ideas on ecology, culture and coastal life around Carlingford Lough.
Rebekah McCabe, Head of Northern Ireland for Involve, the charity organising the Citizens' Jury, said they are very excited to see those invitations make their way into locals' letterboxes. "This isn't just a conversation, it's a celebration of local knowledge, pride and collective action for the future of our shared Lough."
The Shifting Tides Project is a collaborative, cross-border initiative in Ireland, connecting communities around Carlingford Lough (spanning Northern Ireland and the Republic) through creative arts and citizen science to foster understanding and stewardship of their marine environment, tackling issues like climate change and habitat loss with local knowledge. It uses art, ecology, music, and citizen science to empower residents to become custodians of the local marine environment. Throughout 2024 and 2025, Shifting Tides along with artists, academics and local people produced an educational outreach programme, community workshops, coastal foraging, oral heritage recordings, and scientific diving. A podcast and documentary web series, along with short films incorporating arts outputs and elements of the local marine environment, will also be created. In catalysing input from local artists and providing support and guidance across the community, our project generated definitive change in ways of seeing and approaching the issues of climate change, marine ecology, and biodiversity.
Shifting Tides is a recipient of the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme. It is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Taoiseach. The fund supports creative, cultural and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations. See www.theshiftingtides.org
What happens next:
- All residents who receive the letter and can attend on the dates are invited to respond.
- The Citizens’ Jury will then be selected to ensure a diverse and balanced group
- Participants will receive £300/€342 for their time
- The first Citizens' Jury session will take place on 7 February 2026
- Jury members will receive clear, balanced information and expert briefings
- Recommendations from the Jury will be shared with policy makers and stakeholders, giving them strong community backing.
