ANTRIM GAA stars have played their part in combating climate change after a week working and playing in Kenya as part of a project to plant one million trees.

Hurlers Paddy Burke and Neil McManus, camogie player Jane Adams and inter-county footballer Chris Kerr have joined 50 sportsmen and women from across the country on a week-long trip to Kenya, which included playing a series of GAA matches which took place in Nairobi last weekend. 

The Saffron county stars have been up to far more than just raising awareness about climate change, as they have also raised more than €350,000 in sponsorship support which will be donated towards the planting of one million trees in Africa and support the efforts of Irish development charity Self Help Africa to combat the effects of climate change amongst small-scale farming communities.

The week has seen the ‘Warriors for Humanity,’ the Gaelic Players Association and Self Help Africa give students in Kenya a taste of Gaelic games, as well as engaging in tree planting days to rehabilitate lands which have been suffering due to global heating induced desertification.

The stars have also been taking part in other agricultural projects being implemented by Self Help Africa in Kenya.

Alongside the Antrim players on the inaugural ‘Plant the Planet Games’ are Limerick hurler Sean Finn, Kerry’s Stefan Okunbor, Clare’s Podge Collins, Kilkenny’s Grace Walsh, and Niamh O’Sullivan from Meath. The players took to the field for a series of exhibition games at Nairobi Rugby Club on Sunday, and were the guests of honour at a reception hosted by the Irish Ambassador to Kenya that night.

Speaking about the event, Alan Kerins of Warriors for Humanity said that “Gaelic Games has an ability to bring communities together for a greater good, and we are sure this event will be no different".

Director of Business Development at Self Help Africa, Martha Hourican said that tree planting in Kenya would do much more than remove harmful greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, as the trees being planted would provide alternative sources of food, additional crops that could be sold for income, and would help restore degraded land and improve soil quality for farming in Kenya and elsewhere on the continent. 

Gaelic Players Association CEO, Tom Parsons, said that a key element of the GPAs role was to empower inter-county players to realise the bigger picture beyond sport.

“Not only will this campaign allow the players to come together and experience something entirely different, but in doing so they will also be able to leverage their influence off the field of play in support of the planet and some of the world’s most challenged communities.”