The community currency app has added three additional earn zones to the six parks currently participating in the pilot
24.01.22
Three new parks and amenities in Dublin 8 have been added to the list of ‘earn zones’ available to users of Civic Dollars. The National War Memorial Gardens and the Liffey riverside walk at Islandbridge, St James Walk linear park in Rialto and the walkways along the Grand Canal between Dolphin’s Barn and Blackhorse all join the 6 initial parks added in November as earn zones from Monday 24th January.
Civic Dollars, developed by Derry-based Moai Digital Ltd, is an app-based community currency that encourages users to enjoy the great outdoors in exchange for small rewards. The app is being trialled in parks in Dublin 8 until April 2022 as part of an initiative by Smart D8 smart city district to develop innovative tech solutions to everyday health and community wellbeing challenges.
The app works on the basis of creating earn zones around public parks and amenities where users can ‘check in’ and earn a virtual currency (Civic Dollars) from their dwell time within the park or amenity. So for example 30 minutes within an earn zone gets you 1 Civic Dollar. Users can accumulate and then exchange their Civic Dollars for small gifts or discounts with participating businesses, or they can ‘gift’ their Civic Dollars to one of a number of participating community organisations, who can in turn exchange these dollars for useful services (such as a consultation with a web designer, or some graphic design work). As a user, the more you visit the park and get out and active, the more you earn!
Civic Dollars launched in November covering 6 parks – St Audoen’s Park, St Patrick’s Park, Weaver Park and Oscar Square in The Liberties and Tenters, and Grattan Crescent Park and Turvey Park in Inchicore. The new additions add greatly to the area covered by the pilot and are sure to provide interesting contrasts to the use of parks and dwell time. The National War Memorial Gardens and the adjoining Liffey river walk, comprise the largest green area within Dublin 8 (south of the river) and the park is participating in the pilot with the kind permission of the Office of Public Works, which maintains the park.
Since the pilot launched in November, almost 900 people have subscribed to the app with 372 Civic Dollars donated to community groups to date. With the addition of new earn zones, brighter days and the recent lifting of restrictions, Civic Dollars is expecting to see a big bounce in users and dollars earned.
Find out more about Civic Dollars at www.civicdollars.com. Download the app, visit a park, check in and start earning!
Find out more about Parks and Green Spaces in The Liberties.
