Higgins: Gardeners the 'canaries in our coal mine' as they have suffered effects of climate change

Gardeners could be the “canaries in our coal mine” because they already see the effects of climate change, President Michael D Higgins said at the opening of the Bloom festival.

He warned that climate change is the biggest threat facing humankind and that there is “nothing abstract” about it: “We can see its effects already taking place in our gardens. Indeed, gardeners could be the canaries in our coal mine."