Events

Coastwatch are organising 4 dove-tailed event to celebrate World Wetland’s Day in Co. Wexford.

All the events start (or are in) Wexford County Hall, Carriglawn Y35 WY93 on 2nd February. There may be other events on adjacent days (as yet to be finalised).

The fun information-filled full day event programme is as follows:

11:00 – A Wexford Welcome and ‘Zooming in on the Coastal Rim’ Exhibition Opening by HE Thomas Nader, Austrian Ambassador to Ireland
11:30 – World Wetlands Day Address Tobias Salathé, senior adviser to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands and Workshop on coastal wetland restoration.
14:15 – Fieldtrips: 2 options to choose from: (1) Wexford North Slobs, an NPWS-managed Ramsar site with migratory bird focus or (2) Low coastal Natura 2000 site farmland and climate change; in cooperation with Teagasc.
and finally
17:00 to 19:00 World Wetlands Day Celebration with music, poetry and ‘Found’ (what people found on the shore)

This celebratory event involves a large team – so far we have scientists, geographers, journalists, coastal managers, planners, eNGO, educators, local farm and fishing community representatives, artists and musicians joining us. Among them: Tobias Salathe (Ramsar office Geneva), Jana Cox (Utrecht Uni coastal processes), Thomas Nader (Austrian Ambassador), Catherine Keena (Biodiversity Teagasc), Karina Fitzgerald (MSP), Cilian Roden (Lagoon specialist) and Sabine Springer (ecologist and artist).

REGISTRATION IS ESSENTIAL here: (cut and paste link) https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/coastwatch-exhibition-launch-zooming-in-on-the-coastal-rim-tickets-511006513237?fbclid=IwAR3qEonwWCxzjkiYy_6uYMDV0vwrTN8sn4xR-p41M0jNhmw9FJXz4Q0gB6E

Bring layers of warm clothing/rain gear and wellies for the farm trip. And if you have any wetland-related songs, poems or similar, or any items you found in a coastal wetland or the sea – please bring them along!

Queries on the day to Karin Dubsky (086 8111 684; kdubsky@tcd.ie) or Mick Berry (086 8139 912; mickthewren@gmail.com)

Come see the wetland birds of Trammore Back Strand!

Our local expert, Denis Cullen of the Irish Wildlife Trust, will lead a birdwatching walk and talk of this exceptional coastal wetland. Find out what birds visit Tramore Back Strand in winter and why the site is so important for wildlife.

The site is exposed so please dress for the weather and ground conditions – stout footwear and warm outdoor clothing are recommended!

Meet at the Bird Hide at the Tramore Nature Park (Grid 659 623, 601 457)

If you need further information or cannot find your way, please contact Bernie Guest (Heritage Officer, Waterford Co Co) on bguest@waterfordcouncil.ie or 086 8590341

This Heritage Week is celebrating the full return of in-person events as well as continuing with digital heritage projects which have attracted so many new people to National Heritage Week over the last two years. The Heritage Council invites individuals, communities and organisations to develop Heritage Week in-person events and / or digital projects. The overarching theme for National Heritage Week 2022 is sustainability and organisers are asked to consider sustainable heritage in all its forms. Organisers are also invited to explore biodiversity through events and / or projects. Many exciting and interesting events running during Heritage Week are already listed HERE.

Inland Fisheries and Aquaculture – Advances in Technology, Stock Assessment and Citizen Science in an Era of Climate Change

The 2022 EIFAAC Symposium will be hosted by Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications.  The Symposium will be held in Randles Hotel, Killarney, Co. Kerry.

ACT NOW FOR NATURE

A call to take action for wetlands is the focus of this years’ campaign. It’s an appeal to invest financial, human and political capital to save the world’s wetlands from disappearing and to restore those we have degraded.

Connecting Communities with Peatlands.

Assessing and strengthening community skills and knowledge to connect with the peatlands.

Gortaganny Community Centre, Roscommon

The Communities Caring for Waters Conference will be held online again this year on Saturday 20th November from 9:30 to 14:00.  An exciting agenda has been put together which will look at forming new groups and actions we can take to deliver successful river projects. Places on this virtual conference are limited to 500 people on the day.

Peatlands play a significant role in the natural and cultural heritage of Ireland. The first Peatlands Gathering, welcomes all who are interested in peatlands: community groups, farmers, land managers, forestry groups, peat producers, academics, public representatives, policy makers and the general public. The aim of the Gathering is to share knowledge and  understandings and to cultivate a new beginning for peatlands in Ireland. We aim to create an open forum to promote dialogue about peatlands and their future. Key messages from the Gathering will be presented at the upcoming meeting on Climate Change (COP26) in Glasgow in November 2021.

The conference will aim to cover the following topics:

• Restoring bird populations through habitat and ecosystem restoration – managed restoration, rewilding and connectivity;
• Population reintroduction and reinforcement – the science of translocation, headstarting and other population management strategies;
• Control of invasive species and restoring community structure;
• The functional role of birds in ecosystem restoration;
• Progress towards Aichi biodiversity targets and government commitments to restoration.