Events

As part of their Signpost Series, and co-incident with World Wetlands Day 2024, Teagasc are delighted to host Dr Mícheál Callaghan from the Community Wetlands Forum.

Mícheál will present a webinar on “Community led action for wetlands: Lessons from the Community Wetlands Forum”

The Community Wetlands Forum CLG aims to promote develop, and support community-led wetland conservation for the public benefit; and to provide a representative platform for community-led wetland conservation groups, with 40 community group members across the country engaged in different initiatives to protect and promote the benefits of healthy wetlands.

Registration is essential – to book for the Signpost webinar – click on the link https://zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_fvmL1CiSQ0Sy6WZNCoAfMw#/registration

Lunchtime birdwatching with Birdwatch Sligo and launch of Sligo Wetland Storymap!

To commemorate World Wetlands Day 2024 Sligo County Council will be launching ‘Wetlands in County Sligo – A story map showcasing wetland habitats and biodiversity found in the county’.

We will join members of the Birdwatch Ireland Sligo Branch for lunchtime birdwatching over Sligo bay from Cartron! Expert guidance, field guides, telescope and binoculars will be available.

This event is weather dependent, follow the Sligo Heritage Office Facebook page for updates (https://www.facebook.com/sligoheritageoffice/)

Date: 2^nd Feb

Time 12:30 – 13:30

Where: Cartron Village car park

Location: https://maps.app.goo.gl/mqmGuKJMfsudMY5E7

Clare County Council’s Biodiversity Officer will be partnering with Wetland Surveys Ireland and the Community Wetlands Forum for a 1-hour online webinar to celebrate World Wetlands Day.

This year’s theme is ‘Wetlands and Human Wellbeing’. The online webinar will be held on Thursday, 1^st of February 2024 from 7:30-8:30 pm.

In 2022 and 2023, Clare County Council commissioned Wetland Surveys Ireland to undertake a desktop and field survey exercise of wetland sites in Co. Clare. Wetlands are one of the most important natural resources, not just for biodiversity, but also for the ecological services wetlands provide, such as purification of drinking water, carbon sequestration and storage and flood attenuation.

The first part of the talk will be given by Wetland Surveys Ireland, who will discuss the County Clare Wetland Survey Project and the valuable contributions of wetland ecosystems. The second part of the online webinar will be delivered by Dr Kate Flood of the Community Wetlands Forum. Kate’s presentation will cover the social and cultural relationships that exist between communities and their local wetlands/peatlands, ecosystem services of wetlands and how wetlands can influence well-being. Kate will also cover community mapping projects. An introduction will be given by Clare County Council’s Biodiversity Officer Barry O’Loughlin.

To register for the online webinar and book your place, please email Barry O’Loughlin at boloughlin@clarecoco.ie

Discover why we need to preserve and restore these richly biodiverse ecosystems that underpin human wellbeing. In Limerick, the county’s City and County Council are hosting a WWD Workshop on 1st February.

Registration is essential here – https://www.eventbrite.com/e/world-wetlands-day-workshop-thurs-1st-feb-2024-tickets-779456654837

The itinerary for the workshop is as follows:

19:00 – Welcome by Mayor of Limerick City and County Council or a representative

19:10 – Importance and ecology of wetlands – Speaker: Nuala Madigan, Chief Executive of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council.

19:30 – Wetland Birds and Wintering Wildfowl in Limerick – Speaker: Tom Tarpey, Limerick Branch of BirdWatch Ireland.

19:50 – Nature Based Solutions – Benefitting wildlife & humans – Speaker: – Fran Igoe Regional Coordinator. South East Region, South West Region, Local Authorities Water Programme

20:10 – Discussion and Q&A

20:30 – A chance to network with Tidy Towns groups and wildlife enthusiasts over refreshments

21:30 – Event Ends

All welcome to register, places available on a first come first service basis – please feel free to share with family and friends

In advance of World Wetlands Day, the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) will host a special evening event exploring the importance of wetlands (rivers, streams, lakes, bogs, turloughs, fens, wet woodlands, etc.) in Co. Clare and showing how wetlands help sustain biodiversity, address climate change, and support human wellbeing.

The illustrated talk (followed by an open discussion) will be delivered by LAWPRO’s Ruairi O Conchüir. It will focus on wetland habitat type, wetland biodiversity, the ecosystem services provided by wetlands, and how wetlands help address climate change and support human wellbeing (with local case studies). The event, suitable for people of all ages, is designed to help us better understand why wetlands are so important.

The talk will be at the Temple Gate Hotel (Ennis; V95 HOXK), is free and all are welcome.

Co-incident with World Wetlands Day,  join LAWPRO and Milltown Malby Tidy Towns to celebrate the creation of the new wetlands pond and the unveiling of a new illustrated sign highlighting the importance of wetlands for both biodiversity and people.

Please join Milton Malay Tidy Towns, LAWPRO, local Councillors and others to celebrate this event which will be immediately followed by a reception in the Miltown Malbay Community Centre (Church Street). Please bring suitable footwear for the site visit. This is a free event and all are welcome!

Local Ulster Wildlife expert Giles Knight is giving a talk on raptors in Fermanagh on 1st February 2024.

Numbers are strictly limited so registration is essential so if interested please contact Giles.Knight@ulsterwildlife.org for details on timing and venue.

Join us, the Community Wetlands Forum on 1 February at 7:30pm, the eve of World Wetlands Day, for the launch of our new webinar series “Creativity for the Wetlands: Art connecting people and wetlands”.

We are delighted that award-winning nature photographer Tina Claffey, who is renowned for her mesmerising work on peatlands, will kick off this series, with a talk and presentation about her work. The webinar which lasts an hour, will also provide attendees with a chance to ask questions and respond to the presentation.

Tina Claffey, a member of the CWF, is an award-winning Irish nature photographer and author of ‘Tapestry of Light-Ireland’s bogs & wetlands as never seen before’ released in October 2017, and  ‘Portal-Otherworldly Wonders of Ireland’s Bogs, Wetlands and Eskers’ in 2022. Her observations and unique perspective through her macro lens of the flora and fauna of the raised bogs and wet woodlands of the Irish midlands are celebrated in her work.

This webinar series is an opportunity for anyone interested in wetlands and community-led projects to hear from artists about how their work connects people with wetlands and their importance. Art can be a fantastic way to engage, inspire and move in ways that traditional media and activism don’t always achieve.

This webinar series will hear from a different artist every fortnight, at 7:30pm on a Thursday evening, and so far the confirmed line up is as follows:

• 1 February, Tina Claffey
• 14 February, Fionnuala McKenna, Cloughjordan Community Development – Voices from the Past, Breathe Loudly
• 29 February, Kate Flood, Monica De Bath & Jules Michael – Gnáthóga Nádurtha
• 14 March, Helen Flanagan, Friends of Ardee Bog
• 28 March, Community Wetlands Forum Open Mic

These webinars will be on zoom, and you can register for the first webinar here

Back in November 2023 @Lough Erne Waders held a workshop on breeding wader conservation and management in Northern Ireland – with a range of talks on the subject by organisations/individuals from Ireland, N Ireland, Great Britain and the continent.

Throughout the annual cycle these species are associated with wetlands of one type or other – tundra, temperature coastal Machair, bogs and lowland wet grassland in summer and estuaries for staging and wintering.

Though this precedes WWD, the timing of the release of the presentations is nearly co-incident and worth a watch! The keynotes included:

• Working Together for Waders – the role of Europe’s game shooting community (Dr David Scallan, Sec Gen FACE)
• Saving Curlews across the UK (Mary Colwell, Curlew Action founder, author and broadcaster)
• Curlews and Forestry (Patrick Laurie, author, hill-farmer and land management consultant)
• The importance of predation management in wader recovery (Dr Andrew Hoodless, GWCT)

Breeding Waders are a hot topic right now – most species are red-listed in Ireland, populations globally are not faring well and there is much to do if we are to retain populations. In fact 2024-27 a new national DAFM/NPWS Breeding Wader EIP will be operating to try to help!

These are available now: