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World Wetlands Day 2024 – 20 counties hosting around 40 events

Our events page has the most up-to-date listing of the many and varied events happening around the island next month.

Many organisations have gone the extra mile this year to help celebrate wetlands and create opportunities for the public to gain a deeper enjoyment and appreciation.

NOTE THAT ON THE EVENTS https://www.irishwetlands.ie/events/PAGES CLICK NEXT  AT THE BOTTOM, AS THE NUMBER OF EVENTS RUNS OVER SEVERAL PAGES. Few counties have no events (yet) and a number have multiple events happening.

A truly island-wide suite of activities in celebration of World Wetland’s Day with us punching well above our weight globally with respect to participation.

All sorts of events – outdoor walks, seminars, book launches, music, story-telling – you name it. Most are free and some you can join online from home.

Community groups, the Community Wetlands Forum, Local Authorities, LAWPRO, The Heritage Council, RSPB, Ulster Wildlife, Local Councils in NI, BTO, BirdWatch Ireland, NPWS.. the list goes on! An astounding effort which will undoubtedly do a great deal of awareness-raising for wetlands and their importance.

Undoubtedly some additional events will be posted here (details are awaited) so keep an eye on these pages and do enjoy your events and thank you all, organiser’s and participants.

2024-01-29T13:12:26+00:00January 28th, 2024|

WWD – World Wetlands Day fast approaching. Lots of national event details to be posted very shortly

With World Wetland’s Day fast-approaching, keep an eye on this page and our Twitter feed for a large number of events on dates in and around 2nd February in celebration of wetlands in Ireland. In addition to events by IRWC committee members and their respective organisations, a number of NGOs, community groups and others are organising events – details of these will be posted here in the next few days. Watch out for an event near you!

2024-01-21T18:48:07+00:00January 21st, 2024|

Get ready for World Wetland’s Day 2024!!

World Wetland’s Day (WWD) is an annual global event celebrated annually on 02 February. The day marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 02 February 1971 in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the mightly Caspian Sea.

The Standing Committee of the Convention has approved the theme of WWD in 2024 as “Wetlands and human wellbeing”.

The education team have produced very valuable accessible resources for universal access here: http://www.worldwetlandsday.org in multiple languages – these include posters, a campaign toolkit, powerpoint presentation, infographics and a video.. and more.

Wetlands need our help and to raise awareness about their importance for the proper functioning of the planet, as well as for our physical and human wellbeing across Ireland in and around February 2nd we will be signposting many events. These will be signposted here over coming weeks. If you wish to run an event in your local wetland sites please get in touch – we will try to support you.

2023-12-05T12:37:06+00:00December 5th, 2023|

Launch of the new Community Wetlands Forum CLG

Congratulations to the CWF team who announced their establishment as a newly independent company limited by guarantee, and in doing so, marking a significant milestone in their journey towards community-led wetland management.

The launch event, held on Monday 4 December 2023 at the Hudson Bay Hotel, Athlone on the edge of Lough Ree was attended by Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD.

In existence for over 10 years, the CWF has a membership of over 40 community groups across Ireland. Members are undertaking projects across 23 protected or designated sites across Ireland, covering over 2270ha of wetlands.

The CWF invites everyone with an interest in wetland conservation and rural community development to get in touch. Find out more here: CWF website

2023-12-05T12:24:54+00:00December 5th, 2023|

World Wetland’s Day 2023 events

A number of national events are happening on or around the 2nd February nationally to celebrate World Wetland’s Day in Ireland. From bog restoration projects in the midlands to coastal waterbirds on the south coast, experts from the IRWC and partners (incl NPWS, Trinity College, local Heritage Officers, partner projects (incl Wild Atlantic Nature, LIFE on Machair, Coastwatch, Bord na Mona, LAWPRO and BirdWatch Ireland) are running online and outdoor events to walk and talk all things wetlands. Further details on all the events are being posted on the EVENTS page (https://www.irishwetlands.ie/events/) and check back as a few more events will be added shortly.

Note that useful resources for free download to support events or otherwise use for raising awareness about wetlands are available on the WWD website at https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/resources

2023-01-20T14:41:08+00:00January 20th, 2023|

Winners of the World Wetlands Day photo competition announced!

The River Lee

The River Lee, Ballincollig.  ‘Lovely sense of place and time of year’.  Overall winner (under 18) of the World Wetlands Day Photo Competition. Photo taken by Lucy Gallagher.

Whooper Swans

Whooper Swans rising from Kilcolman Fen. ’Very well captured. Evocative. I can hear them calling’. The overall winner (over 18) of the World Wetlands Day photo competition.  Photo taken by James McGrath.

Award-winning wildlife camera man Colin Stafford-Johnson kindly agreed to select the overall winners of the World Wetlands Day Photo Competition.  The WWD photo competition was organised by the IRWC and Wetlands Surveys Ireland to mark 50 years since the signing of the Ramsar Convention. The competition which ran over four months in 2021 had a great response and monthly winners were posted on the IRWC website.  The winners will each receive a framed copy of their photo and an OPW Family Heritage Card.

The overall winner of the under 18 category was Lucy Gallagher from Cork.  Colin Stafford -Johnson commented that this photo gave a ‘Lovely sense of place and time of year’

The overall winner of the over 18 category was James McGrath, also from Cork . Colin Stafford -Johnson commented that the Whooper Swans were, ’Very well captured. Evocative. I can hear them calling’.

Fine praise indeed for two photos which represent Ireland’s wonderful, varied, and vital wetlands.

Thanks to Colin Stafford-Johnson for judging the overall competition winners, to members of the IRWC (Niamh Fitzgerald of BirdWatch Ireland, Tadgh O’Mahony of the EPA, Mary Roache of Teagasc) and to Patrick Crushell of Wetland Surveys Ireland for judging the monthly competition winners.  Thanks to the National Biodiversity Data Centre for their monthly prizes of Identification Swatch Packs and to the OPW for the overall winner prize of a Family Heritage Card.

2022-11-25T15:49:06+00:00March 2nd, 2022|

World Wetlands Day 2021

Raising global awareness about the vital role of wetlands for people and our planet.

The day also marks the date of the adoption of the Convention on Wetlands on 2 February 1971, in the Iranian city of Ramsar on the shores of the Caspian Sea.

This year’s theme shines a spotlight on wetlands as a source of freshwater and encourages actions to restore them and stop their loss.

We are facing a growing freshwater crisis that threatens people and our planet. We use more freshwater than nature can replenish, and we are destroying the ecosystem that water and all life depend on most – Wetlands.

The 2021 campaign highlights the contribution of wetlands to the quantity and quality of freshwater on our planet. Water and wetlands are connected in an inseparable co-existence that is vital to life, our wellbeing and the health of our planet.


Share your personal note on “why you value wetlands”.  See  https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/notes

See also https://www.worldwetlandsday.org/events

Follow us on Twitter @RamsarIreland

2022-11-25T15:49:59+00:00January 8th, 2021|

Ireland’s Rivers

Ireland's Rivers Publication CoverRivers are said to be the veins, and streams the capillaries, that carry freshwater, the scarce lifeblood of the Earth. However, freshwaters are experiencing species extinctions at a rate faster than any other ecosystem, and human activities are threatening our survival through overexploiting and degrading water quality. Rivers have been channelled, buried underground, dammed, diverted and polluted; some so over-abstracted that their waters no longer reach the sea. With abundant rainfall, Irish rivers are less damaged than many of those in other countries, but most have water quality problems that can impact the quality of our lives and economic activities, as shortages of safe water supplies have demonstrated.This timely book aims to raise awareness of Ireland’s fantastic and often undervalued river resource, andthe importance of changing our behaviour and policies to ensure that we keep it in a healthy condition forits sustainable benefits, as well as protection of its biodiversity. The book captures the expertise of 39 Irishfreshwater experts to provide an up-to-date account on the evolution of Ireland’s rivers and their flowcharacteristics, biodiversity and how humans have depended on, used and abused our rivers through time.Irish rivers include types that are rare elsewhere in Europe and support a wide range of aquatic organisms and processes. In Ireland’s Rivers there are chapters on their hydrology and on their animal and plant life, on crayfish, fish and pearl mussels, and on aquatic birds and mammals, describing their importance and the threats to their survival such as pollution and loss of habitat. There are case studies of characteristic but contrasting Irish rivers, the Avonmore, Burrishoole, Araglin and the mighty Shannon, and information on invasive aquatic species. Water quality and river management are underlying themes. Ireland’s Rivers concludes with some suggestions for ways that individuals, households, communities and policy makers can help protect the health and beauty of our rivers and their wildlife.

Contributor(s): Mary Kelly-Quinn (editor), Julian D Reynolds (editor)
Format: Hardback,
Publication date: 1st July 2020
ISBN-13: 9781910820551
Author Biography: Mary Kelly-Quinn is a freshwater ecologist and Associate Professor in the School of Biology and Environmental Science, University College Dublin. Julian D. Reynolds is a freshwater ecologist, and former Head of the Department of Zoology in Trinity College Dublin.

Buy this Book

2022-11-25T15:52:03+00:00November 13th, 2020|

Community Wetlands Handbook now available

Community Wetlands Handbook Cover

This handbook was produced by the Community Wetlands Forum (CWF) as part of a small scale study funded by the EPA under its IRWC remit.  It is a very useful resource for any community group involved in wetland conservation or management projects.

The handbook is available at the following links: Google Drive and Dropbox

2022-11-25T15:54:04+00:00February 13th, 2020|

Diary Dates 2020

Some dates for your diary in 2020

2020-11-13T10:05:30+00:00December 18th, 2019|
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