News
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.
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!
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.
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
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
Winners of the World Wetlands Day photo competition announced!
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 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.
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
Ireland’s Rivers
Rivers 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.
Community Wetlands Handbook now available
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
Diary Dates 2020
Some dates for your diary in 2020
- 21st – 22nd April: CIEEM Conference: Conservation Approaches to Benefit Biodiversity: Big Ideas for Big Challenges
- 20th-21st May: Ireland’s Buzzing: International Conference on Pollinator Conservation. Limerick City.
- 22nd May: International Day for Biodiversity
- 23rd – 25th June: NUIG International Conference on Natural and Constructed Wetlands
- 12-23rd August: National Heritage Week
World Wetlands Day 2019
A great weekend by all accounts with many events held nationwide. Please tell us about your WWD experience. We would also love to see some of your photos of the weekend – these can be sent through our Flickr group. Meanwhile, check out Emily Toner’s facebook post about Scohaboy Bog below…
Workshop on the Wetland Guide
Is that a wetland?!
We had a fantastic turnout today at our workshop with the National Biodiversity Data Centre, and hosted by the Cabragh Wetland Centre on the new wetland guide. Faith Wilson delivered the course, and it was attended by a diverse group including ecologists, interested individuals, and others who need to identify wetlands as part of their jobs. It was agreed by all, that no matter how much of an expert you are, it can just be really tricky to identify some wetland habitats! Faith did a great indoor session as we worked our way through the guide – she told us all about the key wetland indicators to look out for. We headed out in the afternoon to identify some of the Cabragh Wetland Centre’s wetlands. Check out some more images from the day.
NUIG conference
Who thinks what about wetlands?
Back in June 2016, the Irish Ramsar Wetlands Committee engaged with wetland scientists, engineers and students attending the Inaugural International Conference on Natural and Constructed Wetlands hosted by National University of Ireland Galway. IRWC wanted to explore the perceptions of the conference delegates with respect to Ramsar and wetland conservation generally. You can find out more here…
Wetland guide download
Feedback please…
Don’t forget – you can download a PDF version of the Wetland Guide to Habitat Types here.
You may also download the FIELD SURVEY FORM separately.
We are very keen to have your feedback – please let us know through our contacts page.
IRWC visits Pollardstown Fen
IRWC visits Pollardstown Fen
Last Friday, IRWC visited Pollardtown Fen located near Newbridge in County Kildare. Pollardstown is perhaps the biggest fen in Ireland, and a real mosaic of plant communities fed by dozens of calcareous springs. The site is well used by the public, facilitated by a boardwalk circuit through the southern part of the site. There were significant challenges several years back associated with managing the flooding at the site during the construction of the Kildare Bypass. The fen habitat is best managed through grazing, and currently there are associated difficulties relating to finding suitable stock for grazing a ‘wet’ site, combined with the management of stock in a heavily-visited public amenity area.
Putting the new wetland guide into practice
Putting the Wetland Guide into Practice
IRWC teams up with the National Biodiversity Data Centre and Faith Wilson to deliver a practical workshop on 25th September 2018 at the Cabragh Wetlands Centre on how to use this new wetland guide. For more details about this workshop and how you can book please download the Autumn Workshop Programme here
IRWC launches new Wetland Guide
IRWC Launch New Wetlands Guide
The Committee are delighted to announce the launch of our very own wetland guide for Ireland. The guide is illustrated with lots of high-quality images and is designed to be brought into the field. It provides a step by step approach on identifying any wetland in Ireland. A PDF version is available here.
You may also download the FIELD SURVEY FORM separately.
The Value of Wetlands – Investing in Nature for Climate, Conservation & Community
Click here to view the 2013 Programme of Events
Action for Biodiversity Conference, Dundalk
» Wednesday 1st May Action for Biodiversity & East Border Region are holding a One-day Conference entiled ”Working Together for Biodiversity“, in the Crowne Plaza Hotel, Dundalk.
Please visit Action for Biodiversity for further details or click here for invite.