Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers

The Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers (BCVs) form an active community that works towards the sustainable management of the Burren by addressing key conservation issues and needs in this special place. The group was set up in 2010 by the Burrenbeo Trust as an answer to the need of coordinated, hands-on conservation work in the Burren region; enabling members of the (local) community to work for the benefit of this inspiring but fragile environment.

The Burren region is no exception to experiencing a decline in rural population, and as a consequence key conservation issues (e.g. scrub encroachment on archaeological monuments) are becoming harder to tackle. By training and upskilling a (local) community of volunteers, Burrenbeo Trust is actively supporting a sustainable future for the Burren.

Guided by a dedicated voluntary committee, the BCVs are a welcoming group of people, always on the look-out for new members, new conservation opportunities and new (community) groups to work in partnership with.

The BCV newsletter

The BCV committee shares updates on BCV work through two newsletters per calendar year. Read the latest newsletter (Sep – Dec 2023) here!

Older newsletters:

BCV newsletter (Jan – Aug 2023)

The BCV committee

Set up in 2010, the BCV committee ensures that monthly BCV events are varied, meet a definite conservation need in the Burren and give volunteers the best experience possible. The committee members meet 3-4 times per year and rotate as event leaders to make sure that high health and safety standards are met during events.

The current committee members are: Kate Lavender (Chair), Karen van Dorp (Trust liaison/interim Secretary), Mike Scanlon, Margaret Duffy, Louise Brogan, Risteard Crimmins, and Eileen O’Connor.

Past committee members to which we are very grateful for all their hard work include Martin Gowran, Stephen Lester, Anne Mullen, Ruth Hollingsworth, Paula McHale, Elaine O’Malley, Mary Howard, Richard Morrison, Stephen Ward, Wendy Smith, Ritchie Jones, and Tony Galvin.

BCV work

The BCVs are involved in a range of conservation and maintenance projects in the Burren region:

• Archaeological excavation and survey work
• Dry Stone Walling
• Scrub management
• Species monitoring
• Landscape management
• Invasive species

The power of teamwork

We all know that working in teams can get the job done much faster – well, this is definitely the case when it comes to scrub clearing, stone wall building, archaeological digs, invasive species mapping, clean coast initiatives…the list goes on. Building a bank of active volunteers and collaborating with other local organisations who share the same vision has proven to be half the battle when making positive efforts towards conservation of Burren heritage. The Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers create an inclusive environment for people to come together, share their passion and be part of a growing, energetic and welcoming community.

Volunteer award scheme

At Burrenbeo Trust, we recognise the importance of volunteers. We know time is precious and to show our appreciation for the hard work that is being carried out by individuals on a voluntary basis, an award scheme has been in place since 2018.

When volunteers have attended five BCV events they are rewarded with a Gentian pin, after ten events with a BCV beanie hat, and with a BCV travel mug after fifteen events.

Upskilling and training

Through volunteering, BCVs develop invaluable skills by attending training courses and workshops. This encourages learning and builds confidence. The group attempts to engage with the wider community and enlists a broad spectrum of experts, driving home the importance of conservation.

These experts lead events where appropriate and are in the position to upskill volunteers on a specific subject through their experience, knowledge and passion. With some leaders, the BCVs carry out on-going conservation work to support sustainable impact where needed.

All BCV committee members receive professional Remote Emergency Care II training on an on-going basis; ensuring safety standards are met during events.

The Voice of the Volunteer

The Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers is conservation through education. For me, it has been a most enjoyable, rewarding and learning experience. I have met some wonderful people and have made many new friends. Farmers who want to protect butterfly sites, landowners who want to preserve archaeological sites, communities and families who come out to clean up our coastline, all volunteering to made a difference in the Burren. Our projects have been so varied, but for me, I became ‘hooked’ on archaeology. As a result and with little encouragement, I went onto study Archaeology at NUIG where I received a first class honours diploma. The learning for all volunteers continues on each of the projects with the knowledge and commitment of the many experts who have come involved in the BCVs. (Mary Howard, Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteer)

Join us!

Would you like to take an active role in conservation management of Burren heritage? You are most welcome to join the Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers who share a passion for all aspects of this unique landscape.

• Get outdoors, enjoy some healthy exercise and give something back in the region
• Learn new skills in conservation and heritage management
• Be part of a friendly, inclusive and active conservation community

Everyone is welcome to get involved! Joining the BCVs is free and events are most suitable for adults (under 18’s must be accompanied by an adult). Email [email protected] to register as a Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteer. You will receive monthly updates on events by email.

Event leaders

Event leaders include all members of the BCV committee as well as Michael and Elaine Lynch. We are grateful to all our leaders past and present for the immense time and energy they give to coordinating events.

Expert leaders:

Many events are about further educating the volunteers around a certain area of conservation. We are hugely grateful too all the experts past and present that have support this up-skilling and training.

Dr Michelle Comber is an archaeologist based out of NUI Galway. She is highly involved in running the Caherconnell Fort archaeology summer school. Michelle has done artefact training and pre-dig survey work with the volunteers.

Dr Christine Grant works with the National Monuments Service. Much of the Burren holds an unknown amount of unrecorded forts, mound walls, wedge tombs etc.; many of which are not being protected and are being damaged in some cases due to lack of awareness and are becoming overgrown with hazel scrub.  In order to work towards conserving the archaeology of
the Burren, the volunteers have been working closely with the National Monument Officer for the region, in clearing scrub, doing preliminary excavations and helping out with survey work. The main bulk of work that the volunteers have done with Christine is at Kilcroney, near Carron.

Jesmond Harding is a founding member of Butterfly Conservation Ireland. A huge butterfly enthusiast and author of ‘Discovering Irish Butterflies and their Habitats’, Jesmond has been working with the volunteers since 2010 on managing a site in Fahee North (near Carron) which hosts several species of butterflies including the rare Marsh Fritillary. By managing the encroaching hazel scrub the volunteers are helping this rare butterfly increase its breeding potential.

Michael and Clodagh Lynch have been working in archaeology in the Burren for over 15 years. They have surveyed numerous monuments in the Burren including many previously unrecorded sites. Their main interest is in prehistoric archaeology and their recent excavations at Fanore More and Doolin are part of their research. Much of this work has been carried out with the assistance of the Burren Conservation Volunteers.

Dr Sharon Parr was the Scientific Officer with the Burren Programme which follows on from the award-winning EU project The Burren farming for conservation project, BurrenLife. Sharon works with the volunteers on numerous ecological related projects. Her main site is the clearing of encroaching species at Cappagh Tower house near Carron.

Dr Ros Ó Maoldúin is an archaeologist based out of NUI Galway. He has a particular interest in the Bronze Age era of Ireland. He is the field director of the Irish Fieldschool of Prehistoric Archaeology. Ros has worked with our volunteers in pre-evacuation surveys around Roughan hill near Corofin.

Dr Kate McAney and Ruth Hanniffy work for the Vincent Wildlife Trust. They promote mammal conservation and research through lectures, bat walks and publications. They have been working with the volunteers in helping restore an important bat roosting site near Ruan.

Paula McHale is part of the team at the BurrenLife farming for conservation programme. She is also the regional coordinator of butterfly transects for the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Paula has been key in training the volunteers in butterfly transects and in invasive species.

Rory O’Shaughnessey works closely with the volunteers on dry stone walling and the importance of these walls in natural, built and cultural heritage of the Burren. Rory is a heritage specialist in schools and descends from one of the oldest clans in the Burren Lowlands. A graduate of NUIG and UCC he divides the year as a tour guide, stonemason and an educator and has been involved in devising, delivering and tutoring on numerous and diverse courses in the heritage field from stone walling to genealogy to archaeology. Rory has been working with the volunteers on walling out on Blackhead, between Ballyvaughan and Fanore.

 

Who has supported volunteers?

We are grateful to all individuals that join and give their time to the volunteer and to our grant providers (Clean Coasts, GRETB).

See more here on:

Ongoing projects   Upcoming events for volunteers

What have the volunteers achieved?

View below all the activities that the Burrenbeo Conservation volunteers have achieved so far:

When	General Area	What	Where	Leader	From
2021	Biodiversity	Pine Project Site Guardian Training	Tubber area	Bernard Carey and Brendan Dundord
2021	Conservation	Coastal Clean Up	Fanore	K. Lavender	BCV
2020	Archaeology	Monument site maintenance	Cappagh	S. Parr	Burren Programme
2020	Biodiversity	Habitat Maintenance	Carron Area	BCV committee	BCV
2020	Biodiversity	Habitat Maintenance	Carron area	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2020	Archaeology	Monument site management	Nougheval	M&C Lynch	Local archaeologists
2019	Biodiversity	Bat site management	Dromore	R. Hollingsworth	BCV
2019	Conservation	Drystone walling	Poulacarron	J. Marrinan/M. Scanlon	Local farmer/BCV
2019	Conservation	Coastal Clean Up	Fanore Caravan Park coastline	K. Lavender	BCV
2019	Conservation	Coastal Clean Up	Fanore	E. O'Connor	BCV
2019	Conservation	Monument site management	Noughaval	Michael and Clodagh Lynch
2019	Training	First aid training	Carron	Barry Redmond	First Response
2018	Biodiversity	Bat site management	Dromore	R. Hollingsworth	BCV
2018	Conservation	Coastal Clean up	Fanore	W. Smith/P. McHale	BCV
2018	Conservation	Open Day	Ballyvaughan	Various	BCV committee
2018	Biodiversity	Habitat restoration	North Burren	A. Mullen	Burren Programme
2018	Biodiversity	Bat monitoring training	Kinvara	R. Hanniffy	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2018	Conservation	Coastal Clean Up	Fanore	E. O'Connor/K. Lavender	BCV
2018	Biodiversity	Bat site management	Dromore	R. Hollingsworth	BCV
2018	Conservation	Coastal Clean up	Murrough, Blackhead	K. Lavender	Burrenbeo Trust
2018	Archaeology	Monument site Maintenance	Baur	M&C Lynch
2018	Training	REC 2 first aid course	Turough	B. Redmond	First Response
2017	Archaeology	Monument site management	Ballycasheen	Ros O'Maolduin	Prehistoric Field School of Archaeology
2017	Biodiversity	Butterfly site management	Fahee, Carron	Ann Mullen	Burren Life
2017	Conservation	Conservation Volunteering Open Day	Carron	BCV committee R. O'Maolduin J. Harding	BCV Fieldschool of Prehistoric Archaeology Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2017	Biodiversity	Bat site maintenance	Dromore	R. Hollingsworth and S. Biggane	BCV and Clare Co Co
2017	Biodiversity	Constructing a bat night roost	Fiddaun	R. Hanniffy and K. McAney	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2017	Conservation	Trail management	Newtown, Ballyvaughan	R. Morrison	In conjunction with the Burren College or Art
2017	Conservation	Drystone wall repair	Coolorta	R. Jones	BCV
2017	Conservation	Coastal clean up	Fanore	E. O'Connor	BCV
2017	Conservation	Coastal clean up	Fanore	Various experts	BCV, Burren Shores
2017	Archaeology	Site Management	Roughan Hill	Ros O'Maolduin	NUI Galway
2016	Archaeology	Site management	Roughan Hill	Ros O'Maolduin	NUI Galway
2016	Invasive Alien Species	Mapping IAS	Carron	P. Murphy	Eireco
2016	Special Monitoring	Bat breeding site maintenance	Fiddaun	Dr Kate McAney	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2016	Landscape management	Coastal clean up rocky shore Fanore	Fanore
2016	Landscape management	Fanore beach clean	Fanore
2016	Archaeology	Post excavation work (Mar,Apr,May,Jun)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2016	Monument management	Scrub clearing at Cappagh Tower House	Carron	Dr Sharon Parr	Burren Life
2016	Monument management	Scrub clearing from monuments on Roughan Hill	Corofin	Dr Ros O Maolduin	NUI Galway
2016	Walling	Repairing and rebuilding walls at Coolorta	Burren National Park
2016	Special Monitoring	Bat breeding site maintenance	Ruan	Dr Kate McAney	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2016	General Training	Butterfly transect training	Carron	Paula McHale
2015	Landscape management	Coastal clean up rocky shore Fanore	Blackhead
2015	Landscape management	Coastal clean up rocky shore Fanore	Blackhead
2015	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2015	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2015	Archaeology	Post excavation work	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2015	Archaeology	Post excavation work	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2015	Archaeology	Surveying at Fanore	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2015	Archaeology	Prehistoric hut site mapping	Kilcorney	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2015	Archaeology	Doolin dig (4 weeks)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2015	Archaeology	Kilcorney excavation (1 week)	Kilcorney	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2015	Archaeology Training	Artefact handling course	Caherconnell	Dr Michelle Comber	NUI Galway
2015	Monument management	Scrub clearing at Cappagh Tower House	Carron	Dr Sharon Parr	Burren Life
2015	Monument management	Scrub clearing at Cappagh Tower House	Carron	Dr Sharon Parr	Burren Life
2015	Special Monitoring	Bat breeding site maintenance	Ruan	Dr Kate McAney	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2015	Special Monitoring	Bat site maintenance and emergence count	Ruan	Dr Kate McAney	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2015	Assisting with local community events	Assisting with Walk with a Difference	Carron
2015	General Training	Butterfly transect training		Paula McHale
2015	General Training	Invasive alien species ID workshop		Dr Sharon Parr, Paul Murphy & Kate Lavender
2015	General Training	Two day first aid course		Ray Murphy
2014	Landscape management	Coastal clean up Blackhead
2014	Landscape management	Coastal clean up Blackhead
2014	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2014	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2014	Archaeology	Surveying and mapping	Kilcorney	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2014	Archaeology	Post excavation work	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2014	Archaeology	Post excavation work (2 days)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2014	Archaeology	Post excavation work	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2014	Archaeology	Surveying at Doolin	Doolin	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2014	Archaeology	Second Fanore excavation (3 weeks)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2014	Monument management	Scrub clearing at Cappagh Tower House	Carron	Dr Sharon Parr	Burren Life
2014	Monument management	Scrub clearing at Cappagh Tower House	Carron	Dr Sharon Parr	Burren Life
2014	Walling	Repairing and rebuilding walls at Coolorta	Burren National Park
2014	Walling	Repairing and rebuilding walls at Coolorta	Burren National Park
2014	Other events	Dismantling mini-dolmens	Fanore	Mary Howard	Volunteer
2014	Special Monitoring	Bat breeding site maintenance	Ruan	Dr Kate McAney	Vincent Wildlife Trust
2014	Other events	Dismantling mini-dolmens	Fanore	Mary Howard	Volunteer
2014	Assisting with local community events	Assisting with Walk with a Difference	Flaggy Shore
2014	Assisting with local community events	Assisting with Winterage weekend	Bellharbour
2013	Assisting with local community events	Assisting with Bells across the Burren	Ballyvaughan
2013	Landscape management	Coastal clean up rocky shore Fanore
2013	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2013	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2013	Archaeology	Post excavation work (2 days)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2013	Archaeology	Post excavation work (2 days)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2013	Archaeology	Post excavation work (2 days)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2013	Archaeology	Atlas mapping day	Kilcorney	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2013	Archaeology	Post excavation work (2 days)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2013	Monument management	Scrub clearing from around Doolin Court Tomb	Doolin	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2013	Walling	Repairing and rebuilding walls at Coolorta	Burren National Park
2013	Other events	Newtown music trail clearing	Ballyvaughan	Dr Stephen Ward	Volunteer
2013	Other events	Newtown music trail clearing	Ballyvaughan	Dr Stephen Ward	Volunteer
2013	Other events	Dismantling mini-dolmens	Fanore	Mary Howard	Volunteer
2013	Assisting with local community events	Assisting with Walk with a Difference	Flaggy Shore
2013	General Training	Butterfly transect training	Carron	Paula McHale
2013	General Training	Two day first aid course		Ray Murphy
2013	General Training	Wildflower identification workshop		Drs Sharon Parr and Stephen Ward
2012	Landscape management	Coastal clean up Blackhead
2012	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2012	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2012	Archaeology	5 week excavation at Fanore Shell Midden	Fanore	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2012	Archaeology	Filling in Fanore dig (2 days)	Fanore	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2012	Archaeology	Post excavation work (2 days)	Kilnaboy	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2012	Archaeology Training	Atlas training	Carron	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2012	Archaeology Training	Atlas training	Carron	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2012	Monument management	Scrub clearing at Cappagh Tower House	Carron	Dr Sharon Parr	Burren Life
2012	Walling	Repairing walls at Blackhead	Fanore	Shane Casey	Biodiversity Officer
2012	Walling Training	Workshop		Rory O'Shaughnessy	Stone Mason
2012	Other events	Dismantling mini-dolmens	Fanore	Mary Howard	Volunteer
2012	Assisting with local community events	Assisting with Walk with a Difference	Burren National Park
2012	General Training	Butterfly transect training	Carron	Dr Bryony Williams
2012	General Training	Mapping Skills	Carron	Pat Cronin
2012	General Training	Weekend Heritage Course	Carron
2011	Landscape management	Lough Bunny Spring Clean
2011	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2011	Habitat management	Scrub clearing to control invasive cotoneaster	Abbey Hill	Shane Casey	Biodiversity Officer
2011	Archaeology	Preparing site for excavation at Caherconnell	Caherconnell	Dr Michelle Comber	NUI Galway
2011	Archaeology	Kilcorney excavation (5 days)	Kilcorney	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2011	Archaeology	Surveying at Fanore	Fanore	Michael & Clodagh Lynch	Field Monument Advisor
2011	Monument management	Scrub clearing from around Doolin Court Tomb	Doolin	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2011	Assisting with local community events	Stewarding for Burren triathlon	Ballyvaughan
2011	General Training	Weekend Heritage Course	Carron
2010	Landscape management	Fanore beach clean
2010	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2010	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2010	Habitat management	Scrub clearing at butterfly breeding site	Fahee north	Jesmond Harding	Butterfly Conservation Ireland
2010	Archaeology	Settlement surveying	Kilcorney	Dr Christine Grant	National Monument Service
2010	Walling	Repairing walls at Blackhead	Fanore	Shane Casey	Biodiversity Officer
2010	Walling Training	Workshop		Rory O'Shaughnessy	Stone Mason
2010	Assisting with local community events	Annual Biodiversity day	Kinvara