Date/Time
Date(s) - 1 October 2019
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm
Location
Glór, Ennis
Categories No Categories
An exhibition of community biodiversity plans
Fifteen groups involved in the Clare Biodiversity Training Project are set to showcase their community biodiversity action plans in a sharing and networking event titled ‘Working Together for Nature’ on Tuesday, 1st of October, from 7pm to 9pm, in Glór, Ennis, Co. Clare.
Between February and July 2019, fifteen community groups from all over County Clare took part in the Clare Local Development Company (CLDC) LEADER funded community biodiversity training project, which was facilitated by the Burrenbeo Trust. The groups are from Clarecastle, Ballynacally, Connolly, Kilmihil, Broadford, Kilkishen, Newmarket-on-Fergus, Ballyvaughan, Corofin, Lisdoonvarna, Ruan, Spanish Point, Miltown Malbay, Kilkee and Doonbeg.
CLDC LEADER projects Co-ordinator Gloria Callinan believes the biodiversity training project will lead to a greater awareness within each community of the wealth of their local biodiversity.
“The biodiversity training programme is one of the actions under the biodiversity objective of our Local Development Strategy to deliver training for individuals, landowners and community groups that stimulates actions to protect and enhance vulnerable species and habitats”, said Ms. Callinan.
“The community groups started with the Burrenbeo Trust’s place-based learning programme, Áitbheo (‘living place’)”, said Annalisa Murphy, Coordinator at the Burrenbeo Trust. “This hands-on learning encouraged the groups to take a fresh look at their places, including the geology, archaeology, history, land use and ecology of their local areas. At the end of the Áitbheo programme the community groups identified actions they wanted to take to protect and enhance biodiversity in their local areas, and each group has now set out their priority actions in their community biodiversity plan.”
The groups also identified the skills they needed to implement their community plans and received specialised skills training workshops on topics such as maintaining community orchards, planting for pollinators, tree and hedgerow planting and community engagement.
Mary Dillon, Áitbheo community programme facilitator with the Burrenbeo Trust, who has worked closely with all of the groups, said “The ‘Working Together for Nature’ exhibition presents a unique opportunity for the community groups to share and learn from each other’s ideas and for the wider public to get a glimpse of the actions that these communities are taking to enhance biodiversity. We hope it will encourage more people to get involved in their local communities and take action for biodiversity, because they will see the positive changes these groups are making.”
The plans on exhibit will vary widely in their style and scope. For example, Broadford Community Action Group plans to take a total of 13 actions for biodiversity; these include holding nature awareness talks throughout the year, carrying out native tree planting annually, erecting pollinator-friendly planters around the village, creating an inventory of place names that relate to nature and helping the local national school do a pollinator plan. Doonbeg Tidy Towns Group plans to produce information on nature in the area, survey and eliminate invasive plant species such as Japanese knotweed, and replace older planting in public spaces with pollinator friendly perennials.
Special guests at the event will include Brendan Dunford, Programme Manager of the Burren Programme and co-founder of the Burrenbeo Trust, Janice Fuller, consultant ecologist and co-facilitator of the Clare Biodiversity Training Project and Congella McGuire, Heritage Officer with Clare County Council. LEADER Development Officers from CLDC will provide information in relation to funding. This is a free event, open to all.
For further information, please contact:
Annalisa Murphy
Coordinator, Burrenbeo Trust
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 091-638096