Working for Wellbeing

Working for Wellbeing of People and Place 2016

This event has happened. See below the outline of the event that took place in August 2016.

To be confirmed whether and when this event will happen in 2017.

Working for Wellbeing of People and Place, is an exciting event coordinated by Burrenbeo Trust that will take place on 12th-13th August 2016 in Corofin and the Burren. This two day event will celebrate our Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteer community and Burren conservation practices, while also looking further afield exploring new techniques from elsewhere in Europe. This gathering of like-minded people, also wishes to conceptualise the imitable wellbeing benefits of conservation volunteering for the individual themselves. Mixing talks with practical workshops and fieldtrips, this weekend promises to excite the volunteer, conservationist, nature enthusiast, educator, practitioner, (the list goes on) in you, while also providing you with an extraordinary experience learning from and engaging with one of the world’s most beautiful landscapes, the Burren.

Aim

To upskill volunteers
To learn and share knowledge with other groups and individuals
To foster links with local experts, groups and institutions
To highlight the health benefits of volunteering
To identify new and progressive ideas around conservation
To have a fun, inclusive annual event in the Burren focused on conservation

Focus Audience

Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers
Conservation volunteering groups nationwide
Voluntary organisations that are interested in green health
Individuals that are interested in community engagement
Conservationists interested in progression and innovation
State agencies & other landscape management authorities
Anyone who wants to visit the Burren and contribute to its sustainable future

Timetable

Friday 12th August Corofin Community Hall & the Burren
14.00 – 15.30 A beautiful walk in the Burren with National Park Guides (Optional)

17.00 – 18.00 Registration

18.00 – 19.00 Information Sharing (Stands, posters, networking) with welcoming refreshments

19.00 – 19.15 Welcome Address

(Kate Lavender, Burrenbeo Trust Conservation Volunteer Coordinator)

19.15 – 20.00 Duncan Stewart: The role of communities in advocating active conservation

(‘Eco Eye’ Presenter and Chairman of Green Foundation Ireland)

20.00 – 20.45 Stuart Brooks: Wellbeing and the Conservation of Wildplaces: lessons from the John Muir Trust. (CEO of John Muir Trust and Chairman of the IUCN)

Saturday 13th August Corofin Community Hall & the Burren

9.30 – 11.00 3 x 3 Session. 3 x 20-minute talks with community leaders & researchers in the following 3 different areas:

Volunteering and Community: A shared responsibility of conservation volunteering in the Burren (Burrenbeo Trust), Food Sovereignty in Ireland – feeding communities from the landscape (Leaf and Root), Coast to Coast Communities Caring for our Shoreline (Clean Coasts).
Nature & Wellbeing: Measuring nature’s impact on health (UCL), Getting outdoors – the health benefits (John Duncan), Heart Mountain Ocean & Soul (Walk Inniu).
Creating Experts on the Ground: Volunteers and The Vincent Wildlife Trust (Vincent Wildlife Trust), Banner Birds beginning to end (Birdwatch Ireland), The powerful role of communities and volunteers who embrace the Leave No Trace ethos (Leave No Trace).

11.00 – 11.30 Tea and Coffee

11.30 – 12.45 Conversations on Conservation (Main Hall)

(An interactive workshop, exploring the challenges & solution in the conservation volunteering context facilitated by Mary Hawkes Green (Burren College of Art & Green Foundation Ireland) and Barry Walsh (Power of Seven)

12.45 – 13.30 Lunch

13.45 Car share departs

13.45 – 16.45 Active Conservation Fieldtrips Fieldtrips on:

Responsible Tourism and measuring impacts (Mary Howard),
Stone Walling & beyond – an integral part of our heritage (Rory O’Shaughnessy)
Butterfly Transects – an over the shoulder look at walking a butterfly transect (Eileen O’Connor),
Archaeology – Measuring the past (Michael and Clodagh Lynch).

17.30 – 18.30 Community Picnic (Bring and Share) at Corofin Hall.

18.30 – 19.15 Reflection and Feedback (Facilitated by Stuart Brooks and Brendan Dunford).

Speakers and Workshop Leaders 2016

ANDERSON, Fergal and RUSSO,
Emanuela. Fergal Anderson and Emanuela Russo live near Loughrea in County Galway. They run Leaf and Root farm, which operates one of Ireland’s new CSA projects. Fergal worked with the international Peasant movement La Via Campesina for a number of years in Brussels and Emanuela is the editor of the International Nyeleni newsletter for Food Sovereignty. www.leafandroot.org www.viacampesina.org www.nyeleni.org

Talk title: Food Sovereignty in Ireland – feeding communities from the landscape.

BROOKS, Stuart. Following initial training as a fine artist Stuart went on to study geography at Newcastle University where he was introduced to upland and peatland ecosystems. Stuart joined the Scottish Wildlife Trust in 1995 supporting a European peatland project. It was there that Stuart co-authored a peatland management handbook and was involved in a large range of habitat and species conservation initiatives in many countries around the world, eventually leaving the Trust in 2009 as their Director of Conservation. He joined the John Muir Trust, a UK charity concerned with protection of wild places, as its Chief Executive in 2009. He has held various positions on conservation and land management bodies and is currently the Chairman of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) United Kingdom National Committee and Vice Chair of its Peatland Programme. Stuart was brought up in Stamford, Lincolnshire. He now lives in Dunblane with his wife and three children. www.jmt.org

DUNCAN, John. John Duncan is a practicing GP working from his own surgery in Lahinch, Co. Clare and is a business member of the Burrenbeo Trust. He enjoys caving, canoeing, fell running and generally being in the outdoors with his family. He has a personal interest in the health benefits of outdoor activities. John has been an active member of the Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers for the past 8 years. Talk title: Getting Outdoors – the health benefits.

HANNIFY, Ruth. Vincent Wildlife Trust. Ruth is the Ireland Projects Support Officer with The Vincent Wildlife Trust. Her background in Zoology and Wildlife Management & Conservation involved studies of the lesser horseshoe bat in Ireland and the habitat preferences of small mammals in the UK. She has worked in the field of river restoration and the biodiversity of riparian and estuarine habitats in the UK. As a native of Galway she is delighted to work towards the conservation of Irish mammals with the VWT. Talk title: Volunteers and The Vincent Wildlife Trust

HAWKES GREENE, Mary. Mary Hawkes Greene is President and founder of the Burren College of Art, a college that draws on the power of the Burren as a creative source. She is committed to extending the remit of the College as a centre for universal creativity, helping those who may not consider themselves artists to access and optimise latent creative ability . Her work at the intersection of art and leadership led to establishing The Burren Centre for Creative Leadership at Burren College of Art, providing opportunities for individuals and groups to find creative solutions in the current volatile leadership environment. Workshop Title: Conversations around conservation – challenges and potential solutions in the conservation volunteering context.

HOWARD, Mary. Mary is a walking guide based in Fanore, Co.Clare. She has been an active member of the Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers since 2010. From her archaeological volunteer work she was inspired to complete a diploma in Archaeology, and these days can often be seen volunteering on various archaeology digs and surveys across the Burren. Through working and living along the coastal Burren, Mary has first-hand knowledge of some of the increasing impacts of the tourism numbers on the landscape. Workshop Title: Responsible Tourism and Managing Impacts.

LYNCH, Michael and Clodagh. Clodagh and Michael 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 Michael is the Field Monument Advisor for Co. Clare. Workshop Title: Measuring the Past . The workshop will cover the basic essential elements of monument survey with a visit and hands-on survey of two recently discovered small cairns in the Burren National Park.

MC ELHINNEY, William. William is a heritage in schools specialist. He specializes in foraging, especially along the coastlines of Donegal. His company is Wild Strands. He will be preparing wonderful food from donations delegates provide from their gardens/home to share with everyone at the community feast.

MURPHY John. Bird watch Ireland. John is a leading member of the Bird Watch Ireland, Clare Branch. He is formerly the biodiversity officer for Co.Clare and currently works as a Senior Ecologist with a Kerry Engineering firm Malachy Walsh and Partners. Talk Title: Banner birds beginning to end.

O’CONNOR, Eileen. Eileen has been involved in conservation work since she joined the Burrenbeo Trust Conservation Volunteers (BCV) in 2011. In 2012 she attended the Butterfly Transect workshop provided by the BCV/Burrenbeo Trust and subsequently established a joint transect with another BCV member near Mullaghmore. Data collected from this transect feeds directly to the Irish Butterfly Monitoring scheme. She is a founding member and current chair of the BCV Committee. Eileen is a Chartered Physiotherapist working full time in the HSE. Workshop Title: Butterfly Monitoring: An over the shoulder look at walking a Butterfly Transect: This workshop will walk a transect on a trail near Mullaghmore, catch, identify and record butterflies. The field trip will also address how to record incidental butterfly sightings and submit data to the Irish Butterfly Monitoring Scheme.

O’SHAUGHNESSY, Rory. Rory is a heritage specialist 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 genealogy to archaeology. Workshop Title: Stone walls of the Burren and beyond –an integral part of our heritage.

PRICE, Sophie. Sophie has worked in the tourism industry in Ireland, Italy, Switzerland and the UK before completing a PhD on the challenges facing tourism enterprises in the west of Ireland. She is a lecturer in Adventure Tourism Management at the Institute of Technology Tralee and currently coordinating the International Adventure Conference there this October. Her research interests include outdoor education, tourism entrepreneurship, sustainable tourism and event management. She is very involved with Leave No Trace Ireland as an advanced trainer and is currently involved in a project in partnership with Failte Ireland on implementing Leave No Trace in the tourism industry. Talk title: Be inspired by leave no trace! – The powerful role of communities and volunteers who embrace the leave no trace ethos to inspire and protect Ireland’s natural environment

SEYMOUR, Valentine. Valentine is a PhD Student from University College London. She has a varied background in the environmental field, including conservation management, ecology, participatory engagement, health and wellbeing. As part of her PhD she is working with The Conservation Volunteers exploring health related impacts and volunteering patterns. Talk Title: Measuring nature’s impact on health: Developing a citizen science framework.

STAUNTON, David. David Staunton, an integrative counselling psychotherapist who works through an ecotherapeutic lens is the co-founder of both Walk Inniú (walkinniu.ie) and the Ecopsychology and Ecotherapy Association of Ireland (eeai.ie). Having worked extensively with services in Dublin supporting people affected by homelessness, addiction and poor mental health, David strongly believes in the growth, healing and learning benefits from working in nature. Talk Title: Heart, Mountain, Ocean & Soul. We generally feel better after a walk and from being outdoors – but do we know why? What do we understand of our own therapeutic relationship with nature and how can this knowledge benefit us in our everyday lives? Discover how ecotherapy is developing in Ireland and how nature can help us towards improved emotional self-regulation.

STEWART, Duncan. An award-winning architect and television producer, Duncan Stewart has been a leading Irish advocate for environmental, health and conservation issues for over 40 years. A champion for environmental and architectural conservation since his student days, for the past two decades Duncan has also been a popular television personality in Ireland. His early shows ‘Our House’ and ‘About the House’ leaned on his architectural background as he promoted the values of quality Irish craftsmanship, efficient and sustainable materials and the value of energy conservation. Duncan’s current television programme ‘Eco Eye’, now in its fourteenth series, is driven by his interests in the protection of our environment, Ireland’s biodiversity, supporting local communities and the communication of climate issues.

VICKERS, Susan. Susan’s background is in environmental biology (particularly contamination and pollution), and she holds a masters in environmental sustainability. She has worked in the environmental sector for over 15 years, and has been with An Taisce since 2012. Susan works with the many CleanCoasts groups looking after the coastline in the South & West. Susan will be talking about the Clean Coasts Programme, in particular the role of volunteering and community engagement initiatives that has led to the expansion of the Clean Coasts programme. Title of Talk: Coast to Coast: Communities Caring for our Shorelines

WALSH, Barry. Founder of the Power of Seven (peer groups for business leaders). Barry has 17 years’ experience in helping leaders and their teams develop winning strategies for business growth. His facilitation style creates a space for shared learning that leads to action. Workshop Title: Conversations around conservation – challenges and potential solutions in the conservation volunteering context.

Coordinators

BARRY, Brigid. Brigid manages Burrenbeo Trust, Ireland’s first landscape charity and a leading advocate for community-based learning nationally. Brigid’s passion is connecting communities with their place. Through her work Brigid coordinates over 40 programmes for the organisation. When she is not working, she is studying medicinal herbalism and finding ways to incorporate that into her work as well. Prior to Burrenbeo, she was the Biodiversity Officer for County Clare and had also spent 10 years working in community conservation abroad.

BIRD, Áine. Áine is the Communications Officer for the Burrenbeo Trust. She develops and coordinates the organisation’s place-based education programmes for children and teenagers. With a background in botany, she has a masters in Science Communication, and is currently undertaking further postgraduate study in Education at NUI Galway with a focus on place-based education. Prior to Burrenbeo Áine was an education officer in Glenveagh National Park and previously worked with Eco-Unesco and TASC.

DUNFORD, Brendan. Brendan is the Manager of the Burren Programme, a locally-targeted, results based approach to ‘farming for conservation’. Brendan initially came to the Burren to do a PhD which explored the relationship between communities, farming and heritage in the region. He is a co-founder of the Burrenbeo Trust – a response to the ongoing need to raise awareness and appreciation of the Burren landscape and its care. He is an Ashoka Fellow for Ireland and is instrumental in the ‘Change X Burren’ pilot project which seeks to enhance community wellbeing. His interests relate to the relationship between people and their places and ways through which this relationship may be revived and enhanced for the benefit of both.

LAVENDER, Kate. Kate is the Burrenbeo Conservaton Volunteer Coordinator as well as the Programmes Officer for Burrenbeo Trust and has a degree and masters in geology and a PGCE in secondary Geography. Kate coordinates approximately 300 conservation volunteers and up to 20 conservation days out for volunteers a year. She also works with over 450 children each year through our Burren Wild Child which is key in developing future community stewards in the Burren amongst the younger generation. Prior to joining Burrenbeo she was a secondary geography teacher in the UK.

WILLIAMS, Elaine. Elaine is Burrenbeo’s Community Engagement Officer and is the main coordinator of this event. As part of the role as Engagement Officer, she aims to seek all available opportunities to showcase and highlight the great work of the Burrenbeo Conservation Volunteers. She is currently undertaking a PhD in the Discipline of Geography, at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Intrigued by the rich and interactive society which is present and visible within the Burren, her research aims to explore how various communities connect with their landscape through association with Burrenbeo Trust, and from that identify the core wellbeing benefits and outputs of such engagement for these communities. Prior to her PhD, Elaine has worked with various community groups through her roles as Outreach Officer for the Discipline of Geography at NUIG and as the ChangeX Burren Coordinator exploring solutions to challenges in the rural environment. For more information, contact [email protected]