Eco in town and country: City dwellers and farmers are invited to think seriously about the environmental impact of their activities at events in the next few days.
On Wednesday from 10.30am-8.30pm in Kildalton Agricultural College in Piltown, Co Kilkenny, eight common farmland habitats will be on display, showing 50 of the birds and mammals for whom the Rural Environment Protection Scheme (Reps) is providing habitats.
With up to 40 per cent of Irish farmers now in Reps, the expert advice on the management of hedgerows, field margins, watercourses and ponds will be of tremendous value. Members of Birdwatch Ireland, the Beekeepers Federation of Ireland, Bat Conservation Ireland, the Irish Wildlife Trust, the Irish Seed Savers Association and the Hedgelaying Association of Ireland will also be on hand. Admission free. Contact the Teagasc countryside management unit (051-644536) for more details. Also in Kilkenny, the group campaigning against genetically modified crops is hosting a Green Ireland conference in Kilkenny Castle this weekend. See www.gmfreeireland.org for more details. In Dublin, folk can get up to speed on renewable energy home-heating systems and the Government grants available for installing them, at the Green Energy Fair in the Tote Hall, Leopardstown Racecourse, Co Dublin, tomorrow, between 11am-6pm, admission free.
Save our Burren stones
The quarrying of limestone for garden centres was highlighted in the BBC's Countrylife programme last week, days before Clare County Council submitted an application to Unesco to establish the Burren and the Cliffs of Moher as a geopark. Friends of the Irish Environment spokesman Tony Lowes said on the programme that the scale of limestone quarrying for garden centres was nothing in comparison to the unauthorised Irish quarries, which were, in some cases, supplying stone for EU-funded road projects. Meanwhile, one of the elements of Clare County Council's proposal is to raise awareness of how the removal of Karst limestone rock damages the area. The Burren in fact takes its name from an old Irish word, An Boireann, a place of stone.
See whales and dolphins
Would you like to know more about the whales and dolphins that live in Irish waters? If so, consider attending a weekend whale-watching course on Cape Clear Island this summer. Run by the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group, this year's courses are on July 14th-16th, August 18th-20th and September 15th-17th and are suitable for 14-16-year-olds. Contact Padraigh Whooley on 023-38761 or e-mail padraigh.whooley@iwdg.ie. See also www.iwdg.ie.
Environment grants deadline
Community groups and environmental organisations seeking funding under the Local Agenda 21 Environmental Partnership Fund 2006 have less than two weeks to make their applications to their local authority. The funding scheme welcomes projects focusing on awareness and in particular those which complement the Department of Environment's Race Against Waste campaign. Contact 01-8882601 or gary.jones@environ.ie. June 30th is the closing date for applications. See also www.environ.ie.
EcoWeb
www.badger.org.uk Today has been designated National Badger Day in Britain and this site informs the public of issues relating to the conservation, welfare and protection of badgers.
