Blue Dots, the jewels of our waterbodies

Join us for a Blue Dot Event, a day dedicated to celebrating biodiversity and encouraging people to connect with nature in their local area. Blue Dot sites are special places of high biodiversity value, offering opportunities to learn about wildlife, habitats, and the importance of protecting nature close to home.

This event will include guided walks, hands‑on activities, and short talks, all designed to be accessible and enjoyable for all ages and levels of experience. Whether you are a regular nature enthusiast or simply curious about the wildlife around you, the Blue Dot Event offers a chance to slow down, explore, and discover more about the natural world.

The Blue Dot waters initiative in Ireland aims to protect water bodies designated as having High Ecological Status under the EU Water Framework Directive. These waters are recognised as the country’s cleanest and are vital for supporting a diverse range of pollution sensitive species.

High status waters reflect largely undisturbed catchment conditions and status that is close to natural or pristine. They indicate the reference status that catchment management should strive to achieve. They may also be centres of high biodiversity, or may contain rare and threatened habitats some of which are essential to survival of species with very particular ecological requirements such as the endangered fresh water pearl mussel. The presence of high status sites can contribute significantly to species diversity and these sites act as refuges for species that are a source for re-colonisation of river stretches that are recovering from pollution. High status sites and their catchments are also important providers of ecosystem goods and services and are areas of high natural capital value.