Explore what’s on during Biodiversity Week below!
Use the tags to filter by county, or the categories to browse by topic.
Featured image credit: Lining the Nest, by Colette Gemmell
Dragonfly Dash with the Biodiversity Data Centre
From 19th to the 28th May we are asking YOU to join in the fun and photograph and record as many Dragonflies and Damselflies as you can in your local river, stream, pond, lake, bog or other wetland.
How many Dragonflies and Damselflies can you record in just one week?
Upload your records for our Dragonfly Dash! using our Dragonfly Spotter form or try our Dragonfly Recorder Survey?
Track our Dragonfly Dash! via the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s Twitter and Facebook accounts. Also check this page daily to see how we are progressing and see the total records recorded and total species recorded, Also find out which county is leading the way in terms of Dragonfly and Damselfly recording.
And there’s a prize!! – one lucky recorder who submits records for our Dragonfly Dash! will win a copy of Dragonflies and Damselflies of Ireland by Robert Thompson and Brian Nelson.
Event page: https://biodiversityireland.ie/surveys/dragonfly-ireland/dragonfly-dash-biodiversity-week-2023/
Wondering what that plant is? Who that insect is visiting your flowers? Maybe you’ve seen an unknown bird at your feeder, or strange creatures at your local waterway or park. Explore your local area to discover fabulous flora and fauna! Our ecologists and wildlife experts will identify it for you!
Ask Our Experts from the Irish Environmental Network
Ask our ecologists and experts to identify what you’ve found! They will be on hand to ID your finds throughout the weekend.
Simply share your photo on Twitter or Instagram at any stage over the weekend, with #BackyardBioblitz, and tag us on Twitter @IrishEnvNet or Instagram @national.biodiversity.week
A hands-on, family-friendly look at what’s living in Lough Gill!
Join Parkes Castle guide, Dara, for a look at the wonderful and wiggly creatures living in Lough Gill.
For further information please email parkescastle@opw.ie
Location: Parkes Castle F91 FP71 Fivemilebourne
Reserve a spot: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/biodiversity-of-lough-gill-tickets-635828850207
In support of National Biodiversity Week, on Sunday 28th May, CELT, in association with Abhainn Dá Loilíoch Woodland Group, will provide a FREE guided walk through the scenic woodlands and riverside at Lahardaun. Meeting at 1.45pm at Chevy Chase forestry entrance (1km north of eircode H62 PD82). The area is being studied as part of a Citizen Science project to monitor biodiversity with a view to enhancing it by creating a wildlife habitat corridor linking ancient woodland sites and also ultimately to improve water quality. Group members will explain some of the finds of visiting ecologists and how we are gradually developing the project with the cooperation of local landowners and support of the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and Galway County Council. The walk will take approximately 2 hours. Please register by email to coordinatorcelt@gmail.com
Meeting point: Near the Waterfall.
The event is free and open to all ages.
Eventbrite link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/pond-dipping-in-father-collins-park-tickets-639232500617
Event is:
– Family friendly
– Registration not required
– Disability accessible – no, but we will be close to paths in the park and could accommodate wheelchair users.
What does the presence, or absence, of Salmon in a Catchment indicate? How can we conserve this precious & iconic species? (With free copies of ‘Salmon Sanctuaries’ booklet provided to all participants). Mark Boyden, Stephanie O’Toole, & Rauri Maguire take us into the World of the wild Atlantic Salmon.
Location: ‘The StreamSchool’, Coomhola, Bantry, Co. Cork P75 TY47
As numbers attending are restricted please book in advance on 027 50453 or at streamscapes1@gmail.com
Ponds are great for biodiversity but if you’re not sure where to start, this demonstration workshop is just for you. Rob will explain how to build your own wildlife pond, including suitable depth and materials to use.
We also have a pond dipping event in the park from 2pm, so do come early if that suits. The event if free.
Meeting point: Near the Waterfall.
Photo: Little frog in our garden pond by Eirian Evans, CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Event is:
– Family friendly
– Registration not required
– Disability accessible – demonstration will be along pathways in the park.
Join Coastwatch & Waterford Tidy Towns to discover life on the beach, citizen science and hear music and spoken word.
Join us for this Biodiversity Week fieldtrip hosted jointly by Coastwatch and Waterford Tidy Towns. Meet at the Stand Hotel to explore the beach and discover the life in sandflat, pool and reef habitats. Briefing on citizen science and local authority stream work.
We will hear music from Martyn Simpson and stories/ poetry of the coast from others.
Refreshments and some presentations at the hotel.
We wish to thank the Irish Environmental Network for their support for this event.
Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/3-sisters-estuary-riches-strand-hotel-dunmore-east-co-waterford-tickets-636486386917
Coastwatch is piloting a new theme – Cool Biodiverse Blue Carbon (CBBC) into its 2023 Biodiversity fieldtrips and events around UN World Biodiversity Day May 22nd
From May 18th to 28th we will be exploring the coastal rim from barely land through intertidal to shallow sublittoral. It includes our beautifully flowering saltmarshes and rare coastal wet woodlands and bogs, intertidal mudflats and peat, mussel and seagrass beds and meadows, kelp forests.
Join us for a free fieldtrip near you to identify these habitats, look into their biodiversity and carbon storage value, share observations on habitat health and historic presence, consider pressures, protection and restoration. Results from fieldtrips will be pooled to draft a first CBBC leaflet for Irish shores. Participant local and traditional knowledge on wise use and protection is particularly welcome.
