Living in Balance: Community Actions for Nature

How do we find balance within our eco-system? Learn how to take action for nature in your community at our Biodiversity Week launch!

Celebrate the launch of National Biodiversity Week with the Irish Environmental Network and Cork County Public Participation Network!

Why attend this event?

Join us to learn how to take action for nature in your community. Humans have the power to shape their landscape for better or worse, creating or destroying habitats that support the wildlife around us and support our own survival.

Through local collective action we can make a huge difference to our eco-system that we rely on for clean air, fresh water, high quality food, and our physical and mental health. How can we live side by side with our wild neighbours so that we can all thrive? Find out at our launch event for National Biodiversity Week!

What will the day include?

Learn how to create a plan of action and explore ideas for your own community with a workshop on creating a Biodiversity Action Plan led by ecologist Karen Loxton.

Hear from local group, Green Skibbereen, who has the experience of creating their own plan. They will showcase their own actions and ideas that can be applied to other areas. In addition we will hear of their work as the Irish partners for the Forestcarbovision project.

Learn about Nature Based Solutions with Michelle McKeown, Lecturer in Environmental Geography at UCC. Using examples from local projects and larger scale infrastructure, she will show us what is meant by Nature Based Solutions and provide inspiration and methods for your own work.

Discover how to identify and catalogue the wildlife in your area through Citizen Science initiatives. We are joined by Rachel Hayden of the National Biodiversity Data Centre who will show us how to record wildlife and help us in the field later in the day.

We will complete the day with a guided walk of Harpers Island Wetlands with Birdwatch Ireland! Take action along the walk with our bioblitz, with help on the day from Rachel Hayden.

Lunch and refreshments included.

• 10am - Registration and Refreshments
• 10.20: Welcome!
• 10.30: Biodiversity Action Plan - How to write one, how to source ecologists, where to start, the importance of recording what you have, working to protect and expand habitats. With ecologist Karen Loxton
• 11.20: Biodiversity Action Plan in practice, with Green Skibereen. An introduction to local actions and the Forestcarbovision project.

• 12.00: Comfort break

• 12.15: Nature Based Solutions. With Michelle McKeown, Lecturer in Environmental Geography at UCC

• 1.00: Lunch

• 1.45: Conversations Through Art - Julia Cooper showcases her explorations of underwater life. Hear how her work as a photographer can be used to create awareness about local biodiversity and encourage important conversations about Ireland's marine life.

• 2.05: An overview of the citizen science schemes at the National Biodiversity Data Cantre and how to use them, with Rachel Hayden.

• 2.30: Travel to outdoor location (bus provided)

• 2.45: Photo: Group photo op for launch of NBW. Help us launch the upcoming ten day celebration of widlife in Ireland!

• 3.00: Guided nature walk of Harpers Island Wetlands with local Birdwatch Ireland volunteers, including real time bioblitz.

4.30: Close. Bus back to venue

Who is this event for?

Whether you are a seasoned wildlife enthusiast or are a completely new explorer, everyone is welcome! The day will teach you how to take action within your community, so anyone involved in a local group of any kind or who wants to get involved in something locally are encouraged to join us for the day. It is a great event for any educators in the area such as Transition Year coordinators, perfect for Councillors who seek greater understanding of the balance needed between the ecological and built environment at a county level, and community groups who want an introduction to taking meaningful action for biodiversity.

You do not have to be a member of the Public Participation Network (PPN) to join us today. However, the PPN offers wonderful opportunities for community groups to gather, share information, work together, and also to make a difference through local policy, so if you would like to join your PPN you can do this for free on their website.

Cork County PPN: www.corkcountyppn.ie

Cork City PPN: www.corkcityppn.ie

Other county PPNs: www.LEN.ie/ppns/

Further information:

National Biodiversity Week takes place this May, Friday 15th - Sunday 24th with free events around the country. Find out more here: www.biodiversityweek.ie

Biodiversity Week is organised by the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) with thanks to funding from the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). Events are run by IEN member groups, as well as by Biodiversity Officers and other local groups.

Huge thanks to the Cork County PPN staff, Secretariat and groups who helped to organise and shape this launch event.

About Our Speakers

Karen Loxton

Karen Loxton is an ecologist and a member of SECAD’s Community Development and Wild Work team and has worked with the organisation since 2018. Her role as Development Officer focuses on using nature to engage individuals and communities. She also leads SECAD’s Stepping Stones, a well-being programme providing an outlet to the outdoors.

Green Skibereen

Green Skibbereen CLG has been established to address the challenge of moving to low carbon energy through actively engaging, educating and facilitating a whole community approach throughout Skibbereen and West Cork.

Michelle McKeown

Michelle is passionate about protecting our environment and maintaining a healthy world. As an environmental geographer, she is interested in understanding how ecosystems respond to changes in climate and anthropogenic activities, along with understanding how we can work with nature to enhance climate action. She has active research projects in mid-latitude and tropical locations with projects focusing on refining out understanding of long-term climate dynamics, developing tools to monitor ecosystem integrity, and identifying carbon loss from land to water. She is currently a lecturer at the School of Geography at University College Cork.

Julia Cooper

Wildlife Photographer, Julia Cooper, is an avid citizen scientist and educator. By showcasing the small, but amazingly colourful, creatures that inhabit our marine shores, she hopes to energize people's enthusiasm to learn more about our biodiverse waters and to record and protect the species that live there.

Rachel Hayden

Rachel is the Training and Engagement Officer at the National Biodiversity Data Centre. She has responsibility for developing an extensive training programme to build capacity across the biodiversity sector, and to improve external engagement activities.

Harper's Island Wetlands

Harper’s Island Wetlands is owned and managed by Cork County Council in partnership with BirdWatch Ireland, Glounthaune Community (Glounthaune Community Association/Tidy Towns/Men’s Shed), and NPWS.