Take Action - At a Community Level

All across the country community groups and organisations continue to lead the way in protecting and enhancing the local environment. Few know better the impact that badly managed development has on the biodiversity in our towns and villages and fewer still, the imperative of protecting our local biodiversity. 

There are many initiatives around the country created or supported by Tidy Town Groups and others that help to protect the biodiversity of their area.  In each local community there are people who are well informed about local wildlife and can help to promote the biodiversity of your area. These people include local historians and ecologists and local action groups. Get involved with or set up your own local environmental group to conserve biodiversity in your area.

Protect and enhance your local environment – Top Tips

• Team up with local NGO or conservation groups to help with environmental protection work in your area (See a list of Irish NGOs in the Links section).
  
• Develop a local conservation or biodiversity project – For advice on what types of projects can be implemented in your area, contact your local Biodiversity Awareness Officer, Environmental Awareness or Heritage Officer.  Go to the 'Notice Nature Map' for a list of these local officers and National Parks and Wildlife Service contacts in your area. Conservation Volunteers Ireland can also provide advice on developing community environmental projects. Click here for more information.
  
• See 'Conserving and Enhancing Wildlife in Towns and Villages’ – A Guide for Local Community Groups. This publication, written by ‘The Heritage Council’, is ideal if you are looking on advice on management of different types of habitats and on choosing the right species for enhancement of habitats.
  
• Team up with national biodiversity projects such as Tidy Towns, Coast Care and National Spring Clean. Go to the section below on 'National Environmental Projects' for more information.
  
• Get involved in tackling invasive alien species - Non-native species such as Japanese knotwed, Rhodedendron, Himalayan Balsam and Giant Hogweed can threaten native biodiversity and out-compete local species for resources and habitat. The Invasive Species Ireland Project website has advice on identifying alien species and outlines appropriate action plans on how to manage them. It provides means for you to report species and to get involved in their project. Also, check out the Notice Nature ‘Invasive Alien Species’ page.
  
• Start a local planting project - If engaging in local planting projects, use native species, focusing on the trees and shrubs that grow naturally in your surrounding countryside. These species will provide the most appropriate habitat for local wildlife, are suited to local climate and soil conditions, and will require little maintenance. Be sure not to plant any invasive alien species.
  
• Work with Local Schools – team up with local schools to enhance biodiversity on-site or help with any environmental programmes they are running.

Link with National Environmental Projects

Clean Coasts Project: Coastal Care Groups & Green Coast Award

The Clean Coasts Programme  is run by AN TAISCE - THE NATIONAL TRUST FOR

IRELAND and it really is all about the protection and enhancement of Ireland’s coastline.

. It comprises two key elements, the Green Coast Award and Coastal Care Groups and is part funded by the EU Interreg IIIA.

Coastcare

Coastcare comprises voluntary groups who have formed to take action to care for their local beaches.  The groups are supported by Clean Coast staff who provide advice and training and can help them avail of small grants for proposed projects. Volunteers are involved in the preservation and improvement of coastlines and undertake many activities relating to beach clean-up, environmental awareness raising, dune protection, and dune watch. Find out more.  

The Green Coast Award

The Green Coast Award is aimed at smaller, more rural beaches that are not eligible for Blue Flag as they do not have the necessary infrastructure or facilities in place. It acknowledges beaches that meet the EC bathing water quality standards as well as meeting 13 other community and environmental objectives. Currently, 13 beaches in Ireland have awarded the Green Coast Award. 

Biodiversity Week

Make Biodiversity Week a local event - you could hold nature walks/talks and help the community to notice nature in your area. Click here for information on the events held during Biodiversity Week 2013 for ideas.  

(People enjoying a nature walk held during Biodiversity Week 2007 - Picture couresy of Elaine O'Riordan, manager of Galway County Biodiversity Project)

National Spring Clean

National Spring Clean is Ireland’s most popular and successful anti-litter initiative. It is currently in its tenth year, and engages every sector of society to participate in the National Spring Clean. Taking part in the National Spring Clean is very simple. Form a group to organise for a clean up of your local area, to take place any time during April, and register your event online on http://www.nationalspringclean.org/. Once you have registered you will receive a free clean-up kit from An Taisce.

The Tidy Towns Competition

The Tidy Towns competition is a long-established and treasured national competition organised by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government. The competition has been running in Ireland since 1958 and there are currently 750 Tidy Towns committees across Ireland.  Participating towns are rated on all aspects of their local environment and prizes are awarded to the best in many different categories. 

Since 2006, there has been a special category on '’Wildlife and Natural Amenities' which focuses on initiatives to conserve and enhance the local environment. As part of a Tidy Town committee’s five year plan, this category should include the following; Habitat Survey, Developing a Management Plan,  Access and Community Involvement, Interpretation, Carrying out the Work.  The winners of this category are awarded the Tidy Towns Biodiversity ‘Notice Nature’ Award which is sponsored by the National Parks and Wildlife Service as part of the Notice Nature.

Get involved in your local Tidy Towns committee, and help support the ‘Wildlife and Natural Amenities’ category. By implementing actions to conserve, enhance, or create local wildlife areas such as ponds and hedgerows, you will help protect biodiversity and will increase your chances of winning the ‘Notice Nature’ award!

For more information, see the Tidy Towns website: http://www.tidytowns.ie/index.php

Funding for community action

The LEADER Programme

LEADER is the EU and NDP funded initiative for rural development. It is operated by selected designated companies throughout the country. The initiative provides grant aid and support for community and enterprise projects in rural areas (in this case defined as areas outside the five major cities of Cork, Dublin, Galway, Limerick and Waterford). Contact your nearest LEADER to discuss possible funding of biodiversity projects.

Local Agenda 21

Funding is provided by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and local authorities under the Local Agenda 21 programme. Funding goes to projects which focus on the social, environmental, cultural and economic needs of the present and future members of a community. For further information on Local Agenda 21 click here.

Let us know the good work you are doing ! 

Get in touch if you are organising any events so that we can include these on our interactive event map!

Email: info@noticenature.ie or leave us a comment.