€5,000 Awarded To Knockirr Bog Trustees In County Kildare

Thursday, 19 May 2022 15:40

By Caoimhe Harney

The grant is part of a peatland conservation initiative

Some €5,000 in funding has been awarded to the Knockirr bog Trustees in County Kildare, as part of a peatland conservation initiative.

The money has been allocated to run a series of educational talks and workshops about bogs with particular focus on the local bog.

It will include some onsite access and walk-arounds on the local bog that the group has held in trust for the community since 1906.

The talks will involve the subject areas of; Hydrology, Entomology, Botany, Ecology, Local history and heritage, Arts and literature and case studies from other community.

Malcolm Noonan T.D., Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform announced that he has approved the first round of grant funding of just over €160,000 to 16 local community groups and organisations for a variety of peatlands related projects across Ireland.

The Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme will encourage local peatland communities, local groups, local schools and individuals to conserve and revitalise fens, raised and blanket bog in Special Areas of Conservation, Natural Heritage Areas and other peatland areas.

The focus of the scheme is on community-led projects and volunteer group, who play a vital role in helping to promote and implement peatland conservation and restoration in Ireland.

The scheme is managed by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, a division of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Funding from the 2022 Peatlands Community Engagement Scheme will support peatland conversation projects in many ways including:

Conducting surveys to inform peatland restoration management plans,
Developing visitor amenities, including the installation of information and anti-littering signage
The development and maintenance of bog walking trails,
Public outreach, such as the production of information booklets, brochures and training manuals, awareness and education days, education programmes and hosting of seminars with expert speakers.

Projects that will benefit from this funding span across Ireland including Kildare, Galway, Westmeath, Offaly, Mayo, Kerry, Cavan, Monaghan and Dublin.