We have been spending more time in our gardens and with the 2-5km walks, we have been getting to know and appreciate the nature that is on our doorsteps and close to home, which can only be a good thing.
The word 'biodiversity' is coined from biological diversity, which, put simply is another way of referring to the variety of life on the planet. Biodiversity is about the variety of plant and animal species and the interaction between them. It is this interaction that is essential for life, giving us all the things we need - clean air, water, agriculture, food and amenity.
Biodiversity is the foundation for life and for the essential services provided by ecosystems. It therefore underpins peoples’ livelihoods and sustainable development in all areas of activity, including economic sectors such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries and tourism, among others. By halting biodiversity loss, we are investing in people, their lives and their well-being.
This year, with the support of the Library Service and KFM, Biodiversity Week is going online. We are actively encouraging people to get involved with biodiversity.
Updates on County Kildare Heritage Forum Facebook page
Kildare’s Wild Places: Where The Wild Things Are”
KFM will run a series of mini documentaries for the week sponsored by KCC
Kildare’s Wild Places: Where The Wild Things Are” By Crossing the Line Film’s, produced and presented by Juanita Browne each day on Kildare Focus at 2.20pm
Monday: The Curragh with Ecologist Mary O’Connor
Tues Pollardstown Fen with Michael Jacob
Weds Donadea Forest Park: Native Woodland Trust, Jim Lawlor.
Thurs Kildare’s Birds: with Paddy Sheridan.
Friday Bats: with Anna Collins & Kildare Bat Group.
Monday week: Ballynafagh Bog: Conserving our Bogs with Dr Catherine O’Connell, Irish Peatland Conservation Council
KFM will interview various biodiversity groups in the county during the week.
Kildare Forest Schools (Mon)
Lucy Bell
Forest Schools and the Wildlife Garden in the John Sullivan centre in Clane
Wild Kildare (Tue)
Paddy Sheridan
Wild Kildare activities in County Kildare
Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) (Wed)
Nuala Madigan, Environmental Education Officer with Irish Peatland Conservation Council
All things bogs and the work of IPCC
Kildare Bird Watch Ireland Group (Thurs)
Neil Bourke
Birds, with some emphasis on surveys, garden birds, nest box projects, Curlew on Kildare bog, and how beneficial birding can be to an individual
Kildare Bat Group (Fri)
Anna Collins
Kildare bat group and all things bats. She may also have a recording of a bat from the bat detector
Kildare library Service through their STEM programme:- Biodiversity Week Online Workshops
Introduction to Common Irish Garden Birds with Patrick Hunt
This talk will introduce pupils from 3rd to 6th class to common Irish garden birds – what they look like, eat and how they survive in our gardens. It looks at ways to encourage them into your school and home garden through planting and feeding stations.
Online via Zoom on Wed 20th May at 9:30am (with follow-up Q&A at 10:20am) and 12:30pm (with follow-up Q&A at 1:20pm) Bookings through kildarelibrarybookings@gmail.com
Biodiversity and the Climate with Nikita Coulter
Environmental scientist Nikita Coulter presents this series of short videos for pupils from 3rd to 6th class which will take them gently through the two most topical issues of the present day – Biodiversity and the Climate. The videos will include discussions on what these two issues are, how they are connected and what we can do to protect them. They will also feature short workshops on how to make seed pots from old toilet roll tubes and a weathervane from other household items.
Showing at 11am every weekday morning during Biodiversity Week (Mon 18th to Fri 22nd May) on the Kildare County Library Service Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/KildareCountyLibraryService/) with a follow-up video answering questions and comments on Fri 29th May at 11am.