Tralee students gets hands-on experience in protecting Kerry beach dunes at coastal workshop
Kerryman
Over seventy students from Presentation Secondary School in Tralee recently took part in a hands-on conservation event at Banna as part of the Clean Coasts Roadshow. The event was run in collaboration with LEAF Ireland, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), and Clean Coasts.
The students participated in a range of activities aimed at protecting Banna's unique dune ecosystem, including beach cleaning and planting marram grass, a key plant that helps stabilise sand dunes. The workshop was led by Rachel Geary, the National Coordinator of LEAF Ireland, with support from NPWS Conservation Ranger Bríd Colhoun, who spoke about the importance of preserving local biodiversity.
'Banna's dunes can rise up to 12 metres and play a crucial role in coastal defence,' said Rachel, adding 'they're also a valuable habitat for birds and wildlife. Protecting them means staying on paths, educating others, and getting involved in events like this.'
Liane Costello, Biodiversity Officer with Clean Coasts, guided the marram grass planting. She highlighted the importance of the plant in dune systems and praised the students' enthusiasm.
'Getting hands-on experience is one of the best ways to connect with nature,' said Liane who added 'dunes across Ireland are under threat, and protecting them is essential for both biodiversity and coastal resilience.'
The Clean Coasts Roadshow runs from January to May and brings environmental talks and workshops to coastal communities around Ireland. Topics include dune conservation, marine litter, and local wildlife. The programme also supports community groups in growing their volunteer networks and sharing knowledge.
Both Clean Coasts and LEAF Ireland are educational initiatives of An Taisce, The National Trust for Ireland.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
9 hours ago
- Irish Examiner
'Shotgun cartridges from Nova Scotia, bleach bottle from Taiwan': What washes up on our beaches and the volunteers who clear it
On June 8, coastal communities across the globe are observing World Oceans Day organised by the United Nations Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS). The annual event has been running since 2009 and serves as a reminder of the critical importance of protecting our oceans and marine life. This year, for the first time World Oceans Day will run in conjunction with the UN Ocean Conference which will be held in Nice, France, from June 9 to 13. It is hoped that holding the two events consecutively will help to amplify the visibility of the many initiatives and local programmes being undertaken to improve the health of our oceans around the world. The theme of World Oceans Day this year is 'Wonder: Sustaining what sustains us.' According to DOALOS the marine environment faces increasingly daunting challenges and the act of wondering 'serves to remind us that we are part of something bigger'. With World Oceans Day, the aim is to 'celebrate the ocean's essential wonder and call on decision makers not to lose sight of the ocean's wonder when determining its fate'. Clean Coasts Established by An Taisce in 2003 the Clean Coasts programme is one of Ireland's most visible community initiatives aimed at improving the marine environment. The Clean Coasts programme works with communities to help protect and care for Ireland's waterways, coastline, seas, ocean and marine life. Currently there are 2,500 active groups around Ireland with 45,000 volunteers taking part. The aim of the Clean Coasts programme is to encourage tangible improvements to Ireland's coastal environment through community-led actions such as beach clean-ups, litter surveys and a wide range of other environmentally focused activities. Since 2003 the programme has continually grown and now includes variety of initiatives including the Green Coast Award, Love Your Coast photography competition, the Clean Coasts Roadshow, Clean Coasts grants scheme, corporate volunteering, the Ocean Hero Award, the Big Beach Clean and awareness campaigns such as 'think before you flush' and the #2MinuteBeachClean. Last year, the Big Beach Clean held on the third weekend of September saw 15,000 volunteers remove 95 tonnes of litter from Irish coastal areas in one weekend. The volunteers: Mark McCarthy The son of a West Cork lighthouse keeper, the sea is in Mark McCarthy's blood. For his day job Mark runs marine training courses from his base in Schull where he is also a senior member of the local coastguard unit. Mark has been a long-time supporter of the Clean Coasts programme and was the recipient of the Ocean Hero Award in 2024 for his efforts in integrating environmental awareness into his training courses. He has been actively cleaning marine waste from local beaches and coastal areas for many years and has tried to use social media to encourage others to do likewise. 'It goes back a long time now to the pre social media days,' he says adding: 'I have found that social media is a very powerful space to be able to share, it gives people a bit of an awareness for the world around us and I also integrate beach cleaning now into my courses as well.' Awareness in West Cork has grown over recent years as the more popular beaches have improved significantly but remoter areas can still suffer from significant amounts of rubbish, according to Mark. He said: 'The more remote islands here in West Cork tend not to have a lot of people on them, so they tend to have a lot of stuff that people haven't picked up. I find that the beaches that are popular are usually the cleanest because a lot of people have the same mindset. 'They'll take a bit of the plastic away with them, they're getting better all the time. Unfortunately, it's the places that are inaccessible that need the most work and most tidying up.' Mark McCarthy has been a long-time supporter of the Clean Coasts programme and was the recipient of the Ocean Hero Award in 2024 for his efforts in integrating environmental awareness into his training courses. Picture: Mark McCarthy Mark has been actively involved in beach cleaning for at least 20 years and over that time not much has changed in terms of the amount of marine plastic he sees washed up on the West Cork coast. 'There is a lot of polypropylene that floats. That's the plastic we can see but there's plenty of other plastic that doesn't float and there's no chance we'll ever get get our hands on that.' Being on Ireland's Atlantic coast, Mark says he finds items that wash up from all over the world: 'The other day I picked up a bottle of bleach from Taiwan. I have lobster tags that come from Maine on the east coast of the US. I've found shotgun cartridges that come all the way from Nova Scotia. "It's amazing that these small pieces of plastic travel halfway around the world and make their way to our coastline.' According to Mark, the evidence of the impact of marine waste on animal life is impossible to ignore: 'We see evidence all the time of how it affects animals and biodiversity. I find pieces of polystyrene and insulation foam; you find little blocks of it on the shoreline and you can tell that it's been nibbled away by fish, they are eating it.' Mark says that despite the seemingly never-ending tide of marine plastic he remains hopeful about the future. 'I'll always remain optimistic, there's no point in any other attitude really. I'm known in the area as the guy with the blue bags, so people just knock on the door and say, 'hey got any more of those bags?' Mark says he finds items that wash up from all over the world: 'The other day I picked up a bottle of bleach from Taiwan.' Picture: Mark McCarthy 'I try to encourage people to adopt their favourite beach and anytime they're down on that beach, to try and make it a little bit better, just take a little bit of stuff away.' Mark says that Cork County council have also been very supportive of the Clean Coasts group in Schull. 'It's definitely worth noting the help we have had from Cork County Council. They have been really supportive of everything I've done. I could come off a beach with 10 or 15 bags of rubbish and I just need to tell one of the local council workers and that stuff is collected straight away. I don't have to spend money or look for funding to bring it to the local recycling centre and they support me with all of the bags and stuff like that as well which is great.' 'Every single person can make a difference. It's through lots of people doing small bits at there local beaches that we can really see things start to change,' Mark said. Proinsias Ó Tuama Inspired by the students he teaches at St. Colmans Community College in Midleton, Clean Coasts volunteer Proinsias Ó Tuama believes that the future of our coastal environment depends on engaging young people as much as possible. Proinsias was the driving force behind the establishment of the Clean Coasts group in Ballynamona back 2015. He said: 'I was down on the beach with some students and we saw one of those children's hobbyhorses washed up there. This one was a bit different to ones I had seen though. It was like a lightbulb moment because this one was in the shape of an elephant. It was an unusual sight and the idea really came from there.' He said: 'That first year we started a community group with myself and a family just up the road and by the end of the year there were 20 of us and we had removed over 12 tonnes of rubbish from Ballynamona Beach. The beach is 1.2 kms long and and I started thinking if we were able to collect that much rubbish from one beach is every kilometre of the coast just as bad?' From there the Ballynamona group has seen the area it covers and the number of volunteers steadily increase. Today, the group has 300 local volunteers and looks after 3% of the Irish coastline as well as managing 34 acres of land for biodiversity purposes. Proinsias says that the group has evolved into a large and friendly volunteer organisation but it could not operate without sponsorship. He said: 'We engage with hundreds of school children. Marine education, coastal biodiversity, workshops, beach cleans. In this area coastal flooding is a major issue. We try to open their eyes, to get them off their phones for a while and get them out to the coast. "You hope that maybe you can awaken their their spirit to something else that's going on around them. We include climate change and climate adaptation workshops too. 'We are supported by the Health Services Staff's Credit Union (HSSCU) and we really couldn't do it without them. We wouldn't be able to do it without that support because it's so costly to get kids down to the coast and there are no budgets in school for things like this.' Ella Rose Richards, a pupil of Ballycroneen National School in Co. Cork and her older sister Lorna Richards, a student at St Colman's College in Midelton at the Blue Flag Marine Education Day on Garryvoe beach last May. Proinsias says that awareness of the impact of marine plastic on the wider environment and human health is crucial to empower future generations. 'We have to try to prepare them,' he says. 'Ultimately it's about how we consume things and plastic is a major part of that. It takes 450 years for a plastic bottle to break down but that's actually only to break it into microplastics, then it's broken into nanoplastics but it's still there. "Plastic has crossed the blood / brain barrier and we still don't know what the long-term effects of that are in terms of things like Alzheimer's or dementia.' Workshops also try to make children think about how products and produce are packaged: 'If they need to buy an orange what do they buy? Do you buy them in a plastic net? Do you buy an orange that's peeled and segmented in a plastic container ready for consumption? Do you buy an orange and peel it?' Jack Murphy, a 6th class pupil from Cloyne National School in Co Cork at the Blue Flag Marine Education Day on Garryvoe beach last May. According to Proinsias people do not always appreciate just how long our waste materials can remain as pollutants in the ocean. 'I have a Lux detergent bottle that I found in 2017 and the price on it is in Nouveau Francs. That was the currency in France between 1958 and 1963. Two years ago one of the kids from a local primary school found a bottle that was 120 or 130 years old, it's phenomenal.' He added: 'We've moved on from where we were say 10 years ago. We don't have the amazing photographs of the big mountains of rubbish anymore. We are keeping on top of it but we are just a small piece of the jigsaw in Ireland. "We are doing okay but we need the decision makers who enact laws and provide resources to do more. Are we in a good place? Not really. Have we improved the situation? Absolutely. Were we far worse off? Yes we were but there is so much more to do.' Gráinne Furey Gráinne Furey is a community development worker with the Youghal Blue & Green Community Network in East Cork. Established in 2021 the network aims to empower local people to make positive changes in their community addressing the four key pillars of environment, biodiversity, coast & marine and energy. Gráinne said: 'It's about community development and making sure people weren't being left behind. The basic idea is that we all go forward together in a just transition when we're looking at climate change. "Our remit is to bring wider awareness, to do it in a way that we're not preaching to people. We are trying to listen to our community.' The network helps people to educate themselves around environmental issues through various conservation projects, community workshops, talks and community events. She added: 'Because we are a coastal community, obviously the coastal environment is very important. Flooding is a serious issue and will continue to be. Coastal erosion impacts us, pollution. Awareness in West Cork has grown over recent years as the more popular beaches have improved significantly but remoter areas can still suffer from significant amounts of rubbish, according to Mark. Picture: Mark McCarthy "We try to bring that awareness to people about how important what you put down your sink and your toilet at home is. What you're putting in the bin, everything that goes into into landfill can end up in the sea. 'We try to combine those issues in fun and creative ways as well. Last year we did a sand castle challenge where we had sand artists doing a map of Youghal on the beach and we chatted to people about climate change and flooding. "There are 477 buildings in Youghal at risk of flooding in future and most of those 200 people on the beach were not aware of that.' Gráinne says she was a member of the local Clean Coasts group herself before she took on the role within the network. Empowering local communities is the key to driving successful change. 'That's why we're a network. It's about getting people to talk to each other, because quite often, the club up the road and the man down the road are coming from the same place. They want to do the same thing, but they don't know it.'
Irish Independent
31-05-2025
- Irish Independent
Community Biodiversity Action Plan launched for Kingdom of Kerry Greenway
The plan, or CBAP, which was funded by Community Foundation Ireland, was informed by an ecologist-led survey of the flora and fauna of the route. A series of community engagement workshops and survey supported by MTU Business students also contributed to the plan which sets out recommendations to protect and enhance the biodiversity along the Greenway. The plan is accessible from the national website. The local efforts of Tralee Tidy Towns to protect and promote nature and wildlife habitats have now also been recognised with a strategic grant by Community Foundation Ireland in partnership with NPWS to implement the CBAP. The grant will ensure that the next steps to protect local biodiversity along the Greenway will be guided by the expert knowledge of ecologists. Martha Farrell of Tralee Tidy Towns said: 'We are thrilled to launch our CBAP during National Biodiversity Week and we're delighted that our work to protect and promote biodiversity has been acknowledged by the granting of a further €11,590 for the implementation of the plan. We thank Community Foundation Ireland, NPWS, Kerry County Council, MTU, Irish Wildlife Trust, Transition Kerry, Crainn Chiarraí and the many other NGOs who engaged, for their support of this project.' 'We look forward to working with stakeholders, groups and individuals who are interested in this implementation project. We will focus on creative and expert-led community engagement and awareness of biodiversity; recording of wildlife species, addition of supplementary wildlife habitat for species such as swifts and swallows; recording and control of invasive species; and an overall enhancement of the biodiversity along the Greenway route,' she continued. 'We also hope that skills acquired by community members through this project can lead to a long-term volunteer support of the habitats in the Tralee area. Anyone who would like to register interest in getting involved in this project can simply send us an email on tidytownstralee@ she added. Congratulating Tralee Tidy Towns, Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland had the following to say: 'We are particularly proud that local efforts to protect habitats, plants and wildlife are increasingly growing into a national movement. The fact that this current grant round is impacting in every county shows the groundswell of support for biodiversity action. The partnership of the Foundation, its philanthropists and community partners together with the National Parks and Wildlife Service is effective and works. Our natural heritage is being protected for generations to come.'
Agriland
30-05-2025
- Agriland
Investigation following suspected poisoning of eagle in Clare
An investigation is underway following the discovery of one of Ireland's oldest breeding white-tailed eagles, Caimin who was found dead in Clare last Saturday (May 24). Initial post-mortem examination results from the Regional Veterinary Laboratory indicate a possible death from poisoning. Caimin held territory at the Mountshannon nest site on Lough Derg for the past 17 years. During that time, he mated and fledged a number of chicks. He was one of the first chicks to arrive as part of a National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) Reintroduction Programme to bring back this formerly extinct species to Irish skies and was released from Killarney National Park in 2008. All of the white-tailed eagle chicks reintroduced under the programme are fitted with satellite tags, which enables them to be monitored and tracked. White-tailed eagle In 2013, Caimin mated with Saoirshe, a female eagle who was also part of the Reintroduction Programme. They became the first white-tailed eagles to successfully raise and fledge chicks in the wild in Ireland in over 100 years. Caimin raised and fledged chicks into the wild until 2016, when Saoirshe died of avian influenza (bird flu). He held the territory and mated again with Bernardine in 2023 to successfully fledge more chicks to the wild from the same nest site in Mountshannon. Despite the loss of her mate, Bernardine is continuing to raise a chick on the nest site in Mountshannon. Minister of State for nature, heritage and biodiversity, Christopher O'Sullivan said: 'Any loss in the wild not due to natural causes, is usually the result of human activity and this tragic loss of a wonderfully aged bird, breeding happily in the Irish wild, is deeply regrettable. 'The Reintroduction Programme had been making significant progress in restoring this lost flagship species to Irish skies. These birds are part of Ireland's natural heritage and are important for our biodiversity, as they are a good indicator species regarding the health of our ecosystems. 'We will continue with our efforts to introduce, nurture and protect these birds and I have tasked the NPWS with leaving no stone unturned to try to get to the bottom of this heinous potential crime.' Divisional manager, NPWS, Eamonn Meskell said: 'The knowing destruction of this wonderful bird of prey displays a wanton disregard for our re-introduction and nature protection efforts. 'These noble birds are beloved of the public and each loss is keenly felt by them and indeed by the staff of NPWS who have nurtured these birds from chicks to fledglings, onto adult life and into successfully breeding pairs. 'We know we can rely on the public's help in this investigation' According to the NPWS, the main threat to the species in Ireland is persecution, predominantly through shooting and the illegal use of poison and wind turbine strikes. The misuse/illegal use of poisons accounts for nearly 50% of eagle deaths where the cause of mortality was able to be determined, according to the agency. Other causes of death include wind turbine strikes, lead shot poisoning and shooting. Avian Influenza and adverse weather also negatively impacted the breeding population. Anyone with information which maybe useful to the investigation is urge to notify a local garda station or the local NPWS office.
