Initiative to protect natural heritage now open to community groups
Local community groups are now able to apply for funding and mentoring under a programme to 'protect and celebrate' local heritage, including natural heritage.
The Heritage Keepers programme is now open to applications for its fifth year. The programme is open to community groups and primary schools across Ireland in both urban and rural locations.
Organisers of the initiative said that this year's programme will have an increased number of places for both community groups and schools.
Heritage Keepers is an initiative of Burrenbeo Trust, and is funded by The Sunflower Charitable Foundation, through Community Foundation Ireland.
Last year, 75 groups took part in the programme, with more than 200 groups having participated since the programme commenced.
The aim of the programme is to provide funding to participants to take steps to protect built, cultural and natural heritage.
The closing date for applications is September 30, with the latest round of the programme set to start in the autumn, and running until spring 2026.
The programme is designed to help successful applicants develop a local plan to 'protect and celebrate their heritage' through a series of interactive workshops.
When those workshops are complete, groups can apply for funding and receive ongoing mentoring to put their plans into action.
Of the more than 200 groups and schools that have taken part in the programme since it was launched, some 90% have gone on to complete their funded action, the organisers of the programme said.
Some past actions include exhibitions, heritage trails, tree planting, podcast creation, booklets, wildlife ponds, oral history projects, and 'place celebration' days.
Funding for fieldtrips is also provided, allowing participants to visit local heritage sites.
Commenting on the initiative, Heritage Keepers coordinator Mary Dillon said: 'Learning more about our places and their needs is the first step to building community stewardship, where communities and individuals feel empowered to take action locally to bring about real and meaningful change and action.
'While our programme is open to both primary schools and community groups, this year we would love to see an increased uptake in the number of applications from community groups.
'We are incredibly proud and grateful to all our previous Heritage Keepers participants who have shown an inspiring amount of pride in their place and have proved to be wonderful stewards of their community. We are very excited to meet this year's groups and hear all about their plans to protect and celebrate their local heritage,' Dillon added.
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