What we do

Reserves

The IWT manages a network of reserves around the country that it aspires to expand in order to protect more and more of Ireland’s wildlife and their habitats. The latest addition to our reserves network is Golashane Farm a small … Continue reading →

IWT Badger Campaign

Are you aware that your taxes are being used to pay 75 government staff to snare and kill badgers in Ireland? Sign our online petition to help stop this now! The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is opposed to badger culling … Continue reading →

Sustainable seas

” (…) we need to make sustainability our primary goal; we need to base our management decisions strictly on science; we need to adopt an ecosystem approach that is geographically specified, adaptive and capable of balancing diverse social objectives (…) … Continue reading →

Hedgerows

Report illegal hedge cutting to IWT and help protect our wildlife. Illegal hedgerow cutting is detrimental to Irish wildlife and the IWT is calling for an immediate halt to this destructive practice. Unless for reasons of health and safety, hedge … Continue reading →

National Newt Survey

In 2011 the IWT National Newt survey continued to reveal some of the secrets of the smooth newt in Ireland. Starting with a pilot project in 2010 the IWT survey is the first comprehensive attempt to study the distribution of … Continue reading →

SAC watch

Did you know that over 11% of Ireland’s land area is protected for nature conservation? These areas are of European importance for their habitats and species and include ancient oak woodlands, raised bogs and sand dunes. Special Areas of Conservation … Continue reading →

Turf cutting

Turf cutting The drama over the end of turf-cutting has resulted in misunderstanding, acrimony and lost trust. In the Autumn 2011 issue of Peatland News, the bulletin of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Dr Catherine O’Connell gives her synopsis of … Continue reading →

Social partnership

Environmental Pillar of Social Partnership The IWT provides a voice for wildlife and pushes the biodiversity agenda at government level with our colleagues in the Environmental Pillar. What is the Environmental Pillar? Social Partnership is a mechanism for agreeing on … Continue reading →

Protecting freshwater

Water is Life, We need to protect it. Water is essential for the survival of all known forms of life, this includes humans! Ireland’s rivers, lakes & coastal areas are under serious threat. Businesses, domestic, leisure & development activities all … Continue reading →

Practical Conservation

The IWT, through its sister organisation Groundwork (http://www.groundwork.ie/) have been working for nearly 20 years on the removal of the invasive Rhododendron from Killarney National Park. We have also been involved in tree planning and litter picks in important conservation … Continue reading →

Wildlife & Communities

Engaging community members in wildlife awareness and action. ‘Make it Wild’ is the IWT’s national programme inspiring people to take action for wildlife in their local area. It is about improving areas like gardens, green spaces and derelict areas through … Continue reading →

Wetlands

Wetlands are marshes, fens, bogs and swamps. Once disregarded as wastelands our wetlands are places of great beauty and wildness. These unique habitats are host to a great diversity of plants and animals. In the summer, the wetlands hum with … Continue reading →

Rare plants

Ireland has a relatively small number of native species of flowering plants (850). Over the recent past many of these species have declined in numbers and have even disappeared in parts of the country. There are various reasons for this, … Continue reading →

Climate change

There is a strong link between biodiversity and climate change: climate change is one of the causes of biodiversity loss since many species cannot adapt to changing temperatures by moving across our highly modified landscapes. At the same time, biodiversity … Continue reading →