What we do: SAC watch

Bull Island

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 (SAC) are designated under the EU Habitats Directive for habitats and Species other than birds, while Special Protection Areas (SPA) are designated under the Birds Directive for birds. Unlike nature reserves or national parks, SACs and SPAs are not necessarily open to the public and many are in private ownership.

SAC Watch provides information and training to potential SAC site monitors about their local SAC, thereby fostering a sense of understanding, pride, and ownership over nature conservation sites among the local community.

The overall aim of the course is to establish a network of SAC site monitors throughout Ireland that would assist Conservation Rangers in protecting SACs and motivate community members to take well-informed action for biodiversity in Ireland.

The training course uses a combination of workshop sessions followed by fieldtrips led by experts who instruct participants at each site developing their skills in ecology & conservation fieldwork, which will assist participants in becoming a site monitor. Skills that will be developed include map reading, identification of flora and fauna, the typography of different sites and the interpretation of national policy related to SACs. A team of experts deliver SAC Watch, including Dr Declan Doogue, Dr Evelyn Moorkens, Eric Dempsey, Billy Flynn, Andrew Jackson and Joanne Pender.

We have completed SAC Watch in counties Louth, Cavan and Dublin. For more information contact enquiries@iwt.ie or phone: 01 8602839.

To find out more about SACs and SPAs visit the web site of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) at www.npws.ie . This includes a ‘mapviewer’ tool that allows you to see where sites for nature conservation are located in your area.