Press Release Wildart 2023 – Children’s Wildlife Art Competition open for Entries 10th October The Irish Wildlife Trust is excited to announce the launch of WildArt 2023, an engaging art competition that invites young artists to immerse themselves in the enchanting world of Irish woodlands during the autumn season. Under the theme “Autumn […]
Press Release Bad news for bogs as designated areas set to lose protections 4th July 2023 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is appalled that the Wildlife (Amendment) Bill 2016 is set to be passed by the Oireachtas (it is scheduled to be presented to the Dáil tomorrow evening, July 5th). The Bill, if enacted, will […]
Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes moves to better protect the marine environment 14th December 2022 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) warmly welcomes the announcement yesterday (December 13th) from Minister of State Malcolm Noonan that there will be new designations of Special Areas of Conservation (SAC) in the waters off Ireland as well as the […]
Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust attends COP15, the most important event for biodiversity in over a decade 06th December 2022 The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) will be in Montreal, Canada from Wednesday (7/12) to attend the COP15 meeting, hailed as the biggest meeting for biodiversity in over a decade. COP15 is held under the […]
PRESS RELEASE 17th November 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes Oireachtas committee recommendations to reverse biodiversity loss The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the report from the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action on Biodiversity published today (17/11/22). The IWT gave a presentation to committee members during the hearings which took place in 2021. We […]
PRESS RELEASE 29th September 2022 Continuing failure by Ireland to protect peatlands highlighted by the European Commission The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is welcoming today additional infringement proceedings by the European Commission against Ireland in order to enforce protections for peatlands. In 1992, by signing up to the EU’s Habitats Directive, Ireland agreed to protect some raised […]
PRESS RELEASE 20th September 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust calls for strong new law in submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has made a submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss which calls for a strong new Biodiversity Act that will put the protection and restoration of biodiversity on […]
PRESS RELEASE 26th April 2022 Peat needs to stay in the ground The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for the government to act to keep all turf in the ground where it belongs. After weeks of acrimony over a proposed ban on the sale of turf (along with wet wood and smoky coal) it […]
PRESS RELEASE 5th April 2022 Wildart 2022 – Express your Creativity with the Irish Wildlife Trust WildArt Competition The Irish Wildlife Trust has launched the third edition of their children’s art competition WildArt. The competition will engage children in the wonders of local wildlife through the seasons. Children up to the age of 16 […]
PRESS RELEASE 15th February 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust calls for investigation into allegations of unlawful disturbance of protected species by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Department of Housing, Heritage and Local Government The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for a full investigation into the background of a report in the Irish […]
WWF and ‘Origin Green’ ‘Origin Green’, the Bord Bia (and so publicly) funded food marketing programme, started life in 2012. In that time annual greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture (which had been on a downward trajectory) have risen by over 11%, from 19,284 to 21,432 kt CO₂ equivalent. According to the EPA, between their 2012-2014 […]
Wildlife Facts Red Fox Care in the Garden Position The Irish Wildlife Trust does not encourage or condone the feeding of wild foxes. Our native fox is a wild creature and should be treated as such. However, the following will provide advice on how to feed foxes in the garden and other urban areas, providing […]
Press Release 30th March Wildart 2021 – Express your Creativity with the Irish Wildlife Trust WildArt Competition The Irish Wildlife Trust has launched the second edition of their children’s art competition WildArt. The competition will engage children in the wonders of local wildlife (within their lockdown surroundings of course!). Children up to the age of 18 […]
Potential government parties should look to sea for important carbon emissions reductions, according to Irish Wildlife Trust Press release 07th May 2020 IWT urges political parties to recognise the carbon storage capacity of our seas and agree to protect and restore vulnerable marine habitats to help avert the climate and biodiversity crises. Several international commitments aim […]
Wych Elm Ulmus glabra Leamhán sléibhe The Wych elm is the only native elm in Ireland. It is a wide ranging Elm tree, it can be found from Ireland to Russia and as far north as the Arctic Circle. They are typically mountainous species preferring moist soils and higher humidity’s, its name in Irish means […]
Brown Hawker Dragonfly Aeshna grandis Seabhcaí Ómrach The brown hawker is large common dragonfly found in Ireland, it is distinctive because of its chocolate brown colouring. They grow to 7.3cm long and have a wingspan of 10.2cm. Both males and females are similar looking but can be distinguished as males have blue dots on their […]
Marsh Fritillary Euphydryas aurinia Fritileán Réisc The Marsh Fritillary Butterfly is one of Ireland’s few legally protected Butterflies. It is protected under Annex II of the European Union Habitats and Species Directive. They have an orange and cream square pattern on their wings and can be identified by their distinctive cream bands on their underwing. […]
Nettle Urtica dioica Neantóg The Common or Stinging Nettle is a highly successful plant found all over the temperate areas of the world. It spreads by means of seeds and underground rhizomes that creep around just under the surface of the soil. The jagged leaves held in pairs along the square stems are easily recognisable […]
Small spotted catshark/ lesser-spotted dogfish Scyliorhinus canicula Catsúileach ballach/ Fiogach Beag Commonly known as dogfish, the small spotted catshark is one of 71 cartilaginous sharks found in Irish waters. From a recent report published by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) (Clarke, et al., 2016) on the status of sharks in Irish Waters they […]
Enchanter’s nightshade Circaea lutetiana Fuinseagach Enchanter’s nightshade is a small plant with long stems and broad leaves, it can grow to 20-50cm or taller and it has small white flowers at the head of each stem. The flowers which are very distinctive as they only have two petals that are deeply cleft, making it look […]
Scots Pine Pinus sylvestris Péine Albanach The Scots pine is one of Ireland’s three native coniferous trees. It is found across Eurasia from Ireland to Siberia, it was believed that it had died out in Ireland around 2000 years ago but has since been reintroduced for plantations in the 17th century. Tree stumps have […]
Long-eared Owl Asio otus Ceann cait The Long-eared Owl is distributed all across Ireland often found in coniferous woodlands with open grasslands nearby in order to hunt their prey. While they can be found distributed over most if the country except for the west, their range is somewhat scattered due to the low levels of […]
White Fronted Goose Anser albifrons The White Fronted Goose is named because of the characteristic white blaze across their foreheads, but this is absent in the juveniles. The birds breed in Greenland and Siberia typically on lowland tundra, often by lakes and rivers. They migrate to Ireland in October to April to enjoy our comparatively […]
Brown Long-eared Bat Plecotus auritus Ialtog fhad-chluasach The Brown long-eared bat is a medium sized Irish bat species, their extremely large ears in relation to body size makes them an easy species to identify. The ears are up to three quarters the size of the total head and body length measuring 2.5cm. Each ear has […]
Chanterelle Cantharellus cibarius Chanterelle is probably one of the most desirable edible mushrooms found in Europe. It is orange or yellow, meaty and funnel-shaped and can be found in woodlands, growing from the ground or decaying wood. They will reappear in the same place every year, so if you find a good spot, you should […]
Portuguese Man O’War Physalia physalis Smugairle an tseoil An exotic visitor, these unusual creatures occasionally appear in Irish waters during summertime bouts of good weather. While they are often mistaken for a jellyfish they are in fact a siphonophore – a colony of small animals working together as one whole in order to survive. Well […]
Common puffball Lycoperdon perlatum The fruit body ranges in shape from pear-like with a flattened top, to nearly spherical, and reaches dimensions of 1.5 to 6 cm wide by 3 to 7 cm tall. It has a stem-like base. The outer surface of the fruit body (the exoperidium) is covered in short cone-shaped spines that […]
Black Slug, also known as Black Arion Arion ater Seilide Dubh The black slug, also known as black arion, is a species of large land slug, a terrestrial slug in the family Arionidae, the roundback slugs. The size of the slug varies from 10 to 15 cm. Maturity is reached at about 2.5 cm The […]
Yellow Brain Fungus Tremella mesenterica Tremella mesenterica is usually golden yellow and gelatinous but tough when damp, turning orange and shrivelling to a tiny fraction of its former size during very dry weather. Initially disc-like, the fruitbody soon develops irregular contortions only very vaguely resembling the structure of a brain. Individual fruitbodies grow to between […]
Marmalade Hoverfly Episyrphus balteatus E. balteatus is a relatively small hoverfly (9–12 mm) of the Syrphidae family. The upper side of the abdomen is patterned with orange and black bands. Two further identification characters are the presence of secondary black bands on the third and fourth dorsal plates and faint greyish longitudinal stripes on the […]
