All Posts by Kieran Flood

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Apr 30

Is this progress?

Is this progress? I had a dream that I was listing to Claire Byrne’s RTÉ radio show every day this week where she interviewed politicians from across the spectrum on the imminent extinction of curlews in Ireland. I imagined I heard Fine Gael’s Patrick O’Donovan list all the townlands in his constituency where curlews could […]

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Apr 29

Real Marine Protected Areas are within the EU’s grasp

Real Marine Protected Areas are within the EU’s grasp An important vote on the Initiative Report of MEP Isabel Carvalhais “Toward a sustainable blue economy in the EU: the role of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors”, is taking place in the European Parliament on May 3rd. MEPs will have the chance to vote on prohibiting […]

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Apr 28

Species in Focus: Dandelions

Species in Focus: Dandelions  At this point in the year, I’d imagine anyone who likes a manicured lawn is sick of seeing a certain stubborn yellow flower pop up all over their grass. However dandelions are a valuable native wildflower and have much to offer wildlife and us. Dandelions are useful and industrious plants that […]

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Apr 16

Doing Nothing on the Bogs

Doing Nothing on the Bogs It’s nearly a decade since I travelled to Glenveagh in Donegal to look at what I had been told was widespread illegality and habitat destruction inside the eponymous National Park. I found the accusations hard to believe at the time, given the high profile of the Park but there it […]

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Apr 07

Species in Focus: Freshwater Pearl Mussels

There are many animals in Ireland that are under threat from various sources, and the freshwater pearl mussel (Margaritifera margaritifera) is catching it from all sides. Freshwater pearl mussels, like the saltwater mussels we eat, are bivalves. Bivalves are molluscs with soft bodies protected by a hinged shell which can open and close as they […]

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Apr 03

Rewilding: winning hearts and minds

Rewilding: winning hearts and minds I’ve never particularly liked the term ‘wilderness’. Although it is instantly evocative it carries so much colonialist baggage that I think it best avoided, regardless of whether you think it even exists or not (for background on this I can recommend this important essay by William Cronon). These days many […]

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Mar 30

Don’t Mow, Let it Grow!

Take Action for Wildlife: Don’t mow, let it grow!     1. Protect our dandelions. Hold off with that first cut of grass till late April to allow dandelions feed the bees until other flowers come into bloom. 2. When you do start cutting the grass manage your lawn in a nature friendly manner cutting […]

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Mar 25

PRESS RELEASE: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes appointment of chair to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss

Press Release 25th March 2022 Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes appointment of chair to the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss The Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes the appointment of Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin as chair of the forthcoming Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. This is a vitally important process which we hope will engage the people of Ireland […]

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Mar 19

Water… what’s it to you?

Water – what’s it to you? Where is your nearest water course? Mine is the River Tolka, a fairly short river that rises in farmland in Co. Meath only about 20km from where I live in Dublin. It is perhaps best known as the river that flows past the National Botanic Gardens in Glasnevin while […]

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Mar 16

Species in Focus: Slow Worm

Species in Focus: Slow Worm Whoops, looks like Saint Patrick is slacking on the job! Or is he? Despite its scientific name meaning ‘fragile snake’, this slithery little reptile is actually a kind of legless lizard, called a slow worm (Anguis fragilis). You might be wondering what the difference between a legless lizard and a […]

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Mar 10

Species in Focus: Common Frog

Species in Focus: Common Frog At this time of year, plenty of animals are only just waking up and getting down to business after a long hibernation. The common frog (Rana temporaria) is one such animal. Common frogs are small amphibians that can be found all across Ireland, as long as there are suitable bodies […]

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Mar 06

The Trouble with Turbines

The Trouble with Turbines Russia’s brutal invasion of Ukraine has placed a spotlight on Europe’s fossil fuel dependence. The war has come on top of already rising fuel prices that, as I write, are seeing petrol prices near €2 a litre. Coincidentally, the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this week published its sixth […]

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Feb 23

‘Fair Seas’ campaign launches to demand fifteen-fold increase in Ireland’s Marine Protected Areas

‘Fair Seas’ campaign launches to demand fifteen-fold increase in Ireland’s Marine Protected Areas The Irish Wildlife Trust is delighted to be a partner in the Fair Seas campaign launching today and calling for the protection of Ireland’s marine life through the creation of a network of ecologically coherent marine protected areas.   Leading national environmental […]

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Feb 20

The failure of fisheries science

The failure of fisheries science In 2013, as part of an overhaul of the Common Fisheries Policy, the European Union committed to ending overfishing by 2015 ‘where possible’ and by 2020 ‘at the latest’. Needless to say, this deadline came and went but a successful legal challenge by Friends of the Irish Environment in the […]

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Feb 06

Speed and Conviction

Speed and Conviction Later this year, June to be precise, will mark the 30th anniversary of the Rio Earth Summit. It was a landmark event in the history of the environmental movement which resulted in the international treaties to end biodiversity loss and limit greenhouse gas emissions that remain the centrepieces of the global response […]

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Jan 22

Lessons from Costa Rica

Lessons from Costa Rica by Pádraic Fogarty, January 22nd 2022 Forestry continues to be a vexed issue in Ireland. While the forest owners, nurseries, sawmill owners and timber suppliers are mostly focussed on the immediate issues of getting licences for planting and felling, the bigger, and more important issue is the lack of new forest […]

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Jan 20

PRESS RELEASE: Burning in Wicklow Mountains National Park contrary to climate and biodiversity aims

PRESS RELEASE 20th January 2022 Burning in Wicklow Mountains National Park contrary to climate and biodiversity aims   The Irish Wildlife Trust wants to express our opposition to the on-going burning of lands within the Wicklow Mountains National Park. See https://www.facebook.com/pages/Wicklow-Mountains-National-Park/261433833868972 Given the poor state of upland habitats, plus the emissions of smoke, water pollution […]

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Dec 08

Irish Wildlife Trust submission to CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027

December 8th 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust submission to CAP Strategic Plan 2023-2027 Link to downloadable pdf of submission To Whom it May Concern, The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is a national, charitable, membership-based organisation which was established in 1979. Our goal is to raise awareness of our natural heritage and its benefits to people. We […]

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Dec 08

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust calls for rewilding to be incentivised as part of €9.8 billion Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)

Press Release 8th December 2021 Irish Wildlife Trust calls for rewilding to be incentivised as part of €9.8 billion Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) is calling for rewilding to be included in Ireland’s CAP Strategic Plan as an option for farmers. Rewilding is a method of restoring natural ecosystems and is […]

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Nov 28

On hen harriers and water quality

On hen harriers and water quality Two programmes underway to address environmental issues show how change can be achieved, but also the challenge that lies ahead.   Are we addressing the biodiversity emergency? Well, yes and no. There’s no question but that a slew of programmes and measures have been developed in the past five […]

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Nov 12

PRESS RELEASE: IWT welcomes acknowledgement of the biodiversity crisis and role of healthy ecosystems, including oceans, in the latest draft COP 26 text

PRESS RELEASE 12th November IWT welcomes acknowledgement of the biodiversity crisis and role of healthy ecosystems, including oceans, in the latest draft COP 26 text   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the prominence of nature in the latest draft of the COP text which appeared in Glasgow today (November 12th). The draft acknowledges in […]

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Nov 10

Nature for Sale?

Nature for sale? The COP is entering into its final days. Despite being labelled as a ‘now or never’ moment, the task of meaningfully addressing the climate and biodiversity emergency will remain with us after the delegates head home. No matter what the outcome it is important that momentum is maintained in the days and […]

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Nov 04

Last chance? Or no chance?

Last chance? Or no chance? The Irish Wildlife Trust is attending the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow. As a first-timer I have been overwhelmed by the enormity of the event. There’s the excitement at witnessing something of such global significance but a disorientation that is only lifting on day 4. World leaders and famous faces […]

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Oct 28

Press Release: As the government heads to the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, new information shows that unlawful turf-cutting remains widespread on Special Areas of Conservation

Press Release 28th October 2021 As the government heads to the COP26 Climate Summit in Glasgow, new information shows that unlawful turf-cutting remains widespread on Special Areas of Conservation   Data from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and acquired by the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) under Freedom of Information rules, show that […]

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Oct 25

Decolonising conservation

Decolonising conservation The Burren winterage festival just finished up with its annual cattle drive. Now in its 20th year it is a reminder of an ancient tradition of transhumance – the movement of cattle from the lowlands to upland winter grazing pastures. It is this practice that lies at the heart of the ecological diversity […]

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Oct 13

Press Release: Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes restoration of funding to the National Parks and Wildlife Service but much more needs to be done

Press Release 13th October  Irish Wildlife Trust welcomes restoration of funding to the National Parks and Wildlife Service but much more needs to be done   The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) welcomes the announcement in yesterday’s budget that funding for the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) has been restored to 2008 levels. This is […]

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Oct 09

COPs – what are they good for?

COPs – what are they good for? It’s nearly 30 years since world leaders met in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for the Earth Summit. I recently bought a copy of TIME on eBay which anticipated the event with the cover headline ‘Coming Together to Save the Earth’. “What kind of planet will our children inherit? […]

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Sep 26

Rewilding Ireland – where will be first?

Rewilding Ireland – Where Will be First? Rewilding got a little closer to home this week with the announcement that the Affric Highlands in Scotland are to be added to the Rewilding Europe network. It becomes one of only nine landscape-scale projects (the organisation has many more smaller initiatives which include the Dunsany Estate in […]

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