Environment

Legislation proposed by Gorey Senator Malcolm Byrne that will allow CCTV and other technologies to be used by local authorities to catch illegal dumpers, will be enacted by government before the summer as part of a forthcoming bill.

Senator Byrne’s Bill to tackle this issue will be folded into the government’s new Circular Economy Bill which has just been introduced to the Oireachtas. The government bill will also look at measures to further promote recycling.

Senator Byrne’s bill had been making its way through the Seanad and he has been regularly raising the need to tackle the problem of illegal dumping.

Senator Byrne said, “Government is now prioritising this issue and I’m happy that they are taking on board the measures I set out in my Bill.

“This is an issue of real concern to every local authority and to local Councillors as well as Tidy Towns Groups and Development Committees across the country.”

Senator Byrne explained, “In theory, there was no difficulty for local authorities to use CCTV or drones or other technologies to try deter environmental crimes but without underpinning legislation, there are data protection concerns.”

Some local authorities have faced reprimand from the Data Protection Commission over failures to ensure appropriate protections were in place.

A survey of all local authorities by Senator Byrne in 2021 estimated that the cost of cleaning up dumping and littering nationally runs to between €90m and €100m.

Senator Byrne added, “We need to stop this scourge. I’m glad that we will see local authorities have the necessary powers later this year.” n

Irish Girl Guides from the Seashell Guiding District led by Una Wafer in Cahore and Courtown, have come together to explore the impact of litter pollution on the local marine environment, through the lens of sustainability and creativity. The project is coordinated by Calmast STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths) Engagement Centre, Waterford Institute of Technology. Brownies, Girl Guides and Senior Branch are joined by Órla Bates, a local visual artist and qualified teacher in art and design education who has over fifteen years of experience. Over the five-week project, Guides will explore printmaking, drawing and mono-printing by using materials found on the local beaches. Items collected will be used to create a set of collagraph prints and the final works will be exhibited and sold as a fundraiser for Seal Rescue Ireland. The project kicked off last month for a two-part educational day on Cahore beach with a talk from Explorers Outreach Officer, Dr Gillian Wheatly from the Explorers Education Programme, which is funded by the Marine Institute, followed by a guided tour by Donal McGrath of Cahore Inshore Rescue Service. Kayleigh Foran, STEM Engagement Coordinator with Calmast remarked that the project aims to engage young people in the topic of marine pollution and its effect on their local area. “The Creative Communities project has given Girl Guides the unique opportunity to reflect and critique the world around them, innovatively and excitingly. The community support network, facilitated by the Hub and Cluster model has allowed them to

Pictured above and below: The Irish Girl Guides in Cahore and Courtown. Wexford County Council, Seal Rescue Ireland, Creative Ireland, and Calmast, Waterford Institute of Technology, have joined together collectively in the fight against climate change through the mediums of art, creativity, and hands-on scientific discovery. explore their locality from a new perspective, increasing the girl’s confidence in STEM, sea stewardship and sense of responsibility.” The project is part of a wider Hub and Cluster initiative founded by Calmast, to significantly increase STEM education and public engagement across the entire South East. Six regional clusters have been formed in Wexford, New Ross, Waterford, Kilkenny, Clonmel and Dungarvan. The Hub and Cluster model, which is funded by Science Foundation Ireland, brings the main actors in the locality together, such as local government, libraries, industry, higher education, schools and other organisations collectively, in clusters to deliver STEM engagement through beneficial partnerships in their area. Last month in conjunction with a mono-printing and drawing session, an educational talk and tour of the Seal Rescue Ireland Centre, Courtown, was given by Educational Manager, Krysten Maier. During the session through hands-on activities, Guides learned about the rehabilitation process of seals and the effects humans often have on their natural environment. Kayleigh added, "Sustainability and positive climate action are hugely important topics as the region collectively tries to do their part in the fight against climate change.” In addition to the Wexford Creative Communities project, Calmast has also founded several climate-focused initiatives, including a six-week sustained engagement programme for Transition Year students entitled, STEMReach Sustainability; Your Story Our Future and ACT Waterford, a yearlong project that brings five communities and five creatives together under five climate action themes. The Wexford Creative Communities project is funded and supported by Wexford County Council in partnership with Creative Ireland as part of the Creative Communities Programme. For more information on the project, please contact Kayleigh at Kayleigh.foran@wit.ie n

Minister James Browne lends a hand to Executive Director Melanie Croce and staff at Seal Rescue Ireland, Courtown, during his recent visit there. Left: The Wexford Estuary group spring cleaning. Above: Volunteers wanted for some spring cleaning in Enniscorthy.

Primary school students in Wexford and nationwide are being asked to design a poster that encourages greater conservation of Ireland’s native fish.

The national poster competition, organised by Inland Fisheries Ireland in conjunction with Blackrock Education Centre, is part of the ‘Something Fishy’ educational programme and officially kicks off this month.

Open to fifth and sixth class pupils, the winning posters will be used as part of an awareness campaign to promote the ‘catch, photo and release’ (CPR) method of angling in Ireland. Under the ‘CPR’ approach, a fish that is caught with a rod by an angler is quickly photographed and then returned safely back into the same water to swim away. As a result, greater numbers of fish can be conserved in rivers, lakes and around coastlines, putting less pressure on fish populations and boosting biodiversity.

To enter, primary school students are being asked to create a poster with the ‘catch, photo and release’ message, take a photograph of it and then submit it by email before the closing date of Friday, April 15th 2022. The winning students in fifth and sixth class categories will receive a tablet to the value of €500 and will have their work featured in an awareness campaign.

Launching the competition, Suzanne Campion, Head of Business Development with Inland Fisheries Ireland said: “Every generation has a vital role to play in taking care of our native fish and that includes protecting and conserving them. ‘Catch, photo and release’ is just one conservation measure, but it’s a very important one when you consider that angling is increasingly popular in Ireland with over 320,000 people enjoying it as a hobby or sport. Ireland is also a major angling destination, attracting around 130,000 tourists from all around the world in an average year.”

She added: “For this year’s competition, we’re enlisting primary schools in Wexford and across the country to help us create a message that will encourage more anglers to practice ‘catch, photo and release’ the next time they’re going fishing. We’re very fortunate to have lots of active angling clubs, associations and federations all over this country. We will be working closely with them to help get the ‘catch, photo, release’ message out there as widely as possible.”

The ‘Something Fishy’ poster competition has been designed to fit in with the primary school curriculum, according to Niamh Murray, Director of the Blackrock Education Centre. She said: “Our children are the future and promoting the simple act of releasing the fish that you catch, shows the power of an individual in conserving our environment.”

In 2021, Inland Fisheries Ireland and the Blackrock Education Centre ran a national poetry competition, with two young poets from Tipperary and Carlow scooping the top prizes. To enter the 2022 competition, parents, guardians or teachers are asked to email original entries to outreach@fisheriesireland.ie before Friday, April 15th. Only one entry is allowed per student and all winners will be announced in early June.

Free resources with further details about the competition are available from www.somethingfishy.ie n

The Sustainable Water Network (SWAN) has criticised the government’s draft plan for managing Ireland’s inland and coastal waters as completely lacking in the strong ambition, measures and targets needed to restore our waters to good health. The River Basin Management Plan, is the third since 2009, and is the key tool for the government to achieve the requirements of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) to restore all Ireland’s waters to a healthy state (‘good status’) by 2027 and to prevent any further deterioration. Despite this, only half Ireland’s rivers, lakes and estuaries are currently healthy. With river water quality in decline and water pollution now rising at an unprecedented rate, the network of 25 environmental organisations sees this as a water crisis that will persist under the proposed plan. Launching their ‘Restore Our Waters’ campaign, SWAN has set out a number of recommendations to fix the plan. Sinéad O’Brien, SWAN Coordinator, said: “While there are some welcome improvements in the draft plan, what is most disappointing is its lack of ambition. The plan as it stands is a hotchpotch of actions and aspirations that may, or may not, restore some of our water bodies to health. In fact, under law we must restore ALL our waters by 2027, but this plan lacks the specific, targeted and time bound measures that would provide a clear path to achieving this.

“One of our key recommendations is to introduce a prohibition on wetland drainage and to develop a national wetland restoration plan. This would not only restore our rivers, lakes, and improve water quality, it would also deliver immense benefits for climate, nature and flood resilience.”

“Sewage is the main source of pollution in 208 waterbodies, yet the proposed Plan doesn’t include measures to fix these by the 2027 deadline. The fact that raw and poorly treated sewage is still being released into our rivers, lakes and seas is completely unacceptable. The Plan should include a requirement that the Irish Water Investment Plan includes action to halt sewage pollution in these waters, as a priority.” Elaine McGoff, Natural Environment Officer with An Taisce said: “Agriculture policy must be brought in line with the directive so as to halt and reverse escalating water pollution. Risk assessments based on the directive requirements should be implemented for all intensive farms, including derogation farms. We also need directive based assessments when giving licences for forestry and a ban on afforestation and re-planting on peat soils in acid sensitive catchments, which is detrimental to water wildlife.”

Karin Dubsky, Coastwatch Co-ordinator said: “Only 38% of our estuaries are now officially ‘good’ status. Healthy estuaries are vital for nature and coastal communities. We need to jump from disjointed promises and aspirations to integrated management, with clear actions to reach at least ‘good’ status in the plan. Those actions must be integrated across all national level coastal and marine policy, and legislation, including the new Maritime Area Planning Act and the National Marine Planning Framework.”

Sinéad O’Brien, SWAN Coordinator said: “Our local rivers, lakes and coast have given us so much, especially during the pandemic, providing restorative spaces for relaxation and enjoyment. Now is the time for us to give back. To do this, we’re looking for people to support our campaign and call on the government to deliver an ambitious, targeted plan to restore Ireland’s whole water environment to good health - a plan that we can all get behind.” n

After closing its doors in March 2020, Wexford Wildfowl Reserve Visitor Centre is now open again with an enhanced visitor experience. A new, fully accessible walking trail of around 500m now allows access around the enclosed area of the Visitor Centre ponds. More picnic benches also make a trip to the Centre a chance to relax and enjoy nature, whether you’re a keen birdwatcher, photographer or just someone seeking a quiet escape from the stresses of the day. The trail creation is the initial stage of the redevelopment of the Visitor Centre grounds. The Visitor Centre (with its display area and observation tower) and the grounds (with short trail and birdwatching hide) are now open four days a week, Sunday to Wednesday, 9am to 5pm (closed for lunch between 1 and 2pm, last admittance 4.45pm). All are welcome, but as WWR is a wildfowl and hare reserve, there are strictly no dogs allowed within the grounds of the Visitor Centre (other than guide dogs). While the Visitor Centre has been closed, the Wexford Wildfowl Reserve lands have continued to operate at full strength for its wintering wildfowl population, with thanks to the very capable local farmers who manage the Reserve lands, under a lease specifically designed to benefit wildfowl and wider biodiversity value. The wildfowl populations can be viewed from the observation tower or bird hides, and will be present for a few weeks yet. A statement from the Reserve says, "Our wildfowl populations are easily disturbed, particularly the Greenland White-fronted Geese, of which up to a third of the world’s population is on the WWR and North Slob for winter. They are used to the wide open tundra of Greenland for their breeding grounds, so are particularly prone to disturbance by people on foot or on bikes, so we ask the public not to walk, run or cycle on the North Slob farm roads. You are very welcome to walk our new Visitor Centre trail or the woodland trails of the nearby Raven Nature Reserve."

For further information or to keep up to date on what is happening down on the Reserve, please follow on: facebook: npwswexfordwildfowlreserve Instagram: wexfordwildfowlreserve website: www.wexfordwildfowlreserve.ie n

Radon monitors are now available for all Wexford library members in the county to borrow. The monitors can be borrowed for a four-week period, and come with instruction leaflets.

To reserve a monitor at Enniscorthy Library, ring 053 9236055. n