Environment

CLIMATE change and creative responses to it will be the subject of a week-long workshop for young people, taking place in Clare in July. The Rising Tide project was initiated in Lahinch last year by Alex Gill and Maeve Stone of Cracking Light Productions. The event, which took place in May of 2021, invited people to decorate small ceramic boats as a way of reconnecting as a community after lockdown. This year, Cracking Light is inviting young people aged between 14 and 18 to join a local event from July 11 to 15. The Clare-based workshops will involve musicians, filmmakers and artists. It will involve learning new skills and considering responses to climate change, and will put the focus on creating an artwork to be exhibited in Dublin in the autumn. Clare is one of the counties at highest risk from rising sea levels and coastal flooding, but the project aims to find different ways of thinking about and feeling …

“PISSY beds and insects are a good thing,” members of Clare County Council heard at their May meeting.  The comments came from Green Party councillor, Liam Grant, who asked that the local authority stop using chemical herbicides in amenity areas. The Lahinch man suggested that more environmentally-friendly alternatives be found and that substances like glyphosate be limited to the control of invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed. Councillor Grant’s motion also outlined that, “A shift is needed by the public in how we manage weeds and how best to promote biodiversity”.  Addressing the meeting, Councillor Grant said he would love to see the authority follow the lead of the likes of Cork City Council. “We have done a lot of great work, but we could do more,” he said. “I know it might be easier for a city council than one like Clare which is largely rural, and I acknowledge that for Japanese Knotweed, you have to use herbicides. We …

Irish Water has been accused of causing a “public health hazard” by allowing a wastewater treatment plant to pollute a stream in West Clare that is potentially contaminating bathing waters for local swimmers. This assertion comes after an EPA report found breaches for ammonia at the Miltown Wastewater Treatment Plant were 171 times the permitted emission levels following an inspection carried out on June 10, 2021. It has also emerged that that the EPA raised concern about the absence of a proper roadway into this plant in August 2018 to facilitate desludging, which still hasn’t been properly addressed by Irish Water. North Clare civil engineer Mick Duffy has expressed major concern about the contents of an EPA report, which stated a visual inspection of the Legard Stream at its discharge points indicated widespread sewage fungus following discharges from the Miltown waste water treatment plant. Irish Water was requested to examine the pathway of this stream to the sea to identify …

For the latest in our climate change series, Bridget Ginnity speaks to Catherine Ní Ciardha one of the first bog owners in Ireland to restore a raised bog to its original state to halt biodiversity loss and combat climate change There used to be an old milestone outside my house near Parteen showing it is four miles to Limerick city, yet I live down a country road that is even too narrow for the bin lorries. At the end of the road is 30 acres of bog that I own in Shanakyle Bog. It’s one of the few raised bogs in Clare. I always looked after the bog, and never did anything to damage it, but then I thought, what happens when I pop my clogs, what will happen then? The University of Limerick and the city are coming closer and closer and I wanted to preserve it as a natural space for wildlife and future generations. The lungs of …

CLARE households have been called on to take steps to conserve water in light of new research showing high levels of wastage. Research commissioned by Irish Water shows that over half of Irish households (53%) admit to wasting water, even though some eight in ten (78%) know it is important to take steps to conserve it. With Met Eireann having this week reported drought conditions in Clare for a fortnight at the end of March, conservation of water has never been more important. The research released this week coincides with the launch of Irish Water’s new, Conservation Calculator, which will assist households across the country to assess their water usage habits and find out how much water they are saving on a daily basis. It also offers useful and practical tips on how to reduce water usage and track their progress. The free tool was developed in response to research which shows consumers want additional tools to assist them conserve …

THE prospect that Clare may not have the infrastructure in place to take on offshore windfarm contracts was raised at the most recent West Clare Municipal District meeting. Councillor Ian Lynch proposed on May 3 that West Clare MD invite developers such as Simplify Blue Group to give a presentation to the members on the anticipated infrastructural requirements. There should, he said, be a specific focus on harbour developments, for maximisation of the project’s potential in the community. Councillor Lynch went against his own motion to illustrate that Clare is moving towards the possibility of these contracts at a far slower rate than needed, which will send investors to Kerry or Galway. He continued that he believes the starting point for moving forward with Clare’s offshore potential is to put the question out to the public, not discussing it as though the contracts are already set in stone while no preparation is done. He said: “You can see it from …

A COUNTY councillor has said you’d be as well off sending a proposal to Dustin The Turkey as Irish Water for all the response you would get. The quip by Councillor Shane Talty came in the context of his proposal of a feasibility study into the prospect of linking a wastewater system for Doolin to the existing one in Lisdoonvarna. Councillor Talty made the suggestion about the potential project at the West Clare Municipal District meeting on May 3. This study was promised to Doolin Tourism when the Lisdoonvarna scheme was installed over 20 years ago, he noted, and Councillor Talty put forward the motion “in the absence of action taken by Irish Water.” The proposal comes after an announcement by the government last week that there will be a series of schemes to address towns and villages with wastewater management issues, though Councillor Talty claimed the narrative in Clare involves the funding from such schemes going to Broadford. Councillor …

The Barn Owl was once a much more common sight throughout Clare but in recent years has suffered widespread decline. This summer, Birdwatch Ireland is conducting a survey of the barn owl population in Clare and is seeking the assistance of the public in its endeavours. Have you seen a Barn Owl, do you know of a potential Barn Owl nest site or have you installed a Barn Owl nest box in Clare? You can not report this information on Barn Owls in Clare to BirdWatch Ireland. Over recent decades, Barn Owl populations have suffered widespread declines and are now a Red-listed Bird of Conservation Concern in Ireland. As a top predator and sentinel species for the health of our countryside, the declines in Barn Owl populations are extremely worrying. The intensification of agricultural practices has resulted in the loss of suitable Barn Owl habitats, including a reduction of prey-rich foraging habitat and nesting sites. Alongside these land use changes …