Tag Archives: Seed Savers

Clare County Council is marking National Biodiversity Week 2014, which runs until Saturday, with the official launch of a new strategy aimed at promoting, protecting and enhancing the biodiversity of the county. The Clare Biodiversity Action Plan 2014-17, approved by the council, has identified how biodiversity can boost tourism, enhance the local environment, and assist organisations and individuals working in the area of conservation and heritage. Key objectives of the Plan include supporting the recording of biodiversity across County Clare and to submit all biodiversity records to the National Biodiversity Database Centre; raising awareness of the role of biodiversity in climate change and the importance of wetland management in preventing flooding, and encouraging proposals relating to the positive management and additional planting of native tree species. Among the agencies that have contributed to the preparation and delivery of the plan is Clare County Council, the Clare Biodiversity Group, Coillte, Burren LIFE, Burrenbeo Trust, County Clare Bat Group, Celt, the Shannon …

The East Clare based national charity, Irish Seed Savers, was dealt a financial blow in recent months arising from funding cuts, which led to redundancies at the facility. Last month it launched an online campaign at www.indiegogo.com to raise funds to help save the facility and secure its future. Although nowhere near the €100,000 it needs, funds are trickling in and to date, over €4,000 has been pledged. Irish Seed Savers Association was set up in 1991 to save Ireland’s heritage and heirloom vegetable seeds, potatoes, grains and fruit trees from extinction. Since then it has grown to a stage where it has over 800 varieties of organic, open pollinated heritage seeds in a purpose seed bank, which was opened in 2012 by President Michael D Higgins. Speaking at that time President Higgins said, “From little acorns, oak trees grow and from modest beginnings in 1991, the Irish Seed Savers Association has grown to such an extent that impressively it now …