NPWS seeks citizen scientists to help endangered Curlew

by Galwaywildgeese@gmail.com | May 25, 2021 | Community Digital Hub

Friday 23 April 2021

• Public encouraged to report breeding Curlew sightings to NPWS between April and June
• Citizen science records will inform 2021 National Breeding Curlew Survey
• Nine areas in key Curlew hotspots across the country are prioritised
• Contact NPWS with any sightings

Citizen scientists can help bring one of Ireland’s most iconic birds back from the brink by reporting sightings to the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The Curlew Conservation Programme is encouraging members of the public to record locations of Curlew sightings between April and June and report the information to the NPWS’s team. Breeding Curlew are currently nesting in bogs, pastures, meadows and other open and wet habitats in Curlew hotspots around the country. By submitting records of sightings, the public can help build up a national picture of the number of breeding birds.

Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, said:

This is a fantastic way for people across the country to get to know the wild places in their county and, at the same time, to contribute to the conservation of one of our most iconic and best-loved birds. I’d like to encourage all budding citizen scientists young and old to get involved and help our Curlew Conservation Programme team to gather this important data, which will support the ongoing protection of the Curlew.

How to submit records:

–          By email:  nationalcurlewsurvey@gmail.com

–          By phone to the survey coordinator on 083 104 8000

–          Online at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/QRLHR7B here

The Curlew Conservation Programme – jointly funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine – has been collaborating with landowners in nine key areas (listed below) since 2017 in an effort to halt the decline of a bird whose numbers decreased by 96% in a 30 year period. Curlew occur in flocks around many of our coasts in winter, but the vast majority are migrants, with only around 1 in 30 birds actually breeding here in the Spring.

Dr Seán Kelly, NPWS waterbird ecologist managing the 2021 breeding Curlew survey, said

Breeding Curlew populations in Ireland are amongst the country’s most pressing conservation priorities, of great concern to conservationists and the wider public alike. This enigmatic species has inspired generations of art and folklore, including the great William Butler Yeats – and much like the great works of Yeats, Curlew deserve to be cherished, celebrated and protected in Ireland. The 2021 National Breeding Curlew Survey will provide an update on the previous survey from 2015, letting us know how successful our efforts to date have been and what we need to do in the immediate future. There is huge positive momentum around the country for Curlew conservation, particularly in the farming community, and we need to build upon this.

The call of the Curlew is synonymous with the Irish countryside – from lowland grassland and raised bogs to our mountains and hills their distinctive ‘coorlew’ call is a sign of Spring. Like a growing number of our bird species, Curlew populations have declined dramatically – so much so that fewer than 200 breeding pairs now occur across Ireland.

In recognition of the seriousness of the threat to Irish breeding Curlew, Minsters Noonan and Hackett jointly increased funding to enhance conservation efforts earlier this year. At the launch of the enhanced financial support for the Curlew Conservation Programme, Minister Noonan described the situation for Curlew as “one of the most difficult and pressing conservation concerns of our time” and the funding allowing a strengthening of work between communities and conservationists, “working together to protect this iconic and much-loved bird”.

The nine key Curlew hotspots for the Curlew Conservation Programme are:

• Stack’s Mountains, Kerry
• Lough Corrib
• Lough Ree
• North Roscommon/Mayo
• Mid-Leitrim
• North Monaghan
• Donegal
• Slieve Aughty Mountains
• Laois/Kildare

For more information on the Curlew Conservation Programme, including reports, see: https://www.npws.ie/farmers-and-landowners/schemes/curlew-conservation-programme

Third call for Category 2 applications to the €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

by Galwaywildgeese@gmail.com | May 15, 2021 | Community Digital Hub

The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, has today (Wednesday, May 12th) announced the third call for Category 2 applications to the €1 billion Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

• Funding to support landmark regeneration projects that will transform Rural Ireland
• Communities urged to put forward projects that will drive economic growth, combat dereliction and breathe new life into town centres
• Strong focus on converting old buildings into remote working facilities and attracting people back to rural towns and villages 

This Fund will support landmark regeneration projects across the country that will breathe new life into rural towns and villages.

Communities are being urged to put forward projects that will drive economic growth and footfall, combat dereliction, regenerate town centre and heritage buildings, develop pedestrian zones and outdoor spaces and make rural towns more attractive places to live, work and raise a family.

There will also be a strong focus on developing remote working facilities such as digital and enterprise communities, as well as e-learning, cultural and community spaces.

The Rural Regeneration and Development Fund is a key component of Our Rural Future – the Government’s ambitious five year policy for Rural Ireland.  The €1 billion Fund is also part of the Department’s Rural Development Investment Programme, which is funded under Project Ireland 2040.

Projects that will be funded under Category 2 are those that require significant development before they reach the stage of being shovel ready.  They will be projects that can revitalise our towns and villages and attract people back to live and work in rural area – key objectives of Our Rural Future

To date, the Fund has delivered €249 million for 164 projects worth a total of €338 million across the country.

Announcing the call today, Minister Humphreys said:

Today I am opening the third call for Category 2 applications to the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.

I am seeking large-scale, ambitious projects which require development support to enable them to become ready to compete for full capital funding under Category 1 of the Fund.

The Government’s new rural policy – Our Rural Future – has set out an ambitious vision for Rural Ireland and this Fund is one of the key means of realising that ambition. 

Only last month, I announced €81 million in support from this Fund for 25 landmark projects around the country and it is vital that we maintain this momentum.

I want to see new projects which match my ambition for rural areas – delivering sustainable growth, greater activity and innovative approaches to revitalising our rural towns and villages. 

I also want to see projects that will address dereliction and support the Government’s desire to make remote working a permanent fixture in the lives of tens of thousands of our citizens.

This Fund represents a once in a generation opportunity – I urge you all to be bold and be ambitious with your proposals.

Minister Humphreys added:

The investment that is being provided through this Fund is truly transformational in scale.  It is allowing rural communities to transform and reshape their towns and villages and to position them to take advantage of the opportunities arising from the pandemic in terms of remote working and of people returning to rural areas to live and work.

The development of these large scale projects requires significant resources and the Category 2 funding provided through this call will enable projects to reach a stage where they are developed to a high standard and are ready to commence. This will ensure that there is a pipeline of high-quality, ambitious projects ready to compete for funding in future Category 1 calls from the Fund. 

I encourage our partners, stakeholders and rural communities to work together to avail of this wonderful opportunity.

Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte welcomed the latest announcement:

I am delighted to see such a commitment in government to rural Ireland.  The strong focus on developing remote working facilities such as digital and enterprise communities, as well as e-learning, cultural and community spaces is music to my ears.  My desk is piled high with innovative, disruptive proposals and projects from the enterprise, e-learning and remote working communities – I have been engaging with some really impressive community groups long before the pandemic.  Paradoxically, the pandemic has accelerated the movements that were already taking place such as remote working, co-working hubs and digital transformation.  Post-pandemic, all of these innovations will be mainstream.  I want to see East Galway at the forefront of this disruption and innovation, the ultimate winners – our rural towns, villages and communities.  We need to be big, bold and fearless in our approach.

Full details are available on gov.ie