Water Biodiversity Training in Fingal

At the end of our water biodiversity training programmes we encourage participants to attend a networking event. Here there is an opportunity for the attendees to showcase the Action Plans created throughout their training. This final event has proven to be a social event, a networking opportunity and a celebrations of achievements. On the night we give certificates of completion and you even get a cup of tea and a biscuit.

People of All Ages and Backgrounds Attend

The networking event for  Fingal LEADER Partnership water biodiversity training was an excellent example of the diversity of people that attend our programmes. One such attendee was Alex Konieczka. Alex is the Environmental Youth Officer at ECO-UNESCO and Director at Understory and she kindly agreed to talk about her experience attending the water biodiversity training.  Alex is on the left of the picture, very happy with the net, trays and waders that were provided as part of the course! Also in the photograph is Ruth Gaj McKeever who picked up the certificates for herself and her Dad and our Lead Ecologist Dr. Amanda Greer.

 

I took part in the water biodiversity training course, by Fingal LEADER Partnership in association with LAWPRO, which was a perfect mix of scientific information, practical advice, hands on experience, case studies and talks from guests. The course allowed me to connect with with a diverse group of passionate people from all over Dublin and surrounding counties. All of the participants had different interests, backgrounds and experience and had their own unique insight to share. We all came together very quickly and worked very well as a team. The course was amazing for making connections.

Personally, I think the biggest differentiator of this course was the encouragement and mentorship I received, to take action in my own community. We not only discussed the theory of taking action, but the physical work that goes into it, the challenges we may face and most importantly, the solutions. The course supported me in creating a project called Catching Raindrops, during which I will work with a community group in Ringsend and Irishtown this year, to improve rainwater harvesting through installation of water butts, increase rainwater retention by connecting gutters to planters in houses and businesses in the area and equip the community with knowledge and skills to conserve & protect water. I feel like many doors have been opened for me as a result of taking this training course.

You can follow Alex on Facebook and Instagram where she shares her passion for creating Zero-waste products designed to connect us with nature.

Wild Work Programme of Events Begins

It feels like the Veri team are expectant mothers this week, after 9 months of nurturing creativity, digitally enabling our ecology team all on our Veri platform , developing online content and working on VR elements, the Wild Work project arrives in Cavan and West Limerick this week,  and to its original home Cork in a few weeks.

Our role has been to lead the project as a solutions provider for data driven programmes.  We have a team of a dozen people ensuring all communications and KPI’s are tracked and measured to achieve the best outcomes for the over 400 volunteers. With our ecology team under Dr. Amanda Greer we are bringing Irish place based learning into this new innovative blended programme.

 

Work Place Well Being

Work place well being is one of the key themes of the programme. Wild Work has developed important relationships with many businesses directly engaging with over 100 individuals in the business community.

“If you want to make your workplace a more vibrant, fun, enjoyable, healthy place to work, try and learn what nature you have at your premises and see what you can do to help it. Get your staff involved and the outcome will be that everyone will be much happier and more interested and excited in the place that they work”

William O’Halloran, Wild Work Team Leader

Our work with businesses aims to bring nature into the workplace by helping companies discover, protect and promote the biodiversity that can be found at their site. Encouraging nature and wildness at work is not only good for biodiversity, but for people too. By engaging staff through nature walks and talks, we show how nature can greatly benefit mental health and stress management.

“Rather than people sitting in offices, if people can go for a walk at lunchtime and have a bit of colour and diversity and learn something from that, then it will be very beneficial.”

 Dermot Kelly, Director Regulatory Affairs at Pfizer

The free, flexible, 12-week training programme will be delivered in 20 locations across South Cork, West Cork, West Limerick and Cavan, as an extension of the award-winning Wild Work not-for-profit biodiversity initiative first established by SECAD Partnership CLG in 2017.  It is hoped that, over time, it will be rolled out nationwide and will inspire other counties to create similar programmes for the benefit of both people and place.

“The Covid-19 global pandemic and Ireland’s commitment to the sustainable goals agreed at the recent COP26 UN Climate Change Conference have brought the wellbeing of both people and the environment back into sharp focus and so initiatives such as Wild Work have never been more important.“

As a team we are so privileged to transform and digitise the original Wild Work into the 2022 programme.

“Over its five-year history the Wild Work model of learning has already provided more than 200 education and awareness sessions, delivered 5,500 consultation hours, sown over 18,000 m of wildflowers, and developed more than 50 nature friendly landscaping projects.  This new training initiative represents a significant expansion of its work into counties Limerick and Cavan in a bid to engage more people in the important work of protecting, valuing and enhancing our flora, fauna and habitats for the benefit of our people, our communities and the places in which we all work and live.“

Already almost booked out, registrations for the free Wild Work Training Programme are open online at www.wildwork.ie.

No previous experience or qualifications are required to take part.

 

 

 

 

 

Climate Action for Leaving Cert

Climate Action and Sustainable Development is to feature as a new subject in a major reform of the Leaving Certificate. These reforms are expected to be introduced to sample schools beginning in September 2024. When Minister Foley announced the changes she said that there is an ‘appetite’ for change to the Leaving Cert Cycle. Before changes can occur there will be a detailed implementation plan developed with education partners, including teachers, students, school leaders and parents.

Biodiversity Training

As a company that delivers Biodiversity Training we view this introduction as a great step in the right direction. We have experienced the aforementioned appetite for education in the area of climate action from participants the length and breadth of the country. Attendees from all backgrounds engage with energy in all our courses. We see an increase in the social responsibility for the corporate sector and as a result people attending as part of their continuous professional development. We have  also had participants who are teachers, join our training to voluntarily increase their knowledge base.

Participant Testimonial

Green Skills

The educational sector is going through a phase of innovative changes. There is an increased interest in ensuring  multiple routes to education. Noticeably there has been a greater emphasis on soft skills to complement the academic offering. Now we are beginning to see the emergence of green skills.

Simply put, green skills are the knowledge, abilities, values and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource efficient society. – UNIDO

Real Life

Environmentalism and climate action is moving from a hobby and a set of ideals into a skill that is transferable and needed in the current and future labour market. The move for inclusion of Climate Action and Sustainable Development in the Leaving Certificate reflects this.

PRESS RELEASE