Bealtaine Living Earth Festival

23/05/2026

Students from St Saviour’s NS Waterford displayed the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals during the Bealtaine Living Earth Festival at SETU Waterford on International Day for Biodiversity 🌍🌱

Bealtaine Living Earth Festival highlights the importance of protecting biodiversity and creating a more sustainable future for everyone. It was fantastic to see such enthusiasm of the world around us from the next generation of environmental champions 💚

21/05/2026

🌊 Happy European Maritime Day! 💧

Water is important to Ireland because, well.... it's an Island! 🏝️

You'll find a great variety of life in our oceans and rivers. Seals, dolphins, whales, basking sharks, crabs, starfish, seaweed, all the way down to little tiny plankton. Each play an important role in supporting a healthy ecosystem.

Healthy water is not only essential for these creatures, but also for fishing, tourism, climate change, and coastal communities!

Here's what you can do to help protect our waters:
🐚 Respect the beaches: Leave shells and rocks where you find them, they might be someone's home!
♻️ Reduce plastic waste: Single use plastics end up in rivers and oceans
🚯 Dispose of rubbish in designated bins, or, if none are around, Pack it Out! Even small items such as cigarette butts and food wrappers can harm wildlife and pollute waterways.
🦢 Don't feed Swans or Ducks bread! Leftover bread in the water pollutes waterways, encouraging algae blooms that reduce oxygen levels and harm aquatic life.
🌱 Support local conservation efforts – Take part in beach clean-ups, biodiversity events or community projects that help protect and restore local habitats.

Take some time to appreciate the Irish waterways!

Thanks to Paula Fogarty of Waterford Harbour Sub Aqua Club for the photos.

20/05/2026

🐝 Bzzz... bzzz.... World Bee Day is today! Let's celebrate the important pollinators that need our help 🌷🐝

Did you know that insects pollinate more than ¾ of our wild plants? Most pollination in Ireland is done by wild bees, contributing to healthy ecosystems, healthy yields of crops, fruits, and vegetables.

Wild bees are in decline, here are some ways that you can help them.

🌼 Don't Mow, Let it Grow!
Mowing your lawns reduce the population of wild flowers such as dandelions and clovers, which are important sources of food and shelter for bees. Take part in No Mow May to help the pollinators at the start of Spring, and try reducing mowing to once a month.

🌱 Plant Native Plants
A plant is native if it has occurred naturally for thousands of years in a region. Native plants are perfectly adapted to the local environment, making them essential in supporting healthy ecosystems.

🌳 Plant Pollinator Friendly Trees
Willow, Hawthorn, Rowan, Crab Apple, and Holly support a huge number of pollinators. Plant these native trees in autumn or winter so they're ready to feed the bees in Spring.

Avoid using Insecticides, Fungicides, and Herbicides
These harmful chemicals can kill, harm, or disorientate pollinators.

🐝 Every little thing can help the bees 🌸🐝

Biodiversity Ireland South East Technological University

18/05/2026

🌿 Celebrating Ireland's plants ☘️

Today is Fascination of Plants Day, highlighting the importance of plants and plants science in agriculture and sustainable food production.

Plants aren't just pretty to look at. They provide the food we eat, support a healthy environment, improve air quality, and provide nutrition and habitats for important pollinators like bees and butterflies. 🌼🐝

Take a moment today to appreciate the plants around us and the essential role they play in biodiversity 🌍💚

South East Technological University

15/05/2026

⛏️🪏💎 Ardkeen Library will host a talk about why mining matters and the importance of rare earth minerals with Eoin McGrath, on Tuesday 19th May at 6:30pm.

Eoin McGrath is head of the minerals programme at Geological Survey Ireland. This talk will give us an insight into where all the stuff we use (that isn’t grown by farmers) where it comes from, how it gets to us and what things like rare earth minerals are.

This is a Free Event, but booking is required - please contact Ardkeen Library on 051 849755 for bookings and information.

Bealtaine Living Earth Festival

15/05/2026

🎉 1 DAY LEFT 🎉

Bealtaine Living Earth Festival celebrates Irish heritage and biodiversity with walks, talks, and workshops across the South East.

👀 Have you explore our full programme yet?
👉 www.livingearth.ie/all-events/

Excited to see you this week, tag us and let us know how you’re celebrating the world around you!

14/05/2026

🎉 4 SPOT LEFT FOR THESE WEEKEND EVENTS! 🎊

🌿🌊 Forage for Seaweed!
Join Marie for an hour shore walk and discover the myriad of animal and plant life on the rocks. You’ll have a chance to sample the tastiest of our native superfood- seaweed!
16 May @ 11am - Annestown Beach, Co. Waterford

🦎🪨 Explore the amazing underwater world!
Find out what kind of organisms are living in freshwater by scooping water and sediment from the JFK ponds.
16 May @ 1pm - JFK Arboretum, Co. Wexford

FREE events, book now before it fills up! 👉 www.livingearth.ie/all-events/

14/05/2026

🦇 Our Nighttime Pollinators 🦇

Walk through Castlecomer Discovery Park while listening for bats at night with Kilkenny Naturalists Field Club and Anna Collins from

🗓️ 19 May
🕰️ 9:00PM
📍 Castlecomer Discovery Park, Kilkenny

FREE event, booking essential! 👉 www.livingearth.ie/event/bat-walk-talk/

13/05/2026

🎉 3 Days left until the celebration of Irish Biodiversity begins! 🍃🍀

FREE events across the South East! Join us for some guided walks and talks to learn about the natural beauty around us 🌱

🌎 Book now at: livingearth.ie/all-events/

27/11/2025

FREE course on biosecurity awareness!!
more info 👇

FREE Biosecurity Awareness Course!

Invasive species and water-borne diseases can travel silently on boots, boats and fishing gear - with serious consequences for our wildlife, communities and economy.

Join our Biosecurity & Invasive Species Officer, Chantel Carr, for a short, practical course which will introduce the core principles of biosecurity and shows you how simple “Check, Clean, Dry” habits can protect the places you love

📅 Date: Saturday, 13th December 2025
⏰ Time: 12 PM - Half-day (3 hours)
📍 Location: Waterways College, Old Dock, Graiguenamanagh, Co. Kilkenney, R95EKN5

Who should attend?
• Anglers, paddlers and boat users
• Outdoor instructors and club coaches
• Community volunteers and Tidy Towns groups
• Environmental and biodiversity officers
• Anyone who spends time on or near rivers, lakes and wetlands and wants to help protect them

No prior knowledge of biosecurity or ecology is required.

👉 Sign up now: waterwayscollege.ie/learning-hub/part-time/biosecurity-awareness-course

Local Authority Waters Programme
Waterways College Ireland