Horizons

Eco-friendly Fingal:Fingal County Council is one of the most environmentally aware county councils in Ireland, with well-developed recycling schemes and ecological building guidelines.

There are also active environmental community organisations in the region; one of these, the Skerries Patrician Millennium Group, will host a conference on Fingal's natural environment next weekend in Skerries Community College, Skerries, Co Dublin. Speakers include: Dr Matthew Parkes, assistant keeper of the Natural History Museum; Henk van der Kamp, president of the Irish Planning Institute; Éanna Ní Lamhna, broadcaster and president of An Taisce; and Dr Declan Dooge from the Irish Wildlife Trust. Subjects to be discussed include fisheries, forestry, planning and the natural environment, and biodiversity action for Fingal.

Tel: 01-8495208 for more details. South Dublin Eco-Week runs from Mon to Sat next. Events include composting and school garden workshops, ecowalks and a Fairtrade exhibition in the County Hall, Tallaght. See www.southdublin.ie for full details.

Run your own bio-event

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has a novel way of encouraging more awareness of biodiversity among young people. Through its annual Children's Bio-Event Competition, the voluntary organisation encourages children aged between seven and 12 to organise an event or walk to an area of natural beauty to coincide with National Biodiversity Week, from May 20th to 26th, and UN International Biodiversity Day on May 22nd. After the event, participants can send in an event report to the IWT with photos and a summary of what happened on the day (no more than 500 words). The best reports will receive prizes and some will be published in Irish Wildlife magazine. Contact the IWT on 01-8602839 or inquiries@iwt.ie.

Industrial evolution

Interested in industrial heritage? If so, consider joining members of the Industrial Heritage Association of Ireland on a four-day tour to the heartland of the British Industrial Revolution. The trip runs from April 26th-29th and includes visits to silk and cotton mills, Coalbrookdale Museum of Iron, Coalport China Museum, the National Slate Museum in Wales and the Telford iron aqueduct at Llangollen. Cost €400 approximately, and includes B&B, ferry and transport. See www.steam-museum.com or tel: 01-2942070 for last-minute booking.

Offshore accounts

We still know more about Mars and the moon than we do about the ocean floor. Two more lectures in the lunchtime series on marine biology in the National Museum, Kildare Street, Dublin are expanding our knowledge. Next Wednesday at 1pm, Xavier Monteys from the Geological Survey of Ireland will look at the historical presence of cold water corals in Irish waters. On Wednesday, April 25th, also at 1pm, Dr Anne Marie Power from NUI Galway will explore climate change impacts on Irish coasts from a natural history perspective. Visit www.museum.ie for details of events.

EcoWeb

www.springalive.net

Join birdwatchers throughout Europe on this website which shows the rate at which migrant species are returning from their wintering sites. The site depends on birdwatchers adding their own first sightings of swallows, swifts and cuckoos which are then added to maps charting the progress of spring.