Horizons

Voluntary Service International has just published its International Volunteer Projects for 2001. Among the challenging work camps abroad are many environmental projects. At an Australian work camp in the coal-mining town of Lithgow in the Blue Mountains, volunteers will re-vegetate creek beds and railway embankments, and generally beautify the township.

In Belarus, there is a project which aims at the ecological restoration of land by the river Beresina, which has been damaged by oil development. Another project in Belarus focuses on the replanting of Minsh Botanical Gardens. The reconstruction and renovation of a neo-classical palace in Hungary is another fascinating scheme. Further eco-projects include work on biodynamic farms in Belgium, Germany, Greece and Finland, and the upkeep of castle and community gardens and nature reserves in the Czech Republic, Germany, Croatia, Scotland, Greece and Hungary.

For more details about how to apply to join such projects, get a copy of International Volunteer Projects 2001 (£3) from Eason bookshops or Voluntary Services International, 30 Mountjoy Square, Dublin 1. Tel: 01-8551011, e-mail: vsi@iol.ie. Don't delay, because orientation workshops start in mid-May.

VSI also urges volunteers to choose the most eco-friendly mode of transport to get to work camps. Travelling by air consumes 10-30 times more fossil fuels than travelling by train or bus. So think about the most sustainable way you could reach your destination.

An architectural walking guide, See Dublin On Foot by Julie Craig, has just been published by Dublin Civic Trust. Dividing the city into six day-long self-guided walks, the book takes visitors on informative trips around Dublin. The details included on the history of the city's streets sets this guide above many of its counterparts.

Did you know that, in the 18th century, North King Street was the centre of Ireland's linen trade, and that Linen Hall, an ornate 18th-century building on it, was destroyed in the 1916 Rising? Or that Stoneybatter means the stony road where Sligh Chualann, one of the five great roads of Ireland, passed through?

The guide also includes contact details and admission prices for all visitable venues on the routes. My only criticism is that a pocket-size book would be easier to carry around than the square-shaped format chosen.

Due in bookshops soon, See Dublin On Foot costs £7 and is available now from Dublin Civic Trust, 4 Castle Street, Dublin 2. Tel: 01-4756911, e-mail: info@dublincivictrust.ie

Anyone in the Dublin area interested in pursuing an interest in natural history should consider joining The Dublin Naturalists Field Club. A venerable organisation, it was founded in 1886 to promote outdoor field trips and educational courses on plants, animals, geology and ecology.

Its field trips for May include a visit to Trinity Botanic Gardens, Dublin, the observation of nesting sea birds and a tour and talk at the Natural History Museum, Merrion Street, Dublin. Annual membership costs £15 (£18 for families and £5 for students). Contact its membership secretary, Rosaleen Fitzgerald, at 606 River Forest, Captain's Hill, Leixlip, Co Kildare for application forms, or e-mail dnfc@eircom.net. See also IT]www.geocities.com/dnfcie

Webworld

www.awf.org

Anyone embarking on a safari holiday in Africa should check out the website of the African Wildlife Foundation. You can find out about long-term strategies to conserve African wildlife in consultation with local people, and read about conservation projects for gorillas, rhinoceroses and cheetahs. The site also offers to send interested visitors updates from Africa, and you can download wonderful photos. It is a very well designed, informative site.

horizons@irish-times.ie