Excellent bogs: The Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) wants to create a cultural centre of excellence for bogs - and protect their past, present and future - in the heart of the Bog of Allen.
In order to purchase the Peatland World Centre in Co Kildare from Teagasc, and then to renovate the building and two-acre site, the IPCC needs to raise €375,000 by the end of September and is appealing to the public for donations. "We want to showcase a range of programmes at the centre, focusing on bogs, peat-free gardening, bog restoration and management, as well as education and public awareness," says Peter Foss, IPCC chief executive, who aims to match each donation "euro for euro" with State and corporate funding. Tel: 01-8722384 or see www.ipcc.ie
Educating the masses
Summer holidays are still in full swing but it's not too early to start thinking about studying something new in the autumn. In September, the Letterkenny Women's Centre begins a one-year part-time course entitled Women Defining and Working for Peace, which is accredited by UCD's Women's Education and Resource Centre. Tel: 074-9124985 or e-mail: womenscentrelkenny@eircom.net. Anyone interested in learning more about global development issues should contact the Kimmage Development Studies Centre, which is taking applications for its 2003-2004 programme of MA, diploma and evening courses. Tel: 01-4064386 or see www.dsckim.ie. And for anyone involved in housing, the housing association Respond!, in partnership with UCD, is taking applications for its part-time BSc course in Housing and Community Studies. Tel: 01-8572020 or e-mail: bsscourse@respond.ie
Burning issues
Traditional cremation is having a devastating ecological effect in India, say environmentalists. Many Hindus burn the bodies of their relatives on fires - each using about 300 kilos of wood - before throwing the ash into rivers such as the Ganges, where hundreds of thousands of people go to cremate their dead. The result is denuded forests, rivers polluted with human ashes - or even half-burnt body parts - and a corrupt wood trade. Although cremation in an electrically-powered facility is 10 times cheaper than the traditional method, power cuts engineered by the wood sellers force the bereaved to stick with wood fires, according to the government's Central Pollution Control Board.
Make a noise
Archbishop Desmond Tutu recently became the millionth person to sign Oxfam's Big Noise petition demanding fairer trade. Oxfam would like to get another two million signatures before presenting its petition to the leaders of the world's richest countries when they meet in Cancun on September 10th. You can sign at the Make Trade Fair website www.maketradefair.com or follow the links to print out your own petition for family and friends to sign.