Horizons

Explore the odyssey of IrelandThe north of Ireland is one of the most geologically diverse regions in the world for its size, according to a just-published geological field guide to the area.

In Classic Geology in Europe - The North of Ireland (Terra Publishing, £12.95), the odyssey of Ireland is plotted, from its origins in two parts somewhere around present day Indonesia and the long northward and eastward drift to its current location through icecaps, hot deserts and warm coral-rich seas. All of these contrasting environments have left rock records - including the stunning Giants Causeway - which the guide explains. Its aim is to popularise Earth sciences by reaching out to a wider public. The author, Paul Lyle, lectures in geology at the University of Ulster at Jordanstown.

A feast of hot topics

The exorbitant cost of houses in the Republic and the lack of public transport in some parts of the country will be hot topics at a conference entitled Land: The Claim of the Community, which takes place on Thursday and Friday in the Tara Towers Hotel, Booterstown, Co Dublin. Organised by Feasta, the foundation for the economics of sustainability, it will investigate such issues as how land taxes can be a funding source for transport and services infrastructure. Tel: 01-4912773. See also www.feasta.org

Sustainable energy show

Sustainable Energy Ireland's annual exhibition on Energy Awareness continues in ENFO, St Andrew Street, Dublin until October 26th. It offers the public a one-stop opportunity to keep up to date on renewable and non-renewable energies, the problems of carbon dioxide emissions and the Republic's responsibility to the Kyoto Protocol. There will also be plenty of consumer energy-saving tips.

Meanwhile, the lunchtime lectures on seed collecting organised by Conservation Volunteers Ireland continue in ENFO on Saturdays at 1 p.m. until November 15th (with the exception of Saturday, October 25th). Tel: 01-4952878 for details.

On a wild goose chase

The Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust at Castle Espie, Comber, Co Down is celebrating the annual arrival of Brent geese tonight at 7 p.m. with a spectacular free show. A giant wicker sculpture of a light-bellied Brent goose will be floated out on to the lake to the sound of uilleann pipes and choral singers, while bowmen fire flaming arrows at floating pyres to light its course. Each autumn, up to 20,000 light-bellied Brent Geese travel from the Canadian arctic to Strangford Lough. Travelling approximately 7,000 kilometres, their journey is one of the longest and most perilous annual migratory flights of any wild bird. Tel: 048 91874146 for directions to join in this amazing celebration of the natural world.

Strange, but true

Did you know that male seahorses give birth to their young? Or that the original name for a butterfly was flutterby? Or that bats always turn left when exiting a cave? These are just some of the strange and unusual facts revealed on Our Living World, an interactive radio series on BBC Radio Ulster. Tune in (FM 92.4 - 95.4 MHz or MW 873,1341 kHz) on Saturday mornings at 9.30 a.m. See also www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/livingworld

Opportunity not to be missed

Finally, Birdwatch Ireland is looking for volunteer observers to help identify and count geese, ducks, waders, gulls and kingfishers on Irish wetlands this winter. Training workshops will be held in counties Galway, Meath, Waterford, Cork, Sligo, Mayo, Leitrim, Monaghan, Offaly and Carlow throughout October and November. Contact the Irish Wetland Bird Survey office on 01-2812400 for details.