Horizons

SOS for seabirds

SOS for seabirds

Starving nestlings in puffin burrows and on kittiwake nests are the stark face of a worrying future for our seabirds, according to Birdwatch Ireland, which has just launched its annual Save Our Seabirds Appeal. The charitable organisation has been to the forefront of protecting and monitoring seabirds for the past 40 years. New conservation programmes include the eradication of alien mink from Puffin Island in Co Kerry and research into the possible effects of climate change on our seabird populations. See Ewings, the newsletter from Birdwatch Ireland on birdwatchireland.ie for more details.

A Wave of protest

Billed at the biggest public demonstration on climate change to be held in Ireland, the Wave aims to stop Christmas shoppers in their tracks next Saturday at noon in Dublin. Simultaneous actions will take place in Paris, London, Glasgow, Belfast, Brussels and Berlin. The Dublin event, organised by the coalition of environmental NGOs, Stop Climate Chaos, will move from the Department of the Environment on Custom House Quay to “crash against” the Department of the Taoiseach on Merrion Row. “We are calling on the public to join the demonstration to demand a fair and safe deal to protect all our futures,” says Colin Roche of Oxfam Ireland.

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The UNFCCC negotiation will run in Copenhagen from December 7th to 18th.

IWT magazine relaunched

The Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) has just relaunched its quarterly magazine, Irish Wildlife. Now in colour, the magazine is twice the size of its predecessor and includes an article on Irish bats, photographs from under the sea in Connemara and a piece on the threats to Ireland’s wetlands. The magazine is available only to IWT members. Membership at €35 per person or €50 per family offers readers a novel idea for a Christmas present. Membership fees also support the conservation, education and awareness projects carried out by the charity, which has branches in Dublin, Limerick, Waterford, Cork, Tipperary and Clare.

See iwt.ie or tel. 01-8602839.

Ecoweb

hopenhagen.org

A campaigning website which aims to reach people all over the world to demand positive action from the UN Climate Change conference in Copenhagen, Denmark from December 7th to 18th.

Sylvia Thompson

Sylvia Thompson

Sylvia Thompson, a contributor to The Irish Times, writes about health, heritage and the environment