Horizons

Vegetable plots backed: Community gardens and urban vegetable plots are back on the public agenda in the US, as plans to set aside tracts of land inside city limits for organic farming get the go-head from the mayor in the Californian city of San Diego.

The aim of the non-profit group, San Diego Urban Farms, is to increase the amount of food produced locally to save energy, create jobs and produce healthier, better-tasting food. The average foodstuff, argues Nancy Hughes, of the San Diego Community Forest Advisory Board, travels over 1,500 miles from farm to table. "Why are we in San Diego eating tomatoes from Florida when we are blessed with a year-round growing season?" she asks. Future plans include a regional agricultural policy emphasising locally grown food for local consumption.

Wicklow walk reopens

One of Ireland's most scenic walking routes, the Bray to Greystones cliff walk in Co Wicklow, reopens this weekend. The one-hour walk, which has been closed for four years due to unsafe sections of the route, will be officially opened with a guided walk this morning. Environmentalist and wildlife documentary maker, Eamon de Buitlear will lead the walk which starts from the Boat House Coffee Dock on Bray seafront at 11.30am. "It's probably one of the most spectacular walks in Ireland, with stunning views and wonderful flora and fauna, it's a disgrace that it was allowed fall into the sea and we're delighted to be part of getting it made safe and reopened," John Ryan from Friends of the Cliff Walk told Horizons.

Green guide to produce

Celebrity chef Neven Maguire will launch the Organic and Green Guide to Ireland on Sunday, July 17th, at the Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim. The guide aims to give the public a comprehensive listing of organic producers, non-governmental organisations and suppliers of eco-friendly products throughout Ireland. The launch takes place at the centre's annual garden open day whose theme this year is the organic cycle of fertility. Admission €5. Meanwhile, a new one-day course, Get To Know Your Wildflowers, goes ahead at the centre on Saturday, July 16th. For more information on both events, contact 071-9854338 or e-mail organiccentre@eircom.net

Chance to see Medusae

Visitors to the Natural History Museum, Merrion St, Dublin, over the next two weeks will have the added attraction of seeing Medusae, the innovative film about the amateur naturalist, Maude Delap, which is showing hourly from July 12th-24th. The film, which was made by artist Dorothy Cross and her brother, zoologist Dr Tom Cross, was first shown on Valentia Island two years ago. It combines the story of Delap, who bred jellyfish in bell-jars in the early 20th Century, with scientific research by Tom Cross on the swimming techniques of the fastest and most dangerous jellyfish, the Chironex fleckeri. Meanwhile, children under 14 have until October 15th to submit entries to an art competition on the theme of the Natural World of Europe, run by the Natural History Museum. See www.museum.ie for more details.