Chairperson’s Comment

Dear Friends of the Irish Wildlife Trust,

How exciting it is that spring is upon us, bringing longer days, and an abundance of life which emerges from the winter slumber. is season brings hope and solace as darkness turns to light and we see new growth bound forward all around us.

We are thrilled to welcome Grace Carr as our new Marine Policy and Research O cer. is is a critical role as we strive for 30% marine protected areas (MPAs), and we look forward to the impact Grace will have, in partnership with Fair Seas.

Within our board of directors, we are seeking new trustees to join our board. e successful candidates will have environmental knowledge or experience, and some governance expertise is a bene t. We are partnering with BoardMatch Ireland in recruitment, so if you are interested, please apply via BoardMatch.ie or drop me a note with your CV to claire@iwt.ie e conservation of biodiversity is a common concern for humankind. e planet needs our help to recover from the abuse humankind has in icted, and we nd hope from the COP15 event in Montreal, Canada which was held last December which supports the international agreement for the conservation of biological diversity. e rati cation by 196 nations commits action to the protection and restoration of biodiversity. Now is the time to move from discussion into action, and it is critically important that Ireland, and each one of us, plays our part. In our rst magazine of the year, we have so much to take inspiration from. e excitement is palpable as we hope the crane is successfully re-established in Ireland; we learn how to pledge our gardens for pollinators from Kate Chandler, and about bioluminescence from Anne Sundermann. We celebrate our branches with news from Kieran Flood about the activities in Kerry, Limerick and Laois O aly branches. e wetlands in Spain are an inspiration shared by Gordon D’Arcy; and we hear perspectives on climate change and the impact on ecosystems from Tim Clabon. e progress and perils to our MPAs continues, and we have updates from Pádraic Fogarty, the MEP Grace O’Sullivan, and our new sta member Grace Carr. A research-driven approach to understanding our deer populations and the consequences for our environment is welcome, as shared by Kilian Murphy and we learn more about food packaging from Billy Flynn and Christopher Doyle.

As a nation, we can all take action to increase biodiversity, no matter how large or small our space is. Planting native Irish trees, shrubs and hedgerows, building a garden pond and embracing some messiness by leaving fallen leaves or dead trees, all help increase biodiversity.

Personally, I’m adopting the philosophy that “if you build it, they will come”, which is said to be true of garden ponds, and so I’m using some spring energy to nally build one! Ponds take time to establish, so I’m curious to see how long it will take for pond life to arrive, and I’m particularly excited at the prospect of more dragon ies and damsel ies visiting the garden.

As people emerge into the great outdoors again, a conversation with your neighbours could inspire a community approach to biodiversity. Pesticides are detrimental to our biodiversity and only introduce toxicity into our environment. Communities who abandon the use of pesticides, reject the use of poisons, avoid plastic grass and resist the urge to control their spaces, will be rewarded with an abundance of wildlife, pollinators and birds calling to visit.

A jam packed edition, which I hope you enjoy in these longer, brighter days!

Wishing you the very best for a spring season lled with light, love, health and happiness. It’s a time for optimism and action to make a di erence for wildlife in Ireland.

Claire Walsh, Chair of the Irish Wildlife Trust claire@iwt.ie