Grants bring huge boost for wildlife
Efforts to protect nature in Cork have received a major boost with seven community groups set to receive significant grants.
The grants will support the seven projects in the development and implementation of local action plans for the promotion of local plants, wildlife, and nature.
The plans are being supported under a long-standing partnership between Community Foundation Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
Under the partnership, the seven Cork community groups, and groups across the country, will be provided access to expert ecologists to decide the best ways to protect or promote wildlife.
The seven Cork communities to receive the support grants are: Glanworth Tidy Towns (€5,000); Macroom Tidy Towns (€5,000); Tograí Chléire, Cape Clear (€9,000); Ballincollig Tidy Towns (€5,000); Coolagown Development Group (€7,000); Cork Nature Network (€10,000); and Mahon Family Resource Centre (€9,000).
Since 2019, 252 communities across the country have been supported by the Community Foundation and the Parks Service.
Making the announcement of support for the latest biodiversity projects, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, highlighted the importance of community in the protection of wildlife and its habitats.
He said: “If we are to successfully tackle our national biodiversity crisis, we must all work together.
“This partnership between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Community Foundation Ireland is a great example of how we can empower and support community organisations to learn about their local biodiversity and use that knowledge along with their creativity to come up with a plan which is unique to their area.
“I’m really impressed with the range of projects involved and excited to see the outcomes of their work,” added the minister.
Congratulating all the projects, Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland said: “We are particularly proud that local efforts in Cork to protect habitats, plants, and wildlife are increasingly growing into a national movement.
“The fact that this current grant round is impacting in every county shows the groundswell of support for biodiversity action.
“The partnership of the foundation, its philanthropists and community partners together with the National Parks and Wildlife Service is effective and works. Our natural heritage is being protected for generations to come,” she added.
One of the most significant projects to receive grand funding in Cork is Tograí Chléire, Cape Clear who will receive €9,000 to carry out extensive mapping of habitats on the West Cork island with a focus on bogland and increasing wider community awareness.