Green Foundation Ireland
OUR MOST RECENT EVENTS:
IN-PERSON TALK
“Birding in the Fast Lane”
Thurs 19 Jun 2025 – 19:00 (Irish time)
VENUE
Bailieborough Library, Market House, Bailieborough, County Cavan, A82 RH73.
THEME
This talk will focus on the experiences of ecologist Brian McCloskey about birding on the local, national and international scene.
OUR GUEST SPEAKER
BRIAN McCLOSKEY is a very keen birder who travels throughout Ireland and further afield for any species he has not seen before. He spends most of his life birding as, although every minute of free time he has is spent with his binoculars, it is also his job as he is an ecologist.
You can check out more details here
IN-PERSON LECTURE
“Education, Activism, Politics”
Fri 13 Jun 2025 – 19:30 (Irish time)
VENUE
Council Chamber, Cork City Hall, Anglesea Street, Cork, T12 T997.
THEME
Any movement depends on a number of threads. Education – defining the nature of a problem; acquiring scientific data that confirms its depth. Activism – campaigning either as an individual or organised with like-minded others often on themes that are sub-themes of the larger issue. The binding thread would be that of politics, seeking the ability to make decisions and allocate resources to bring about change. A thread that can be the most frustrating and certainly the more prone to failure.
OUR GUEST LECTURER
DAN BOYLE, Lord Mayor of Cork, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to emigrant Irish parents. He has lived in his mother’s native city of Cork since he was eight years of age, in the Turners Cross area of the city.
In 1991, he was elected to Cork City Council, the first Green Party candidate to be so. At the 2002 general election, he was elected to Dáil Éireann for the Cork South Central constituency. He then resigned his seat on Cork City Council.
He was nominated by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern to Seanad Éireann as a Senator in August 2007. He was appointed as Deputy Leader of the Seanad. He was national Chair of the Green Party/Comhaontas Glas from 2007/2011. In 2019 he was elected once again to Cork City Council.
His voluntary commitments include environmental, arts and heritage and social justice organisations. He is currently a board member of the Irish Council for Social Housing.
You can check out more details here
BIODIVERSITY WEEK
ONLINE TALK
“The Power of Local, Ethical Food for Community Well-Being”
Fri 23 May 2025 – 19:00 (Irish time)
By Zoom (log-on details will be issued nearer the time to those who register)
Our talk will focus on the importance of communities choosing to buy local, sustainable, and ethically sourced food. At the Dublin Food Co-Op, they believe this is not only better for the planet but also essential for building stronger, healthier communities. By supporting small businesses – many of which they’ve had the privilege of helping launch – they foster a local economy rooted in fairness and care. But their support doesn’t stop there. They also collaborate with other community-driven and social enterprises. One inspiring example is the Cherry Orchard Community Garden and during this talk, they will share more about their common mission and their ongoing partnership.
Together, they show how food can be a tool for connection, sustainability, and community well-being.
OUR GUEST SPEAKERS
Originally from Sardinia in Italy and currently the Manager of the Dublin Food Co-Op, ANNA RITA MELE‘s connection to the Co-Op began in 2008. Like many, she was looking for a way to shop affordably without compromising on quality or ethics.
PEADAR LYNCH is an experienced horticulturalist and beekeeper with previous experience delivering community based horticulture training. Since 2019 he has worked as Manager of the Cherry Orchard Community Garden, an award winning social enterprise managed by the Liffey Partnership.
You can check out more details here
BIODIVERSITY WEEK
ONLINE TALK
“Challenges in Beekeeping: From Tree to Hive”
Tues 20 May 2025 – 19:00 (Irish time)
By Zoom (log-on details will be issued nearer the time to those who register)
Today (20 May 2025) is World Bee Day and our talk will focus on the development of accommodation for honey bees and associated issues.
OUR GUEST SPEAKER
PADDY HOLOHAN started beekeeping about 40 years ago as a hobby, joining the Carlow Beekeepers’ Association when it reformed about 20 years ago.
The group puts on monthly lectures and runs introductory courses for people starting beekeeping. We have an apiary where we provide hands-on experience to new members. Members act as mentors to novice beekeepers until they get up to speed, as well as giving talks in schools and on World Bee Day in the Carlow Farmers’ Market.
You can check out more details here
BIODIVERSITY WEEK
Kingfisher Project
“Biodiversity Session”
Sun 18 May 2025 – 05:00 to 07:00 (Irish time)
NOTE that the Kingfisher Project will close to the public at 7:00am on Sun 18 May 2025
VENUE
Blarney Park Allotments, Kimmage, Dublin, D12 W8C8.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no need to book for this event – you can just turn up.
The Kingfisher Project, in collaboration with Harold’s Cross Village Community Council, Dublin City Council and Green Foundation Ireland, is holding this Biodiversity Session which will include bat watching, dawn chorus from our feathered friends, and moth discovery and identification.
ABOUT THE KINGFISHER PROJECT
The Kingfisher Project is repurposing and transforming public lands at Blarney Park Allotments on the banks of the River Poddle at Kimmage in Dublin into a community knowledge, awareness and educational resource to address our relationship with the natural world and to build community capacity and resilience to cope with the consequences of human induced climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
The Kingfisher Project is a catalyst for attitudinal, behavioural and consumption pattern change that centres on enriching individual households and the urban environment through knowledge, awareness and interaction with nature and the community action it inspires.
You can check out more details here
BIODIVERSITY WEEK
Kingfisher Project
Open Day, including “Showcasing the Pixel Gardens”
Sat 17 May 2025 – 10:00 to 14:00 (Irish time)
VENUE
Blarney Park Allotments, Kimmage, Dublin, D12 W8C8.
PLEASE NOTE: There is no need to book for this event – you can just turn up.
The Kingfisher Project, in collaboration with Harold’s Cross Village Community Council, Dublin City Council and Green Foundation Ireland, is holding this Open Day where you can discover more about the Kingfisher Project and about what we can do to help bring nature back into our towns and cities.
ABOUT THE KINGFISHER PROJECT
The Kingfisher Project is repurposing and transforming public lands at Blarney Park Allotments on the banks of the River Poddle at Kimmage in Dublin into a community knowledge, awareness and educational resource to address our relationship with the natural world and to build community capacity and resilience to cope with the consequences of human induced climate change and the loss of biodiversity.
The Kingfisher Project is also involved in the Pixel Gardens Initiative, which encourages and supports the individual household to transform their domestic garden and space for climate action, biodiversity and food security.
You can check out more details here
BIODIVERSITY WEEK
IN-PERSON TALK
“Make Your Home a Nature Reserve”
Fri 16 May 2025 – 19:00 (Irish time)
VENUE
Foxrock Parish Pastoral Centre, Kill Lane, Foxrock, Dublin, D18 V304.
Our talk will explore the individual animals, how they think and what they need to flourish – including what individuals can do in the home and in their community to encourage wildlife.
OUR GUEST SPEAKER
Chair of Green Foundation Ireland, DONNA MULLEN is a farmer, consultant ecologist, and director of Wildlife Surveys Ireland, with an award-winning farm, awards and placements which include the RDS Sustainable Enterprise Award, the EU Rural Inspiration Award, and the Ellison Award. Donna has a keen interest in environmental law and co-ordinates the campaign to have the environment protected under the Irish Constitution. She lives on a farm nature reserve in County Meath with her husband, four children, and an assortment of animals.
You can check out more details here
UPDATES:
CLIMATE CHANGE PODCAST SERIES
Code Red
Code Red is a climate change podcast from the Centre for Climate and Society at Dublin City University. The Code Red series looks at how the worlds of policy, politics, the media, the arts, and other sectors have responded to climate breakdown and biodiversity loss. Code Red features an interesting and diverse mix of guests from academia, policy, the cultural industries and civil society.
HONORARY FREEDOM OF THE CITY OF DUBLIN
Awarded to: Duncan Stewart and Greta Thunberg
On 21 June 2023, two environmental activists – DUNCAN STEWART and GRETA THUNBERG – were awarded the Honorary Freedom of the City of Dublin, the highest honour that can be bestowed by Dublin City.
Duncan, Patron of Green Foundation Ireland, has been a leading Irish advocate for environmental issues for over 40 years. A champion for environmental issues, sustainable energy and architectural conservation since his student days, for the past two decades Duncan has also been a popular television personality in Ireland. Duncan’s Eco Eye series was driven by his interests in the protection of Ireland’s environment and enhancement of biodiversity. It was Ireland’s longest running environmental series and one of the most popular shows on Irish television – there were twenty-one series in total and all available episodes can be found on our website, courtesy of Duncan.
Greta, from Sweden, is the world’s most prominent global climate campaigner of our time. She has worked to address the problem of climate change and, at the age of 15 in 2018, founded the movement known as Fridays for Future (also called School Strike for Climate), which gained worldwide attention and inspired school students across the globe to participate.
You can view our video here
CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY ON BIODIVERSITY LOSS
Submission by Green Foundation Ireland
In September 2022 Green Foundation Ireland made a submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on the topic “How the State can improve its response to the issue of biodiversity loss”.
The Citizens’ Assembly is a body comprising the Chairperson and 99 citizens, randomly selected to be broadly representative of the Irish electorate, established to consider some of the most important issues facing Ireland’s future.
We would like to thank COLIN STAFFORD-JOHNSON and FIONN KEELEY for allowing us to use their videos as part of our submission.
You can read our submission here
WHAT WE DO
Green Foundation Ireland hosts seminars, workshops and conferences to demonstrate how practical action can create systems change in both education for sustainability, and work towards a green economy and society.
We work on local and Island of Ireland projects and with partners in Scotland, England and Wales, and the European mainland.
RESOURCES FOR ECOLOGICAL EDUCATION
In association with Green European Foundation, GFI publishes eco literature, both online and hardcopy, and circulates the European Green Journal. All available episodes of the Eco Eye programmes, hosted by GFI’s Patron Duncan Stewart, are available courtesy of Duncan.
All of the above can be found in the Resources Section of our website.
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VALUES AND VISION
GFI has a vision of ecology that values the life of all creatures on our planetary home and is embodied in practical action for a sustainable life for all.
We encourage participation by people and communities in finding practical local responses to intractable problems.
We tell stories of resilience and change in the face of adversity, based on good science and community action.
MEMBERSHIPS and AFFILIATIONS
GFI is a member of the Irish Environmental Network – www.ien.ie
GFI is a member of the Environmental Pillar – www.environmentalpillar.ie
GFI is affiliated to the Green European Foundation – www.gef.eu
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
GFI thanks the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications for the funding it receives through the Irish Environmental Network.
GFI also acknowledges the support of the European Parliament through funding for projects agreed with Green European Foundation.
