Do you know the different species of native trees, butterflies, bees, or bats or are you simply wondering what biodiversity means?
Whatever your level of knowledge, there really is something to grab everyone’s interest this Biodiversity Week.
Biodiversity is the term used to describe the variety of life on Earth. It is essential for sustaining the ecosystems that provide us with food, clean water, fuel, health, and other services we take for granted in our everyday life.
Biodiversity Week takes place until Sunday, May 26, and aims to engage the public in a range of nature-related activities, from bat walks to nature trails, tree identification events and much more.
Saturday, May 18, sees the opening of an exhibition of wildlife photography in the visitor centre in Belvedere. This exhibition showcases a selection of photographs taken by John McCauley around the county and will be on display until Sunday 26th May.
The Midlands Bat Group will lead two nocturnal Bat Walks during the week, one on the grounds of Belvedere House Gardens and Park on Tuesday, May 21 and the other in Dun na Sí Heritage Park Moate on Friday, May 24.
A workshop on barn owl conservation by Birdwatch Ireland’s Alan McCarthy will also take place in Moate on the Tuesday, May 21 (booking required for this event ).
On Sunday, May 26, NPWS Ranger Triona Finnen will lead a biodiversity nature trail in an area of Council land in Coolure Demense looking at the diversity of species including butterflies, bees, and moths.
For full details of what’s on across the county during Biodiversity Week check out https://biodiversityweek.ie/events-calendar/ or follow Westmeath Heritage on social media.
These initiatives are coordinated by the Irish Environmental Network, funded by the Local Biodiversity Action Fund from the National Parks and Wildlife Service, supported by Westmeath County Council and the Heritage Council’s Biodiversity Officer Network.
