GOVERNMENT funding for a number of important environmental projects in West Cork has been announced recently, including €89,450 for three separate projects by the Coomhola-based environmental group StreamScapes, near Bantry.
The company has its origins in the Coomhola Salmon Trust project, which was founded in 1989 by Paul Kearney and Mark Boyden at a small research facility along a tributary of the Coomhola River.
Initially, the project focused on producing native salmon stocking projects for rivers in the southwest of Ireland, supporting salmon reintroduction efforts to the river Rhine, and conducting freshwater pearl mussel captive breeding research.
StreamScapes, an independent company, was formed in 2013 from this foundation. Recently, the trust received a €34,200 grant from the Heritage Council, which will enable them to employ a part-time communications officer.
Maggie McColgan, CEO of StreamScapes, explained there is ‘a big push to increase our presence on social media and to create digital content and different online learning tools so we can reach a wider community.’
Another grant of €30,000 from the National Parks and Wildlife service’s peatland and natura community engagement scheme will be used for what is known as a ‘deep mapping’ of the Kenmare River special area of conservation which includes parts of the Beara Peninsula.
The third tranche of funding, a sum of €25,250, comes courtesy of the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and will be used to launch what is known as a ‘Blue Dot’ community engagement initiative.
Maggie explained that the Blue Dot project has identified Ireland’s most ecologically valuable bodies of water, the majority of which are in the southwest region.
StreamScapes will be using this funding to employ a coordinator on a part-time basis to work with local groups, host educational events and build conservation partnerships across the region.
This will be done through a mix of workshops, field trips, and citizen science activities to build environmental awareness and help local communities to play an active role in freshwater conservation.
Ultimately, Maggie said they will be working to build local knowledge to the extent that locals will be able to test water samples, know how to restore habitats, and work to ensure pollutants and contaminants do not enter the water table. As part of the mapping project there will be community workshops and interviews with residents in towns and villages including Ardgroom, Eyeries and Allihies, as well as Kenmare, Tuosist, Sneem and Caherdaniel in County Kerry.
Maggie told The Southern Star that they were delighted with the news: ‘We are incredibly grateful to have been awarded funding for three different initiatives recently, each supporting a different aspect of our work.
‘Each of these is really exciting for us and deeply aligned with our mission of community-based environmental education and conservation.’
StreamScapes, a limited company, works to deliver nature-based education as well as doing outreach work with local schools and community groups, but it also has a national remit in helping to shape the government’s environmental policy.
They also work with families and individuals, teaching them the importance of good water stewardship. Over the years, thousands of participants across Ireland, both north and south, have taken part in hands-on field experiences and compelling lessons.
