Biodiversity Week 2014
This Saturday the 17th May signals the beginning of Biodiversity Week, a nationwide event aimed at celebrating Ireland’s wonderful natural heritage. As Kerry has got Ireland’s highest peaks, Ireland’s largest and most popular national park and miles of gorgeous coastline it’s no surprise that there’s absolutely loads going on in the Kingdom to celebrate the week. Best of all all the events held are totally free and open to all members of the public. So let’s check out what Biodiversity Week in Kerry has to offer.
As you’d expect, there’s plenty going in Killarney for this event. It kicks off on Saturday with a Family Nature Fun Day. This is being held in conjunction with Killarney National Park Education Centre and starts at 10am at the centre’s headquarters at Knockreer House in Killarney National Park. Knockreer House is located at the entrance to the Demesne which is just across the road from St Mary’s Cathedral. The fun day is described as a “variety of ecology based activities for 5 to 12 year olds and their parents.” It’s free as always but you will have to book your place before Saturday morning as places are limited. You can do that by ringing 064 6635960 or emailing knpeducationcentre@eircom.net. The fun day will run until 2.30pm and you are advised to bring wellingtons and a packed lunch.
As well as the family fun day, on Sunday morning there is a chance for all you budding photographers to learn from the best and get some stunning snaps of Killarney National Park. Nature Through Your Camera, which is being led by popular local photographer Valerie O’Sullivan, is an opportunity to capture Killarney at its most beautiful. The three hour walk begins at 10am and Valerie will be giving tips on how to get the best nature pictures and where to get the best nature picture in Killarney National Park. Booking is essential again and you can do that by ringing 066 7183521 or emailing cathy.fisher@kerrycoco.ie. Suitable outdoor clothes and, obviously, a camera are recommended.
There’s loads more going on up and down the county if you feel like travelling. For instance, down in picturesque Derrynane in South Kerry (Famous for being the birthplace of Daniel O’Connell), the Derrynane Historic Par are taking part in the BioBlitz competition. They’ll be competing against three other sites around the country in Antrim, Dublin and Galway in a test to see how many species can be recorded in a 24-hour biological survey. It’s on the 23rd and 24th of July and they’re looking for volunteers to help out so if you’re interested in that you can check out http://bioblitz.biodiversityireland.ie/. And if you’d like to see all of the events happening in Kerry for Biodiversity Week you can check out http://www.kerrycoco.ie/en/allservices/biodiversityweek2014/thefile,9673,en.pdf .
