Plenty of family events to enjoy in Cork during Biodiversity Week

An opportunity to go on a dawn stroll to hear the song of local birds will bring a musical note to National Biodiversity Week in Cork on Sunday.

Bird and Breakfast is one of a number of events running in the coming days for the whole family to enjoy.

The annual celebration of nature and wildlife runs from today to May 25 and is being organised by the Irish Environmental Network and funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The aim is to provide opportunities for the public to connect with nature and learn from local NPWS staff working to protect the country’s natural heritage.

The Bird and Breakfast event on Sunday morning sees conservation ranger Jay Cornish leading a “relaxed early morning walk to hear the call and song of local birds in the woodland dawn chorus followed by the chance to cook your own breakfast bap over a fire pit”.

The event takes place in Glengarriff Nature Reserve and your place on it has to be booked in advance.

Explore

Later that day, a group of Junior Rangers will accompany Jay to explore the woodlands, identify tree species, discover bugs, and spot birds and mammals around the nature reserve.

An NPWS bio-blitz event at Kilkeran Lake and Castlefreke Dunes on Monday and Tuesday — one of 50 such events to take place in special areas of conservation (SACs) in locations around Europe — offers opportunities for people of all ages to learn more about the biodiversity.

The aim is to identify as many species as possible, from the smallest bugs to the largest mammals, across a variety of habitats from sand dunes to sea, coastal lagoons, reed beds, and woodlands. A conservation ranger will also be leading a walk — as Gaeilge — through St Gobnait’s Wood in Baile Mhúirne and a walk and talk will also take place on the Marina Greenway in Cork city and at other nature spots around the county.

Nature, heritage and electoral reform Minister Malcolm Noonan said it was “really encouraging to see the range of events” happening.

“Our biodiversity is in crisis, but I do believe that we are at a turning point. Everyone needs to play a part if we are to turn the tide, and that’s why these events are so important," said Mr Noonan.

NPWS director general Niall Ó Donnchú said that we were “in our nature overdraft” and added that each positive effort for nature was “an investment in its return to a positive balance”.

A full listing of Biodiversity Week events can be found at https://biodiversityweek.ie.