The IEN members’ newsletter 1

Opportunities at Friends of the IrishEnvironment

PEAT GEOINFORMATICSSCOPING PROJECTFriends of the Irish Environment [FIE] are investigating the use ofremote sensing to monitor land use changes on Ireland’s peatlands inconjunction with the Department of Geography, University College Cork.

As part of this project FIE is seeking an individual who can

• prepare a register of existing Geoinformatics in Ireland that can beused for land use change monitoring.[e.g. national over-grazingGIS layers developed by the Central Fisheries Board (CFB), theForest Service FIPS, etc.]

• prepare a report of the potential sources of funding in Ireland andin the EU [including potential project partners] for the use ofGeoinformatics to monitor land use changes on peat soils.

To be completed by 31 December, 2009. 60 hours research at €28/hour.

The successful applicant should have a working knowledge of remotesensing systems. Experience in grant applications at the Europeanlevel would be an advantage.

Applications with CVs and proposed work plan to:

fieadmin@eircom.net

Last day for applications: Friday 16 October, 2009

Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application byFriday 23 October, 2009

Further details about the project can be accessed at:

http://friendsoftheirishenvironment.org/cmsfiles/files/library/peat_project_remote_sensing_09aug09.pdf

Issue 3. October 2009

Newsletter of the Irish Environmental Network

Consultation Callsupcoming consultation calls

NewsNew websites and ezines

Job Oppportunity

Vacancy for the Position of Manager

with The Irish Seed Savers Association

National Community Food Network Andy Hallewell, The Organic CentreHighlights the work of the The National Community Food Network

BirdWatch Irelandhas a new ezine BirdWatch Ireland has launched a new e-zine which

will provide monthly updates on its work. If you are

interested in receiving this, please sign up at

www.birdwatch.ie.

The first issue provides an update on BirdWatch

Ireland’s marine

advocacy work

and its breeding

wader conserva-

tion project.

Provision of Ecosystemservices through theEnvironmental StewardshipSchemeThe Hedgelaying Association of Ireland recently attended theHedgerow Biodiversity Action Plan conference, held in Birmingham,UK. Funding for attendance was sourced from IEN.

IEN members may be interested in a study which was circulated at the

conference. ‘Provision of Ecosystem services through the Environmental

Stewardship Scheme’. The UK study, undertaken by Land Use Consultants

(LUC) in association with GHK Consulting (GHK) has reviewed the

ecosystem services currently provided, or with the potential to be provided,

through Environmental Stewardship (ES), Defra’s flagship agri-environment

scheme. Specifically it has investigated:

• Which ecosystem services are potentially provided by ES, following theMillennium Ecosystem Assessment framework;

• The potential quantity of this service provision, based on an analysis ofthe uptake of each of the ES options;

• The degree to which this service provision can be monitored; and

• How to value the benefits provided by these services.

The full study can be downloaded fromhttp://www.hedgelaying.ie/images/1253357089.pdf

New website forJust Forests Just Forests has

relaunched its website

www.justforests.org.

The site's interactive

features include a mail-

ing list sign-up and the

facility to donate to the

organisation.

National Community Food Network Submitted by Andy Hallewell, Joint Manager,

The Organic Centre

The National Community Food Network has grownout of the desire to pull together information on allthe community food initiatives around Ireland. Thehope is that the websitewww.irishcommunityfoodgrowing.org will be usedby groups to list their gardens, allotments and foodinitiatives and exchange ideas and information ongrowing, funding and available land. continued >>

The first day-long national meeting was held in October 2008at the Cultivate Centre, in Dublin, convened and facilitated bySuzie Cahn of Carraig Dúlra organic centre in Wicklow. It waswell attended by people from North and South with constructivediscussions and some basic principals agreed for the functionand use of a national network.

It was agreed to meet at least twice a year and possibly moreoften. The priorities were to continue to develop regionalgroups, to share information, to work on developing a websiteto bring together the regional websites with a mapping featureand searchable database. A more long-term plan was tocoordinate effective lobbying of the Government for land forlocal food growing.

The second national network meeting was held in February2009 at Filmbase in Dublin and was attended by SenatorDeidre Deburca who offered help to progress the draft nationalpolicy document on community food initiatives, being preparedby the Soul Food Group – young climate advocates of theChallenge Europe programme. The first phase of the websitewas developed by the Soul Food group with limited funds. TheOrganic Centre of Rossinver, Co. Leitrim agreed to continue onfrom the Soul Food Group to be a hub for gathering togetherinformation and developing the website further, subject tofunding being available.

There are currently plans for a national conference inSeptember 2009. The aim of the conference is to continue worktowards coordinating the supports available for food growersand create better linkage with each other and with nationalagencies.

Anyone who would like to include their community garden orallotment on the network website should log ontowww.irishcommunityfoodgrowing.org and add their details.

Opportunities at IrishSeed Savers Association

ManagerWanted

Vacancy for thePosition ofManager withThe Irish SeedSaversAssociation

The Irish Seed Savers Association (ISSA) is an environmentalorganisation dedicated to the location, preservation and ulilisationof traditional varieties of fruit, vegetables and grains.

Applications are invited for the position of manager. This is a fulltime post. The successful applicant will be responsible for the dayto day running of this NGO with a staff of 16 and reporting to theboard of directors. He/she will be involved with administration, HR,accounting and finance and the promotion of ISSA.

An interest in environmental/ heritage/horticultural issues would bea distinct advantage.

Closing date for applications 16.10.2009

Email CV to: tommyhaye@gmail.com

Hard copy to: Tommy Hayes(Chair) ISSA, Capparoe, Scariff, CoClare

The IEN members’ newsletter 5

EnvironmentalEZine launchedIrish Environment is a new electronicmagazine which aims to serve as anonline resource for environmentalmatters on the island of Ireland. Materialfor the magazine will come from sourcesin the Republic of Ireland, NorthernIreland, the United Kingdom, theEuropean Union, and the United States.

It will feature news, articles, reports, andan iePEDIA - an environmentalencyclopedia, podcasts, videos and RSSfeeds.

ie/irishenvironment is intended to be acolloborative effort and submissions byanyone interested in environmentalmatters are encouraged.

If you would like to have an event,program, or school/college project listed,please contact the publisher:publisher@irishenvironment.com

ie/irishenvironment is published by BlueStacks Productions, Inc., a New Yorkbusiness, with a principal place ofbusiness at: 41 East 28th Street, # 3B,New York, New York 10016 and an officeat Cornaveigh, Barnesmore, CountyDonegal, Ireland.

www.irishenvironment.com

Consultation callsThere are a number of consultation calls that will be of interest to IEN members.

Draft Irish Standard for Forest Management CertificationAvatarDeadline: October 23, 2009, 5:00 pm

FSC Ireland presents a new Draft Irish Standard for Forest Management Certification for publicconsultation.

This Standard interprets the core set of the international Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)Principles and Criteria to describe how forests have to be managed within Ireland to meet thesocial, economic and ecological needs of present and future generations. Between now and the23rd October 2009 anyone with an interest in Irish forestry and/or responsible forest managementis invited to examine the Draft Standard and submit their comments. The Draft Standard will berevised following consideration of these comments, before approval from the FSC International issought. The Draft Standard document can be viewed and downloaded athttp://www.irishforestcertification.com

Draft Waste Management (Food Waste) Regulation 2009Public ConsultationDeadline: October 14, 2009, 5:30 pm

Before finalising the draft regulations, comments are invited from stakeholders and other interestedparties. Comments on the draft regulations should be forwarded to4A96BC12.9C73.002B.0@environ.ie

Please note that all comments submitted to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and LocalGovernment for this purpose are subject to release under the Freedom of Information Acts 1997and 2003.

The deadline for the receipt of submissions and comments is 5:30 p.m. on Wednesday, 14 October2009.

Events at a Glance

Until Oct 16 Wood of Life Exhibition.

Castlecoole Centre, EnniskillenHosted by The National Trust,Northern Ireland

Oct 8. Th Climate Change: EffectiveCommunicationA day-long course that will help youmaster the skills and techniquesrequired to communicate the issue ofclimate change in a wide variety ofcontexts.Location: Carmichael Centre, NorthBrunswick Street, Dublin 2www.talkaction.org

Oct 9. Fri Facilitation TrainingA day long course that will help youmaster tools and techniques to makeyour facilitation engaging andproductive.Contact us at matt@talkaction.org oron (00 44) 207 324 4774.

Location: Carmichael Centre, NorthBrunswick Streetwww.talkaction.org

Oct 20. Tu IEN Showcase IEN members showcase their work andmeet with politiciansMansion House (Oak Room), Dublin

Nov 17 Conference: Climate Proofing EUStructural and Cohesion Funds

Friends of the Earth Europe and CEEBankwatch Network are organising aone-day conference “Climate ProofingEU Structural and Cohesion Funds”which will take place on November 17,2009 in the European Parliament inBrussels*.

To register online visit:http://www.bankwatch.org/meetings/climate_proofing_eufunds/registration.shtml.