Update and links from Coast Watch Ireland

Dear Coastwatchers , After all your great survey work here’s an outline of the plans ahead and an invite attached which those of you on social media may have seen already. DECEMBER 2021 Wed 15th Dec: Seagrass blue carbon Fri 17th Dec: Overall survey result high and low lights press launch with minister. JANUARY 2022 Zoom in first 10 days, date tbc. Coastwatch results discussion and planning 2022. Let us know if interested to participate and if weekend, evening or day time suits best. Wed 2nd Feb: World Wetlands Day – Seagrass workshop II And on weekends either side, wetland events where we would love your ideas and possible lead. More detail on our events: Wed 15th December 3.30 to 5.50 pm – the first of two seagrass workshops. Seagrass found in the autumn survey and data collected through our Seagrass campaign will be shared and celebrated. We are delighted to also have Dr. Robert Wilkes with us to set out latest official EPA monitoring and legislation. Coastwatchers will present case studies on select areas and then we all join to draft recommendations for the protection and management of these key blue carbon habitats which are also so important for biodiversity. These aren’t recommendations to sit on shelves but to be implemented. There is an urgent need for full protection of our blue carbon habitats and there is an opportunity to get achieve this with proper management as the new coastal planning regime is being rolled out by government. Conor Mc Cabe the head of the Marine Spatial Planning unit in the Dept hopes to join us. So please register below and tell anyone else interested in seagrass &/or wider coastal biodiversity and climate change action. The second seagrass workshop will be on World Wetlands Day 2.2.2022 and hopefully by then we can meet in real life in TCD and have a short field trip to a Ramsar site with seagrass and issues to be resolved. On Friday 17th Dec 2021 at 11 am the Coastwatch survey high and low lights will be presented to Minister Darragh O Brien in Malahide. Due to COVID it’s a mini delegation who will meet him at the press launch which we will video and send out to all. The results high and low lights will also be put up on our website. We then plan a results zoom in early January to look at what you found in more detail and see how to protect what is good and tackle what isn’t. If we don’t meet on zoom or otherwise just a big big thank you again for your survey and other work and a very happy Christmas from all the team. Very best, Karin Event Logo