Inishowen Rivers Trust delighted with the increase in people attending events 

The Inishowen Rivers Trust has been busy this summer with nine nature events between July and September, funded by the Heritage Council, LAWPRO and Donegal County Council.

Central to the events has been the Trust’s Green Guardians Biodiversity Training Initiative, a series of six events aimed at engaging people from all walks of life in exploring biodiversity in our local environment.  

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This project has been supported with funding from The Heritage Council and to date has been a great success with participants. 

Three events ran in July covering pollinators, soil biodiversity and marine life.  

“Amazingly we had a wild bee swarm arrive during the pollinator event,”  the charity said.

The most recent event Exploring the Web of Life on Trawbreaga Bay with Aengus Kennedy happened during Heritage Week.  Another event with Aengus Kennedy of NatureNorthWest was supported by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) and was a wonderful walk and talk on the coast near Tullagh Bay.  

More than 60 people took part in the two events during Heritage Week. Both events drew a wonderful mix of young and old, with many families taking part. 

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Trustee Rosemarie Doherty explained: “The Green Guardians activities have been designed to help people of all ages learn more about the rich natural heritage of Inishowen. We’ve been delighted by the level of participation this week, and to see the increasing interest in nature activities.  

“A highlight came when children proudly brought feathers and other small treasures they had found to Aengus, eager to discover what they were. Moments like this capture the heart of what the Trust hopes to achieve — nurturing a love of nature and encouraging the next generation to care about our rivers, wildlife and environment.”

The final two Green Guardians events will take place on Saturday, September 13 featuring Farming for Water Community Animator John Doherty where he explores how we can take action for nature.  

The final event with Aengus Kennedy exploring birds at Inch Wildfowl Reserve on Saturday, September 20. 

There are many ways to inspire people to get involved in nature and the Inishowen Rivers Trust said it is delighted to have been awarded funding under the Donegal Culture & Creativity Project Awards Scheme 2025. 

Two events known as Riverside Reflections will take place at the end of August - Saturday, August 30 in Moville and Sunday, August 31 in Clonmany. 

The Saturday event will be for children and feature artist Brendan Farren. The Sunday event will be led by Rosemarie Doherty with special guests Clonmany Genealogy Group aiming to capture your stories and memories of the Clonmany River.  These events are funded by Donegal County Council, Creative Ireland and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media and booking is free on Eventbrite.  

Information on the Inishowen Rivers Trust can be found on the website www.inishowenriverstrust.com.