THE first steps to creating a biodiversity plan for Cape Clear are underway thanks to a funding boost of €9.000, as the voluntary group Tograí Chléire have received funding to carry out extensive mapping of habitats on the island, with a focus on bogland and also to increase wider community awareness.
Committee member Mary O’Driscoll explained how the group was set up in 2021 but has only recently received charitable status.
‘Our ethos is all about sustainability, biodiversity, culture and heritage,’ she said.
‘We are working on a biodiversity plan and the first step will be to map three areas on the island. They have been selected and are on the edge of a special area of conservation so it’s very exciting. We have two local ecologists ready to start the mapping and the idea is to preserve our unique heritage,’ she said, explaining that ‘tograí’ is the Irish for ‘projects.’
The group are also hosting their first biodiversity conference, on the island on April 12th.
Among the other groups to receive funding to develop and implement local action plans is Macroom Tidy Towns, who got a sum of €5,000 to work with an ecologist for a wildlife mapping of the town and the development of a biodiversity action plan.
The plans are being supported under a long-standing partnership between Community Foundation Ireland and its philanthropists, with the National Parks and Wildlife Service. Under the partnership, communities in Cork and across the country are provided access to expert ecologists to decide the best ways to protect or promote wildlife.
Local TD Christopher O’Sullivan said the ‘is a great example of how we can empower and support community organisations to learn about their local biodiversity and use that knowledge along with their creativity to come up with a plan which is unique to their area.’
‘I’m really impressed with the range of projects involved and excited to see the outcomes of their work,’ he added.
