This article is from page 36 of the 2007-05-29 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 36 JPG
WEST Clare was the last stop for events on Saturday as Clare Biodi- versity Week came to a successful end with a walking tour of the Van- deleur Gardens in Kilrush.
Members of the West Clare Wild- life Club were instrumental in or- ganising the inaugural awareness and activity week which involved a variety of events all over the county.
One of the founders of the wild- life club, National Parks and Wild- life Service (NPWS) ranger Barry O’Donoghue, led a walk around Loop Head on Tuesday, May 23.
“It was a lovely evening with beau- tiful scenery, moody seas and a va- riety of wildlife on display such as
gannets, chough and dolphins. The club supplied binoculars to all the walkers and everyone really enjoyed it.”
The woodland walk and talk later in the week focused on flora and fauna, with moth traps set the night before to put moths and butterflies on display. Other events included Dr Simon Berrow, one of the founders of Clare Biodiversity Group and the wildlife club explained what Biodi- versity Week was all about.
“The week gives everyone a chance to enjoy and explore the glorious wildlife and wild places of Clare. The county has everything from lakes in east Clare to the Burren in north Clare. Biodiversity is the vari- ety of life on our planet. We are hop-
ing that the week becomes an annual event. Last year, there was a day but the weather can be unpredictable so spreading the events out is a good idea.”
The West Clare Wildlife Club runs all year round and is now preparing for its Summer outings.
“We started it up last winter and arranged different guests speakers, both with local knowledge or broad- er interests. Generally, we have a talk once a month on the last Thurs- day and a trip out on the Sunday after to see what we spoke about. We have 80 members and usually get 30 on average at events,” said Dr Berrow.
The summer programme is now in motion with a trip to Scattery Island as one possible event.
When the winter programme be- gins in September, some of the lec- ture subjects will include underwa- ter marine life with John Flynn and diving with Robert Tweedy. One of Ireland’s foremost wildlife and land- scape photographers, Mike Brown, will also pay a visit to the headquar- ters of the Shannon Dolphin and Wildlife Foundation in Merchant’s Quay, Kilrush where the 8pm talks ANKoM IO
“Clare has led the way for biodiver- sity in Ireland and we will continue working to maintain that enthusi- asm,’ he added.
For more information on the West Clare Wildlife Club, membership and club events, log on to www. WCWC.1E.