Talks about East Waterford

A Sense of Place.....Both the Waterford People (p16) and the Munster Express (p14) advertise the forthcoming talks about East Waterford running on Tuesday evenings at the Tramore Coastguard station. Next up is Bernadette Guest on Ornithological Waterford. Full listing also on the Waterford County Council website.
Some familiar faces can be seen in the picture with the caption: Range of Events mark European Mobility Week. The IWT organised Cycle gained prominence.(Waterford people p19).
For updated information on the Waterford City Bypass, there is a full page spread in the Waterford People. Also check out the City Council website.
Are you interested in Graveyards? On October 29th in Dungarvan, there is a Seminar on the topic of conservation and recording of Graveyards. At first glance, this might seem of little interest but they may areas of natural biodiversity. Full details on the County Council website.

Give it a Swirl Day

Some pictures featuring pupils from
Newtown School, Waterford with
Andrew Fleming from IWT HQ
removing sycamore and gorse from
Fenor Bog as part of Give it a Swirl
Day.

More on KRM and Green routes

This weeks newspapers deal with the ongoing plans for city development put forward by KRM.
There is an interesting outburst by Councillor Mary Roche as she calls on WCTU executive to resign over their objections to the latest KRM plans. (p20, Munster Express)...also, Appellants still standing firmly against KRM plans in latest submissions (p19, Waterford Today).

Green Route plans are not cast in stone...works can always be undone. (p9, Waterford, News and Star)...draft plans for the Quays route will be on display in Bishop's Palace from 26th September to 7th October. The full Notice for Proposed development is on B11 of the Munster Express.
The Councillors not all that keen on Green Route Plan. (The People, p13)

Tesco Tramore to become first ecostore (p17, WN and S)...it will be interesting to see how they will reduce the carbon footprint!

What is a Dead Zone?

Councillors vent fury at 'dead zone' report. This is the caption used in an article that appears in this weeks Munster Express and refers to Dungarvan harbour.

Marine dead zones are areas of seawater that have become depleted of oxygen. Dead Zones are a global problem mainly caused by algal blooms fed by increased nutrients entering the oceans from agricultural fertilizers and sewage.

The worrying fact is that the Barrow, Suir and Blackwater estuaries are all included. the Colligan river also makes it into the 20 dead zones in Ireland.

For more information check out the website of Friends of the Irish Environment.

Wild Cycle in Waterford City

EU Mobility Week -Wild Cycle in Waterford City Sunday, Sept 21st From 16 to 22 September 2008, European cities and towns will have the opportunity to participate in the most widespread event on sustainable mobility, the European Mobility Week. It serves as an opportunity for participating cities to show how matters related to the environment concern them. Local authorities can present their urban centres in a different light and implement key actions aimed at encouraging the use of sustainable modes of transport and raising awareness on the environmental impacts of citizens modal choice. The theme of this year s European Mobility Week is Clean Air for All in order to highlight the effect that cars, etc can have on air pollution.

To mark the event, the Irish Wildlife Trust have organised a "WILD CYCLE" around some of the interesting nature areas of the city. All are welcome to particpate in this 7 km cycle from the Peoples Park on Sunday, September 21st led by Paul from Easy Wheelin Cycle Tours and members of the IWT. The cycle will begin at the Park at 1 pm, going to River Suir at Ballinakill, around the Outer Ring Rd. cycleway to Kilbarry Bog pNHA, and back to the park - approx 1 hour in total, including stops at the wildlife areas of interest along the way. Just turn up at the Park with your bike!

What is in a name?

This week sees two attacks on the rights of individuals and groups to object.
Developments on fringe of city went unchallenged (WNS p15): Greens, amateur green planners, greens, green people, concerns of small groups, democracy of one, one or two siren voices, Green Party.... some of the many terms used by the Phoenix in his editorial this week.
City Councillor urges serial objectors to see bigger picture in downturn (WT, p38): Hilary Quinlan who is chair of the SPC on Planning and economic development uses phrases such an unusually high number of often frivolous objections and appeals; a small minority of people; self appointed unelected unrepresentative planning watchdogs seeking to win long lost battles and score points for their own petty purposes whilst at the same time standing fully behind the provision allowing citizens input to the planning process,etc,etc.

We will need to keep an eye on potential development of Goughs Wood as:
Snowcream a victim of systematic stripping (ME, p1)
and No more Dairy for Waterford (WNS, p3).
Has anyone seen the new gate/fence on the riverwalk? Is this the start of the end or are the City Council about to begin work on the next phase of the walkway?

I have just returned from the 22nd annual conference of Caretakers of the Environment International held in Aalborg, Denmark. The theme was New energy and sustainability so I was interested in:
Solar: its the way to go (Views from the Brasscock byJPF in ME, p7) and Biomass boilers included in Greener Homes Scheme (ME, B6).
For more on the conference check out: //cei008.blogspot.com

For those of you with a camera: Blue Flag Beach Photo Competition 2008 (ME, B11)..take a snap of Clonea or Counsellor's in Dunmore before August 8th and email it to: pmurray@waterfordcoco.ie

Well done to all at Fenor: Conservators of Fenor Bog receive International (Dutch) accolade (WNS, p25)

Biodiversity Park on the Horizon

This weeks local newspapers are full of: Plans for Biodiversity Park in City progress with €4 million investment. (p4, Waterford Today, p21 Waterford News and Star and p1 Munster Express) The plan is to link up the Johns river from the Park all the way to the Ring road, taking in the pNHA of Kilbarry bog and the old landfill site.
Tramore road flooding to be resolved at last (p14, ME)...clear indications that damage must not be done to the pNHA by widening the road but that the road will be raised.

Further out in Tramore, there is an interesting aerial photograph with the caption: Tesco Tramore changes approved.

Waterford Bats get the once over from Michael O'Meara (p15, WT) which is timely given the objection currently being submitted by the IWT!

Nichola Beresford samples the delights of Taking the Train (p6,ME) and like me actually quite enjoys the experience and the relief of not taking the car into the Big Metropolis.