European wetland restoration practitioners to visit Laois

Abbeyleix town will be the hub for a Natural Climate Buffer study tour that will take place during the last week of this month. Up to 20 wetland conservation and restoration practitioners from across Europe will be staying in Abbeyleix from Sunday, 26 September until Wednesday, 29 September 2021. They will be joined by Irish wetland and peatlands experts, representing NGOs, community groups, government agencies, consultants, and academic institutions.

The study tour includes a visit to active wetland and peatland restoration sites during the first two days. These sites are Cabragh Wetlands (Thurles, Co Tipperary), Scohaboy Bog (Cloughjordan, Co Tipperary), Clara Bog (Co Offaly) and Abbeyleix Bog (Co Laois). On Wednesday morning the participants will take part in a facilitated workshop to reflect on lessons learnt from the site visits. They will also discuss how wetlands, as nature-based solutions for climate action, can be promoted and actively acted upon.

The study tour is an initiative of the Eurosite Wetlands and Climate Change working group, and hosted this year by the Community Wetlands Forum, Ireland.

Eurosite – The European Land Conservation Network – provide networking, capacity building, training, information, advocacy, and awareness raising services for conservation practitioners all over Europe.

The study tour is supported by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage of the Government of Ireland and the Environmental Protection Agency, and made possible with the financial support of the European Union.