If this message is not displayed correctly, please click here.
Wexford County Council's Climate Action Logo, with tagline 'Our county, our opportunity, our future.'

July 2025 Newsletter 
Hi Everyone,

With its longer evenings and warmer days, Summer presents us with abundant opportunities to immerse ourselves in nature and enjoy it at its best. If you're staycationing in Ireland this Summer, 'The Grasslands Trail' booklet featured in this month's newsletter might be of particular interest to you. With 27 trails listed, there's sure to be a trail near you!      

In this month's newsletter, we bring you information on / details of:

 -  How Ireland's Native Irish Honey Bee is under threat; 
 -  LAWPRO Grants Scheme for Heritage Week 2025;
 -  'Waste Not, Want Not' - a community group food waste reduction toolkit;
 -  Teagasc Signpost Programme Climate Actions for July;    
 -  Updated version of 'The Grasslands Trail' booklet;
 -  Enniscorthy Climate Champions Competition makes national, regional & local news; 
 -  A final Call-Out for Volunteers for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann.
  
Have a lovely Summer everyone, and enjoy the craic in the run up to the Fleadh!   
The Climate Action Wexford Team. 

Warning! Native Irish Honey Bee under threat
Native Irish Honey Bee Society logo

Ireland is fortunate to still have pure populations of our own native honey bee, Apis mellifera mellifera. It is Ireland's only native honey bee but its genetic integrity is seriously threatened due to the imports of non-native honey bees. 

In fact, a recent paper confirmed the existence of a distinct and genetically diverse honey bee ecotype in Ireland. Recent correspondence from the Native Irish Honey Bee Society informs that "our native Irish Honey Bee is under increased threat from introgressive hybridisation* and needs to be protected or it will be lost, as has already happened in much of Europe".

*To read the article "Introgressive hybridisation puts the distinctive population of Apis mellifera mellifera in Ireland at risk: evidence from a multidisciplinary approach", please click here.

To find out about the Native Irish Honey Bee Sociey, its Policy Statement on Biodiversity and more, please click here.

Local Authority Waters Programme opens
Grants Scheme for Heritage Week 2025
Closing Date: Friday, 24th July, 2025
Local Authority Waters Programme logo

The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) encourages community groups to apply under the ‘Water Heritage Day Grants Scheme 2025’ to celebrate
Water Heritage Day on Sunday, 24th August.

LAWPRO is a national shared service working on behalf of the 31 local authorities in Ireland coordinating efforts to achieve good water quality in rivers, lakes, estuaries, ground and coastal water.

Applications can be made via the following link https://submit.link/3T3

You are asked to contact your local Community Water Officer in advance of making an application. Their contact details are available at: Communities Team – Local Authority Water Programme (lawaters.ie). 

For further information, please click here

'Waste Not, Want Not' toolkit
  Support your Town/Village in developing a food waste reduction programme
Waste Not, Want Not toolkit logo

The aim of this toolkit is to support Community/Voluntary and Tidy Town groups in developing a food waste reduction programme for towns and villages.

Food waste is a major global issue, but communities always have the power to make a difference. This food waste reduction toolkit is designed to be used by community groups of all types who are keen to tackle this important environmental and social justice issue and to deepen their community’s connection to the land.

This toolkit was created after a 14 month farm-to-fork initiative in Clonakilty which brought together local businesses, farmers, schools, clubs, and community groups to reduce food waste and promote sustainability. The project, a collaboration between VOICE Ireland, Clonakilty Tidy Towns, and the Clonakilty Community Resource Centre delivered over 70 workshops, 6 festival collaborations, 6 pilot projects, 2 townwide business initiatives plus the launch of a brand-new Apple Festival.

Details of the 'Waste Not, Want Not' toolkit and further resources can be found on the Voice Ireland website at: https://www.voiceireland.org/wnwn/toolkit.  

Teagasc Signpost Programme
Climate Actions for July
Graphic image with details of farming climate actions for July

The Signpost Programme is a free programme available to all farmers. It builds on the network of Signpost demonstration farms by providing enhanced advisory and training support to farmers to help them to select and implement climate and sustainability actions that are appropriate and impactful on their farms.

Climate action related matters looked at in the Teagasc Signpost Programme June 2025 newsletter included articles on:

 -   practical climate actions for July (see above graphic)
 -   summer nitrogen usage, clover and slurry
 -   EPA projections show how Ireland is off track for 2030 Climate Targets

To access the June edition, and previous issues, of the newsletter, please click here 

To subscribe to the Teagasc Signpost Programme newsletter, please click here

'The Grasslands Trail'
Showcasing some Great Irish Grasslands
Cover of The Grasslands Trail booklet

In collaboration with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the National Biodiversity Data Centre recently launched an updated version of the 'Grasslands Trail' booklet. 

The 'Grasslands Trail' is a network of public and private grasslands spread across the island of Ireland.
All of these sites are managed sensitively, with nature conservation and grassland diversity in mind.
The updated booklet expands the number of trail sites from 9 to 27, and includes a new section featuring farmland sites.
To access the booklet, please click here

Enniscorthy Climate Champions Competition makes national, regional & local news 
Image of man with Enniscorthy Community Allotments in the background

Mr. Michael Devereux, Chairperson,
Enniscorthy Community Allotments (Overall Winners)
Image of Enniscorthy Community Allotments

We are delighted that the Enniscorthy Climate Champions Competition, hosted earlier this year by Wexford County Council and supported by Global Action Plan in partnership with Ducky, recently featured in media outlets at national, regional and local level.

This level of press attention had a two-fold benefit in that it helped raise public consciousness of climate change; and was a reminder to us all how small but mindful climate actions taken on a daily basis (as encouraged by the competition) can aid in mitigating its impact. 

The Irish Times' article by Sylvia Thompson provided details on the competition's background, and featured interviews with some of the competition's participants / winners.

To view the Irish Times article, please click here

Press coverage at local and regional level included articles in the following media outlets: 

 - Enniscorthy Guardian

 - South East Radio

Final Call out for Volunteers!
Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann needs you!
Poster displaying Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann volunteers.

A final call out to anyone interested in volunteering for Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann which comes back to Wexford from 3rd to 10th August this year!

Volunteering will be at the heart of the Fleadh Cheoil’s success, and volunteers will get to be at the heart of the action during the Fleadh.
 
Volunteers will be required for the following roles:
 -  Green Fleadh Duties 
 -  Events Stewarding
 -  Competitions Stewarding
 -  Street Ambassador Duties
 -  Information & Customer Service Booths

Volunteers:
 -  can advise when applying on what day(s) they are available
 -  can volunteer for as little as one shift
 -  will be provided with Health & Safety training before the Fleadh
 -  will be entitled to free travel on the Park & Rides
 -  will be provided with sandwiches and light refreshments on any day(s) they volunteer, and most importantly, will be in the centre of the buzz and craic during the Fleadh!

Please visit https://fleadhcheoil.ie/volunteering for further information and access to the volunteer portal.

For any queries, please contact: volunteer@wexfordcoco.ie or volunteers@fleadhcheoil.ie.

Until next time, keep safe, well
& climate aware! ⛅
X handle Facebook Company Name Instagram Profile YouTube channel
If you don´t want to receive any more messages (to: unknown@noemail.com) any longer, you can unsubscribe free of charge at any time.
Wexford County Council
Frank Burke
County Hall
Y35 WY93 Carricklawn, Wexford
Ireland


climateaction@wexfordcoco.ie