• Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) Community Water Development Fund 2026. This fund supports community groups to enhance the quality of local streams, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas.
• Trinity College Dublin/Dublin City University Community Workshop on Flooding and Mental Health.
• Heritage Council Heritage Stewardship Fund (HSF) and Heritage Organisations Support Fund (HOSF).
• "The Hare's Corner" Initiative - landowners can apply for support to create wildlife ponds, mini-woodlands, mini-orchards, ‘plans for nature’ or wildlife hedges on their land.
• Availability of Irish Heart Foundation digital assets to raise awareness of the health impacts of solid fuel burning.

The Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) Community Water Development Fund 2026 is now open for applications. This fund is provided by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and administered by LAWPRO. It supports community groups to enhance the quality of local streams, rivers, lakes, and coastal areas. 

Key Details:

Application Window: Currently open, closing date 11:30pn on 20th January 2026.

Funding Available (some changes have been introduced for 2026):

1. Minimum grant award of €5,000
2. Medium size €5,000 to €25,000
3. Maximum grant award of between €25,000 to €40,000 or more, subject to procurement.

Types of projects eligible for funding include:

• Awareness raising initiatives such as river clean ups, biodiversity information boards, citizen science workshops, outdoor classrooms, rainwater harvesting, and enhancement of wetlands.
• Preparation of local plans such as feasibility studies, habitat management plans, ecological surveys, and biodiversity action plans.
• River and habitat enhancement works such as planting of native species and hedgerow, pollinator friendly planting, river-bank stabilisation, fencing and riparian buffer zones.

How to Apply:

Applications can be made online via at www.lawaters.ie/cwdf

If you would like to discuss project ideas or need guidance with your application, groups across Carlow and Wexford are welcome to contact Mr. David Rafter, LAWPRO Community Water Officer at drafter@lawaters.ie

Information Webinar - Friday, 5th December, 2025:

A short information webinar for Community Groups takes place on Friday, 5th December, 2025 from 1.30pm to 2.15pm via Teams.
https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f7e2189d-3396-40a5-afc3-b619c2256679@2e4b31ae-b1ed-4fb8-a10d-f1b13a2c61e9

The webinar will be recorded, shared and placed on LAWPRO's webpage for those who cannot attend. Groups who have expressed interest in applying to the Fund are advised to view the webinar, as there will be a Q & A session for interested parties, as per the running order of the agenda below:

• Opening and Introduction
• CWDF Fund Presentation
• Q & A Session
• Close

                             

Kristin Hadfield, an associate professor in psychology and global health at Trinity College Dublin is working on a project for the EPA on climate change (and in particular, flooding) and its effects on mental health.

As part of this project, workshops are being held to understand residents' perspectives on the ways in which flooding has affected their mental health and what can be done to reduce the impacts.

A workshop is being held in Enniscorthy, details as follows:

Time:    2pm - 4pm  
Date:     6th December, 2025
Venue:  Templeshannon Community and Childcare Centre, Enniscorthy

This workshop will:

• Give a short, evidence-based overview of what we know about climate change, flooding, and mental health
• Focus mainly on residents’ experiences and views
• Gather practical suggestions for reducing the mental health impacts of flooding locally and nationally

 Why your input matters

Residents’ insights will be brought directly to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the HSE, and other policymakers who are actively exploring changes to better support communities. Your views will play a central role in shaping recommendations. The session  will be audio recorded to accurately capture your input.

Who should attend?
Anyone in Enniscorthy or nearby areas who has been affected by flooding or is concerned about its impacts.

If you have any questions on this woekshop email: Kristin.Hadfield@tcd.ie

Heritage Stewardship Fund

The Heritage Stewardship Fund, which provides financial support for staff in local authorities, state agencies and educational institutions with responsibility for heritage programmes, is now open for applications.
The scheme’s primary target is staff working in public sector organisations whose core remit may not be fully focused on heritage, but whose work has an impact on heritage.

This includes local authority-based museum curators, archivists, archaeologists, and architectural conservation officers. It also includes employees of state agencies and educational institutions proposing heritage focused projects.

Funding under the scheme covers third party supplier costs, purchase of specialised equipment and travel and subsistence costs for volunteers. Applicants can apply for funding between €5,000 and €30,000.

The variety of projects which secured funding in 2025 demonstrates the positive impact the scheme has across the heritage sector. Royal College of Surgeons, Crawford Art Gallery, City of Dublin Education and Training Board and Atlantic Technological University are among those whose projects benefited from funding in 2025. A full list of funded projects from last year is available below:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Heritage-Stewardship-Fund-2025.pdf

A full overview of eligibility criteria and other relevant details are available from the Heritage Council’s website below:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/funding/heritage-stewardship-scheme-2

The Heritage Council will host a grants information webinar at 14.30 on Friday the 5th of December 2025, with general application advice followed by a question and answers session. You can register for the webinar from the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_pt919HnURrWU1szzImkRzQ#/registration

The closing date for applications is Monday, 19th of January 2026 at 5pm, and applications must be made via the Heritage Council’s online grants management system:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/funding/on-line-grants-system

The webinar will be recorded and available on our website for viewing afterwards.

Heritage Organisation Support Fund

The Heritage Organisation Support Fund (HOSF), which provides financial support to not-for-profit NGOs working in the heritage sector, is now open for applications.

The Heritage Council scheme enables heritage-focused organisations to fund staff salaries, rent costs, the hiring of new staff, training and skills development and piloting new ways of working. The maximum amount available per organisation is €50,000.

The variety of applicants who successfully secured funding in 2025 demonstrates the positive impact the scheme has across the heritage spectrum. Organisations such as the Brian Friel Trust, the Institute of Archaeologists of Ireland, the Inishowen Maritime Museum, the Irish Traditional Music Archive, the Vincent Wildlife Trust and many others benefited from funding. A full list of last year’s grantees is available from below:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/content/files/Heritage-Organisations-Support-Fund-2025.pdf

Organisations submitting applications must be able to demonstrate either their regional or national relevance and must be undertaking actions that assist in the delivery of national policy and plans. A full overview of eligibility criteria and other relevant details are available from the Heritage Council’s website below:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/funding/heritage_orgs-fund

The Heritage Council will host a grants information webinar at 11.30 on Friday the 5th of December 2025, with general application advice followed by a question and answers session. You can register for the webinar from the following page:

https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_GUgCX8R3TZSAtgKHEU1U4Q#/registration

The closing date for applications is Monday, 26th of January 2026 at 5pm, and applications must be made via the Heritage Council’s online grants management system:

https://www.heritagecouncil.ie/funding/on-line-grants-system

The webinar will be recorded and available on our website for viewing afterwards.

Landowners to be offered "hassle-free" support to create more space for nature on their land.

Applications open January 1st – January 18th 2026

https://theharescorner.ie

The Hare’s Corner, an innovative biodiversity initiative coordinated by Burrenbeo Trust, in conjunction with Wexford’s Biodiversity Office, is being rolled out this coming year to landowners in County Wexford.

Inspired by the term ‘The Hare’s Corner’ - an old farming expression for an awkward section of a field which wasn’t intensively farmed and so was ‘left to nature’ - the aim of this project is to help create habitats that have proven benefits to biodiversity, climate-action as well as to the wellbeing of participants.

The Hare’s Corner project offers landowners (private landowners, farmers, schools/community groups) ‘hassle free’ support to carry out simple but impactful actions for biodiversity such as creation of a wildlife pond, native mini-woodland, heritage mini-orchard, wildlife hedge, or bespoke ‘plan for nature’. This support is offered in the form of materials (native trees and heritage apple trees), micro-funding (e.g. machinery costs for pond digging), and specialist advice and guidance.  

According to Lee Worrel, Hare’s Corner Coordinator at Burrenbeo Trust, “Landowners can apply for one or more biodiversity actions and participation in the Hare’s Corner involves no cost to, and minimal hassle for, the landowner. All we ask in return from beneficiaries is their commitment to act as ‘stewards’ of their own special Hare’s Corner”.

Places will be limited and preference is given to community groups and schools, though to avoid double-funding, farmers who are ACRES or NPWS Farm Plan Scheme participants are currently not eligible to apply.

The Hare’s Corner project in Co. Wexford in 2026 will be funded in part by the Local Biodiversity Action Fund (supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service).  Applications will open on January 1st 2026 and stay open for roughly 2 weeks. Further calls may be made subject to available funding. If the call is oversubscribed then places may be offered on a first-come, first served basis.

For further information: https://theharescorner.ie

The Hare’s Corner Project contact in Wexford is: Claire Goodwin, Biodiversity Officer

Email Claire at:  biodiversity@wexfordcoco.ie

The Irish Heart Foundation, with support from the Government of Ireland, have prepared a range of printable and digital assets, to raise awareness of the health impact of solid fuel burning.


Poor air quality leads to 1,700 premature deaths in Ireland in every year. Sadly, a significant majority of these deaths are due to fine particulate matter (PM2.5), which comes largely from the burning of solid fuels in domestic settings. While energy poverty remains a crucial issue in Ireland, affecting hundreds of thousands of households, it is important to encourage households who do not need to light their fireplace or stove for heating, to not do so if they can.

As the national stroke and heart charity, it is inviting local authorities, businesses, schools, state bodies, and members of the public to download and share these posters, leaflets, and infographics, within their community to raise awareness of the health impact of solid fuel burning.

You can find the assets on the Irish Heart website here:

https://irishheart.ie/advocacy/healthier-air-for-healthier-hearts/