The Swifts are back and they need your help
Birdwatch Ireland and the Heritage Office, are undertaking our second county wide Swift survey in Kilkenny this summer. And we need your help to record and report swifts in your town or village. Last year with your help we recorded 199 swift nests throughout the county. We’re now starting our second county wide survey to see how many Swifts there are this year and where they are nesting. Please get involved and record any Swifts in your area on https://records.biodiversityireland.ie/record/swifts#7/53.455/-8.016 If you’re new to birdwatching and would like to get involved, don’t worry, as we’re running Swift training workshops this summer. If you’d like to be involved please email us at heritage@kilkennycoco.ie for more information. This project is co-funded by Kilkenny County Council and The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, through the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s National Biodiversity Action Plan Fund. It is also kindly supported by the Heritage Council.
Photo courtesy of Catherine Casey
Tidy Towns Groups: How do you help pollinators?
The Heritage Office would like to help Tidy Towns groups in Kilkenny who support pollinators. We are offering to gather and to map information on all the wonderful pollinator actions being undertaken by Tidy Towns groups around the county. This information will help get you precious points in to the Local Authority Pollinator Award, as well as supporting your future Tidy Towns applications. All the information gathered will be uploaded to the national Pollinator Actions Map. Please contact Laura Murphy, Heritage Office for a link to the survey form (056-7794910 or LauraCatherine.Murphy@kilkennycoco.ie)
Heritage Week: Webinars to help you plan your project
The Heritage Council will host a series of webinars to support Heritage Week organisers in 2022. The first webinar titled An Introduction to National Heritage Week 2022 will take place on 22nd June from 1-2pm and the second titled Organising sustainable events on Wednesday 29th June from 1-2pm. Both webinars will have Irish Sign Language Interpretation provided (ISL). Further details and registration links available at https://www.heritageweek.ie/get-involved/webinars-for-organisers
Explore Kilkenny’s Nature with your Class
Biodiversity in Schools have designed a unique Summer Course to help Primary school teachers connect their students to the nature of Kilkenny and to encourage their class/es to become Wildlife Detectives. The course will take place from 4th-8th July in the Kilkenny Education Centre, Callan Road, Kilkenny. Individual Cost €50. Course participants will receive a Kilkenny Wildlife Detective resource pack to encourage children to explore Kilkenny’s biodiversity, produced jointly by the Heritage Office of Kilkenny County Council, Kilkenny Education Centre and Kilkenny County Childcare Committee. Further details and registration at https://www.eckilkenny.ie/coursebooking-2/primary-courses/1719-exploring-kilkenny-s-nature-with-your-class-3.html
Schools: How do you help pollinators?
The Heritage Office would like to help schools in Kilkenny who support pollinators. We are offering to gather and to map information on all the wonderful pollinator actions being undertaken in schools around the county. This information will be helpful for your Green Flag programme. All the information gathered will be uploaded to the national Pollinator Actions Map. Please contact Laura Murphy, Heritage Office, Kilkenny County Council, for a link to the survey form (056-7794910 or LauraCatherine.Murphy@kilkennycoco.ie)
The Burning of Woodstock House
One of the projects funded under the Kilkenny Decade of Centenaries programme 2022 is a new radio play by Gillian Grattan about the events leading up to the fire that destroyed Woodstock House in July 1922 and what role Woodstock played in the War of Independence and the economic and social effects the fire had on the village of Inistioge. The project is currently in its research phase and will be aired later this year. https://kilkennyheritage.ie/2022/03/decade-of-centenaries-programme-2022/
Common Thread
Common Thread is a collective embroidery project funded under the Kilkenny Decade of Centenaries programme 2022. Women from the Open Circle Community Arts programme are working with visual artist Carrie Lynam to create an embroidery piece inspired by women in the War of Independence and Civil War in Kilkenny in 1922. They are currently researching the role of women in Kilkenny and the artwork will be launched during Heritage Week.
