'A piece of paradise and we want to keep it that way'

Westmeath Water Biodiversity Training: Certificate Presentation and Networking Event in Mullingar, February 8, 2022

This week the participants of the Westmeath Water Biodiversity course came together in Bloomfield House Hotel in Mullingar to celebrate the completion of the programme and share their ideas and plans on how improvements could be made locally to improve their areas.

‘It’s a piece of paradise and we want to keep it that way’ was the message echoed by many of the participants when speaking about Westmeath and its natural beauty.

The Programme was delivered by Westmeath Community Development (WCD) through funding from the LEADER Transitional Programme and designed in conjunction with the Local Authority Water Programme.

WCD contracted specialist company Veri, led by ecologist Dr Amanda Greer with Yosef Dvores to deliver the Programme.

It was aimed at community groups and individuals interested in the learning more about the protection of our natural water resources. The participants were from a broad range of sectors including farming, angling, community groups as well as Tidy Towns committees.

The programme provided participants with an introduction to the concept of Water Catchment Management and to the nature of our rivers and lakes. It helped participants to understand the need to conserve and protect our water resources and the biodiversity therein.

It assisted in developing the capacity and knowledge of best practice in environmental management and the steps required to implement small projects to protect water resources in a safe manner.

The ecologists also worked with the participants to develop action plans to improve the water quality of the area and also to consider initiatives that would create a greater awareness among their own communities.

The participants on the Programme were presented with certificates by THE Chairman of Westmeath Community Development, Dermot Leavy.

Mr Leavy stated that he was delighted to present the certificates as a way of acknowledging the achievement of all in completing the Programme. He said it was wonderful to witness such great enthusiasm, interest and pride that people have for the beautiful villages, rivers, streams and lakes of Westmeath.

He concluded in wishing all the participants the very best with their future plans and projects.

Interested in Finding out more about LEADER supports?

If you are interested in finding out more about grants and supports available under the LEADER Transitional Programme in 2022 please contact Westmeath Community Development on leader@westcd.ie.