ECO Carn
ECO Carn is a collaborative project formed in 2019 by a number of community organisations in Carndonagh. The project aims to carry out an Audit and develop a Biodiversity Action Plan for Carndonagh. The programme is funded by The Community Foundation for Ireland, who are supporting communities across Ireland to develop community biodiversity action plans.
Envision Carndonagh is an umbrella group of local organisations and individuals that acts as a catalyst for innovative possibilities for the future of Carndonagh e.g. new activities, training programmes, networking opportunities, possible collaborations with existing groups and actions for environmental, social, economic change in the area. This group is supported by Inishowen Development Partnership as part of its Envision Inishowen programme. The project has a strong community engagement element and will promote awareness of biodiversity and support training initiatives and biodiversity enhancement projects in the area.
In late 2019, the Inishowen Rivers Trust were awarded the contract to work with the ECO Carn steering to deliver the goals of the project. The IRT are delighted to welcome on board Aengus Kennedy as our ecologist for the project. Aengus runs the nature education company NatureNorthWest and his nature walks and talks are popular across the county and beyond. The ECO Carn project is expected to run until March 2021 and there is ample opportunity for the community to engage in the project.
Community Involvement
There are a variety of ways you can get involved with ECO Carn. Submitting your records for biodiversity within the town and in the surroundings areas helps us to establish what biodiversity is out there. The Inishowen Rivers Trust have developed a number of online forms for recording data.
Try out the forms at these links or scan the QR codes using the camera function on your smartphone. Don’t forget to bookmark the links so you can access them at any time!
My Special Nature Place
Wildflowers in Carn
COMPETITION IS NOW CLOSED Photography Competition
You can also join in on the ECO Carn Photography Competition. When you are submitting your photos through the form, you can choose to enter the photo competition by simply providing your name and a contact number. All entries will be judged and the winning photos will go forward for a 2021 Wildflower Calendar. There are prizes to be won and an exhibition of the photos will take place, dependant on restrictions lifting later in the autumn. A lovely way to learn more and celebrate local biodiversity. Closing date is September 25th 2020.
A group of volunteers planting native trees and hedging at Carn GAA grounds in February 2020.
Hedgerows
Hedgerows are an essential habitat for much of our wildlife, supporting birds, bats, small mammals, a vast array of insects and many trees and wildflowers. Not only that but they have many other functions acting as wildlife corridors and sequestering carbon and retaining water. Find out more about hedgerows in this webinar which was recorded during our Covid lockdown in May 2020 in which our Project Officer Trish Murphy discusses hedgerows with ecologist Aengus Kennedy.
Eco Carn logo designed by the students from Carndonagh Community School
Find out more
If you would like to find out more about the project, you can follow it on Facebook at
Facebook/EcoCarndonagh
We’ll keep you informed here too with links to the project events and results of the surveys.