INISHOWEN RIVER GUARDIANS
A River Guardian is a volunteer from the community who is trained to survey, monitor and restore the rivers, lakes and coastal areas of Inishowen.
River GuardiansInishowen Rivers Guardians. can take on a variety of roles – collecting data and returning information to the IRT, helping out on restoration projects and helping to increase our knowledge of our rivers and how we can best protect them.
2021 Programme
For 2021 the Trust have a new and exciting programme of courses to offer which have been funded by Rethink Ireland’s Innovate Together Award. Due to the current Covid restrictions we need to be flexible about how we work and learn and we have developed a blended approach to the programme. This year we will offer webinars, online guided tutorials, instructional videos, face-to-face outdoor training and perhaps even good old fashioned posting of material!
The events and training for 2021 are well underway. Courses book up quickly and we are often asked how they can find out when the courses registrations are released. There are several ways you can do this:
1. Follow us on Facebook
2. Follow us on our Eventbrite channel
3. Register as a volunteer
When you sign up as a volunteer (Volunteer Registration Form) you will get a direct email about the courses on offer. Our Training co-ordinator, Bren, will register your interest and provide all the information you need to do the course. He can also keep you informed of volunteer opportunities where you can put your new skills into practice.
Contact Bren@inishowenriverstrust.com for more information.
list of the upcoming courses
A list of the upcoming courses are available here for download. Please note courses details (including dates) are subject to change. Please contact us for bookings details.
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ECO Carn launch Biodiversity Action Plan
On Monday 18th October 2021, the ECO Carn group officially launched the Biodiversity Action Plan for Carndonagh. Nestled in the centre of the Inishowen peninsula just south of Trawbreaga Bay the town has excellent opportunities to create a thriving area for wildlife and improving the health of the environment and the community. The ECO Carn […]
Cloontagh Catchment Project
June 2021 – The Inishowen Rivers Trust are delighted to be working in the Cloontagh Catchment in Clonmany over the next few months. This is the second project the Trust have secured funding for in this area and we are delighted to have a base in the area thanks to the generosity of the Clonmany […]
Developing a Catchment Restoration Plan
23rd June 2021 – Sign up for a one day course with the River Restoration Centre on how to develop a plan to restore your local river
Fish Migration Patterns in Irish Rivers
Don’t miss this excellent webinar on fish migration into and within streams. Featuring fish experts Ken Whelan and Gareth Pedley
NFM Clonmany Project – Latest News
1st May 2021 – The Natural Flood Management project co-ordinated by the Inishowen Rivers Trust launched it’s first community meeting online on Thursday 29th April 2021. Although we would very much like to meet face-to-face in the community centre, this has not been possible due to Covid restrictions. The online meeting ‘Meet the Flood Team‘ […]
New Training Co-ordinator Appointed
18 Feb 2021 – We’re delighted to announce that Bren Whelan, popular mountain leader based in Muff, Co. Donegal, has taken up the role of training co-ordinator for the Inishowen Rivers Guardians Programme…..
RiverView – IRT Newsletter Launched
23 Jan 2021 – The Inishowen Rivers Trust are delighted to announce the publication of your new electronic newsletter RIVERVIEW. This will features short news items from the Trust as well as information on how to get involved, upcoming events, training and any other items that we feel might be of interest to our supporters.
New Positions available
January 2021 – NEW POSITIONS AVAILABLE! The Inishowen Rivers Trust are currently seeking contractors to fulfill two roles for our Inishowen River Guardians Training Programme for 2021. These are part-time positions and would suit candidates who require flexible working hours. The last River Guardians Programme ran in 2019 (see details here) and this new and expanded […]
Rethink Ireland Funding for River Guardians
Dec 11 2020 – WOW! We’ve just been awarded funding from Rethink Ireland’s INNOVATE TOGETHER FUND to expand our Inishowen River Guardians Programme. It’s been a very busy time preparing for this funding and we’re very excited about 2021. Hope you can join us!
Drainage & River Management Webinar
23 November 2020 An excellent evening with Ken Whelan and Rosemary McCloskey at our recent webinar (19th Nov 2020) discussing drainage in relation to river management. Lots of interesting questions posed by the audience ranging from engineering, biodiversity and natural solutions.
The Development of the Inishowen River Guardians Programme
In 2018/2019 the IRT were awarded funding through the EU Leader Programme to offer a range of training modules. The modules were open to all participants who wished to get involved with the work of the Trust and the following courses were completed.
Riverfly Monitoring (ARMI Training)
Small Stream Characterisation Course (Atlantic Salmon Trust)
Electrofishing
Bank Erosion Control
Hydromorphology
Invasive Species Control
ArcGIS Online
Chainsaw Certification
These courses ran between December 2018 and October 2019 and the programme was a resounding success with 77 course places taken up by volunteers.
Due to the success of the programme, the IRT Board of Directors were keen to deliver more training and were delighted to be recipients of Rethink Ireland’s Innovate Together Award announced in December 2020. This new round of funding will help to to develop a new programme delivering additional courses (some old, some new) to further enhance the skills and knowledge of our volunteers. These new courses will be delivered using a blended learning approach, mixing instructional video, live online workshops and outdoor field trips. Dependent on Covid-19 restrictions, we hope to run these courses between April and September 2021.
If you would like to find out more about training with the Trust, please call 087 647 8183 or email inishowenriverstrust@gmail.com.
