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.
- There were no results found.
Calendar of Events
| Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday | Sunday |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
1
|
2
|
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
13
|
14
|
15
|
16
|
|
17
|
18
|
19
|
20
|
21
|
22
|
23
|
|
24
|
25
|
26
|
27
|
28
|
29
|
30
|
|
31
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
Eco Eye
Eco Eye Visit to Inishowen November 2019 – The Inishowen Rivers Trust were delighted to welcome the Earth Horizons, an independent film production team, to Inishowen to meet with the Trust directors and volunteers. Earth Horizons produce the popular environmental programme Eco Eye which airs on RTE and launches into Season 18 in January 2020.
Gods, Gold & Graft
Gods, Gold & Graft: Lough Foyle’s Nature and Culture August 2019 – The Inishowen Rivers Trust are delighted to welcome Dr. Liam Campbell to Inishowen to deliver a fascinating insight into the culture and heritage of Lough Foyle for this year’s Heritage Week event. The Local Authority Waters Programme have once again supported the Trust […]
Inishowen Agricultural Show 2019
Busy times at the Carn Show! July 20th 2019 – The Trust had a great time at the Carn Show on Saturday 20th July. Lots of activity in the Food Enterprise Tent with lovely neighbours and the smell of delicious food coming from all sides! Directors Mervyn, Claire and Trish had plenty of time to […]
Rivers Trusts in Ireland
the positive impact of trusts July 2019 – The Rivers Trust UK is the umbrella body of the rivers trusts movement across Ireland and the UK. Each year the Trust produces an annual review and this year the review features a section on rivers trusts in Ireland. This is a review of what the Trust […]
Flood management techniques for Inishowen
May 2019 – Prof. Mary Bourke and her #Megafloods team are currently conducting a study on natural water retention measures (also known as natural flood management) on behalf of the Inishowen Rivers Trust to investigate the suitability of the Inishowen landscape for such measures.
Inishowen Rivers Trust & Trinity College Dublin launch study into Natural Flood Management in Inishowen
Inishowen Rivers Trust receive funding from the Office of Public Works (OPW) to carry out study into the feasibility of using natural water retention measures in Inishowen.
Culdaff River Clean Up
Culdaff River Clean Up 2018 April 2018 – A great community event was held in Culdaff on Saturday 14th April 2018 in Culdaff were a number of different groups came together to clean up the village and Culdaff River. Individuals from Culdaff Community Angling Group, Culdaff Sea Anglers, Culdaff Tidy Towns, Loughs Agency and
Woodlands for Water
October 2018 – The use of trees in natural flood management is well documented and in order to find out more about trees and the tree planting schemes available to landowners, the IRT invited Ken Bucke from the Forest Service to speak at this event. This was the second event
Restoring Rivers
September 2018 – Consultant engineer Dr. Barry Walls gave an excellent talk in Colgan Hall on 29th September 2018 as part of the Inishowen Rivers Trust’s explorations on the theme of natural flood management. Dr. Walls talk began with
Wild Trout Trust in Inishowen
Nov 2017 – In November Gareth Pedley from the Wild Trout Trust, UK visited Inishowen for an advisory visit of the Culdaff River. This was an excellent opportunity to walk along the entire river and hear insights from an expert. Gareth has now prepared a documented report on the current status of the river and […]
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.
