Community Wetlands Forum

19/10/2026

What happens when a community decides to build a wetland for wildlife? This. 🌿

In 1994, locals in Glounthaune, Co. Cork first proposed a wetland reserve on Harper's Island in Cork Harbour. It took years of vision, persistence, and partnership with Cork County Council, BirdWatch Ireland, Glounthaune Community Association, the local Men's Shed, Tidy Towns, and NPWS working together.

Today, 30 hectares of Cork Harbour SPA are managed for wildlife: waders and wildfowl feeding on the mudflats, Brent geese in winter, and a community that knows exactly what it's protecting, because they helped create it.

That's the Community Wetlands Forum in action: 58 member groups across 15 counties, each one proving that local people can restore and protect the wetlands around them. 🏆

Watch the full story 💙

17/10/2026

Meet the curlew. Ireland's most threatened breeding bird. 🪶

That long, curved bill isn't just for show: it probes deep into soft wetland mud for worms, snails, and insects that shorter bills can't reach. But the wetlands the curlew depends on are disappearing, and with them, one of the most haunting sounds in the Irish countryside.

Swipe to learn why this wetland wader is in serious trouble, and what communities across Ireland are doing about it. 💙

Have you ever heard a curlew call? Tell us below 👇

15/10/2026

Ireland has lost 97% of its breeding curlew. — BirdWatch Ireland / NPWS

Read that again. Ninety-seven per cent. Of every pair of curlews that once raised chicks on Irish boglands and wet grasslands, fewer than 3 in 100 remain.

Curlew nest on the ground, in damp meadows and open bogland. When wetlands are drained, mowing and predation wipe out nests before chicks ever fledge. There is no curlew comeback without wetlands.

But the 3% that remain are holding on in places where farmers, community groups, and volunteers protect nesting habitat.

That's what community wetland action looks like: not watching the decline, but turning it around, one site at a time.

The curlew spent centuries sounding over Ireland. Whether the next generation ever hears that call depends on what happens in places like the wetlands near you. 💙

14/10/2026

Turn the sound on. 🔊 You're hearing one of the rarest sounds left in Ireland.

This is the bubbling call of the curlew. There are fewer than 150 breeding pairs are left in the whole country. A century ago, every Irish bogland echoed with this sound.

Today, most people will live their whole lives without ever hearing it.

Community wetland groups across 15 counties are restoring the habitats curlew need to come back.

Did you grow up hearing this call? 👇

13/10/2026

🪶 SPECIES OF THE WEEK: The Curlew (Eurasian curlew, Numenius arquata)
Ireland's largest wader, and its most threatened.

🔍 How to spot one: long legs, mottled brown-grey feathers… and that bill. Perfectly curved, up to 15cm, for probing deep into soft wetland mud. If you see a big brown bird with a curved bill stalking the wet grassland, it's a curlew.

🔊 How to hear one: the bubbling "cour-lee" call that gives the bird its name, once the sound of every Irish spring.

🏡 Where it lives: open bogland, damp meadows and wet grasslands — it nests on the ground, hidden in long vegetation.

📉 Why it matters: only ~150 breeding pairs remain in Ireland, a 97% decline. Every protected wetland is a lifeline.

Save this post for your next wetland walk, and if you spot (or hear!) a curlew, let us know in the comments. 📍

13/10/2026

Wetlands are truly special places where you can take a walk, indulge in birdwatching, learn about the fascinating ecosystem, and even volunteer to make a positive impact. Research by the Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust (WWT) and the Mental Health Foundation found that spending just ten minutes in a wetland setting can significantly boost your positive feelings and overall mood.

Sources:
wwt.org.uk/discover-wetlands/wetlands-and-wellbeing
mentalhealth.org.uk

07/10/2026

02/10/2026

The Community Wetlands Forum is delighted to share our new quarterly digital publication - Community Matters Issue 1 . We are honored with messages from President Connolly & Minister Christopher OSullivan TD. We want to thank all our contributors and look forward to using this space to share Community achievements in Wetland conservation across the island of Ireland. We could not support the work of our members without the support and funding provided by the National Parks & Wildlife Service.

To Read this first edition please click here

https://lnkd.in/dJPfEFEy

15/09/2026

Last week to register - great opportunity to get involved in wetland restoration.

‼️Last week to register!

Interested in working in the growing peatland restoration sector?

Join us for FREE training events on Wetland Restoration, delivered by Tóchar Midlands Wetland Restoration Scheme in partnership with Crichton Carbon Centre.

Designed for contractors and machine operators operating within the Just Transition Territory, this practical session will teach the theory and hands-on techniques behind high-quality peatland restoration, with site visits to real raised and blanket bog restoration projects!

📍 To choose your preferred locations & dates, register now 👉 https://www.tocharwetlands.ie/latest-news/free-wetland-restoration-training-for-contractors-machine-operators/
🗓️ Applications close on 21 September.

Lunch and refreshments provided. Places are limited. Completing the registration form is an application for a place and does not guarantee attendance. All applicants will be contacted to confirm whether they have been allocated a place.

15/09/2026