Community Wetlands Forum

03/06/2026

June 2nd marks World Peatlands Day, a day when peatlands are celebrated globally. Peatlands are a remarkably important type of wetland ecosystems, where partially decomposed plant material accumulates over thousands of years.

Peatlands are havens for unique biodiversity and home to many of Ireland’s protected species including the Curlew.

Healthy peatlands are vital for biodiversity, water quality, and climate.

Did you know that peatlands are a vital long-term store for carbon?

Peatlands cover about 3% of the earth’s surface, but contain over 30% of the earth’s carbon.

They are massively important carbon sinks when in a healthy state.

We have a special relationship with peatlands in Ireland. The main types of
peatlands are bogs and fens.

Bogs are an ancient part of the landscape and have sustained communities for generations by providing a local source of fuel.

Given their importance from a climate and biodiversity perspective, now it is time for us to sustain them to ensure they continue to provide benefits for future generations.

Community Wetlands Forum is a network of community groups across Ireland, its goal is to promote, develop and support community-led wetland conservation for the public benefit in Ireland. We provide a representative platform for community-led wetland conservation groups.

If you would like to find out about benefits of CWF membership and to become a community group member or individual member please visit our website, link in bio.

27/05/2026

*We’re Hiring: CWF Development Officer and Communications and Administration Officer Positions*

The Community Wetlands Forum (CWF) now wishes to recruit a Development Officer and a Communications & Administration Officer, and invites suitably experienced and qualified candidates to apply. These roles offer a unique opportunity to shape the Community Wetlands Forum and its work with the membership and stakeholders. The Development Officer, supported by the Communications & Administration Officer, will work with the Board of the CWF to support and engage with current members, to assist the organisation to grow its membership, and to build public awareness of the CWF through communications and outreach activities. Identifying opportunities to grow the organisation, including operating income, is an important aspect of these roles.

Operating under the guidance of the Board of Directors, they will concentrate on designated areas of work aimed at implementing the key objectives outlined in the Community Wetlands Forum CLG Strategic Plan.

For Full Job Description and Application Process please visit our website:
https://communitywetlandsforum.ie/cwf-job-openings-apply-now/

Closing date – The deadline for the receipt of applications is 5 pm Friday June 12th 2026.

All candidates will be notified over email once the shortlisting process has been completed.

These roles are funded thanks to the support of the National Parks & Wildlife Service.

The Community Wetlands Forum (CWF) was established to promote, develop, and support community-led wetland conservation for the public benefit; and to provide a representative platform for community-led wetland conservation groups.

27/05/2026

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cd6pp9qzg2yo

The charity Curlew Recovery South Lakes is working with famers to protect the endangered birds.

26/05/2026

Public to be asked for input as first Nature Restoration Plan takes shape

New round of public consultation starts soon as pressure grows to save nature from its monumental struggle

26/05/2026

Could nature itself hold the solution to climate change?

Technological interventions face huge financial or practical challenges. Why not embrace the Earth’s feedback loops?

21/04/2026

April 21st is World Curlew Day and we celebrate the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata, or Crotach in Irish), an iconic Irish bird and a key species of our wetlands.

The Eurasian Curlew is red-listed in Ireland and is on the global IUCN red list.

Breeding Curlews’ dwindling populations are threatened by habitat loss. Sadly, the Irish Curlew breeding population has declined by 98% since the 1980s due to habitat loss as a result of changes in landscape and land use.

According to the 2023 NPWS Curlew Conservation Programme Report the population may have fallen to 105 pairs of breeding Curlew in Ireland.
The second national breeding survey shows that Curlew populations appear to be doing better locally in places where conservation measures are applied.

National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine fund the Breeding Waders EIP conservation project. A recent conservation measure yielded a breakthrough in County Fermanagh where a “headstarted” Curlew released in Co. Leitrim in 2024 returned to establish a breeding territory in Sliabh Beagh, Co. Fermanagh, as reported today by RTÉ (https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2026/0421/1569263-curlew-conservation/)

Curlews are a ground-nesting bird, they winter in a wide range of Irish coastal and inland wetlands and can breed in floodplains and bogs. They require open, wet peatland areas to nest, and they depend on a wide range of wetland habitats including intact bogs, heaths, wet grasslands and extensive farmland, in order to breed successfully.

Full Blog post can be found here: https://communitywetlandsforum.ie/april-21st-is-world-curlew-day/

16/04/2026

FREE CWF TRAINING WEBINAR 2 TONIGHT AT 7.30PM

OUR SECOND Training webinar for community wetlands groups, HEALTH & SAFETY PLANNING FOR YOUR GROUP, with guest speaker Colm Croffy, takes place TODAY at 7.30pm.

Duration approx. 45mins-1hr.

To register send an email to:
[email protected]
Once registered you will receive a Zoom link.

TRAINING WEBINAR 2 DESCRIPTION: Health and Safety Planning should not just be about the terrible twins of Irish recreational activity, we need to protect our environment, our organisation, ourselves, our volunteers and our attendees to the things we maintain and run. Seminar Facilitator Colm Croffy will provide your team with some simple steps to guide you through this process.

We invite 2 members from each member group to attend.

For more information please visit: https://communitywetlandsforum.ie/event/training-webinar-2-health-safety-planning-for-your-group/

14/04/2026

Have you got a Safety Officer in your group?

As part of best practice every community wetlands group needs to have a Safety Officer and to create an effective Safety Policy.

Community Wetlands Forum is pleased to announce that we are hosting two webinars, free for current CWF members, building on the outcomes of the Insurance Seminar held by CWF last year.

The first webinar, Empowering Your Team & Recruiting Your First Safety Officer, takes place on Tuesday, April 14th, at 7.30pm (45 minutes).

The second webinar, Health & Safety Planning for Your Group, will take place on Thursday, April 16th, at 7.30pm (45 minutes).

We invite 2 members from each member group to attend.

To register please send an email to [email protected]

We look forward to seeing a representative of your group there!

08/04/2026

Exciting news: Community Wetlands Forum has officially been granted charity status in Ireland! Our Registered Charity Number is 20207016.

This is a major milestone for Community Wetlands Forum. Thank you for being part of this journey!

On behalf of the Board and members of CWF we would like to thank Laurence Fullam, Company Secretary, for all his work over the past eighteen months on this successful approval. We are sincerely grateful.

08/04/2026

Exciting news: Community Wetlands Forum has officially been granted charity status in Ireland! Our Registered Charity Number is 20207016.
This is a major milestone for Community Wetlands Forum. Thank you to our members and supporters for being part of this journey!
On behalf of the Board and members of CWF we would like to thank Laurence Fullam, Company Secretary, for all his work over the past eighteen months on this successful approval. We are sincerely grateful.

Exciting news: Community Wetlands Forum has officially been granted charity status in Ireland! Our Registered Charity Number is 20207016. This is a major mi ...