Celebrating World Wetlands Day at Newtownforbes, Longford

Where – Scoil Mhuire in Newtownforbes

Time – 11am

Type – Guided Walk (wear appropriate footwear)

They are celebrating World Wetlands Day with LAWPRO, Longford County Council and Newtownforbes Tidy Towns on Saturday 04 February.

From 11am at Scoil Mhuire in Newtownforbes there will be a talk with Karen Kennedy, LAWPRO Officer and Aoife Kirk, Connecting Communities with Peatlands, followed by the official opening of the Newtownforbes Heritage and Biodiversity Trail by Longford County Council with a guided walk from Brendan Farrell.

The second smaller loop of the Newtownforbes Bog walk has now been completed. Users can access the trails across the GAA grounds. The trail connects with a local minor road that is used for walking, creating a looped recreational walk, outside the village of Newtownforbes, through grassland, bog and forest.

World Wetland Day Visit to Clara Bog, SAC and Ramsar Site

Where – Clara Bog walk

Time – 10am to 12pm

Type – Guided Walk (wear appropriate footwear)

Clara Bog is a relatively intact raised bog and a premier international wetland site under the Ramsar convention. It has been the subject of extensive research on the role of bogs in carbon storage to help mitigate climate change and the visit will attempt to explain the hydrology, ecology and the outcomes of the research on its carbon balance. While there remains areas of good high bog, historical peat cutting has impacted on its long term conservation.

This will be a 2 to 3 hour visit of the site, beginning at the boardwalk in the centre of Clara Bog. The visit will be guided by Paul Johnston of Trinity College and Jim Ryan, ex NPWS, who both have many years experience working on Clara Bog hydrology and ecology.

Please wear waterproof footwear and appropriate clothing for the conditions.

Clara boardwalk