Food and fruit for thoughtWhere our food comes from is becoming a big issue as climate change begins to impact on food production and consumers question the hidden costs of the long journeys many food products make to reach our tables.
The Irish Seed Savers' Association (ISSA) is hosting an open day of talks and demonstrations to address these issues on Sunday, July 15th, at the ISSA gardens in Capparoe, Scariff, Co Clare. Children's nature walks and wildlife-drawing and guided tours of the heritage orchards and gardens will also take place. Meanwhile, the ISSA is offering two apple trees from the Irish Native Apple Heritage Tree collection to 50 community garden schemes around the country. More details at www.irishseedsavers.ie, or on 061-921866. Application forms for the apple trees must be in by July 31st.
Wise words on permaculture
Experts will converge on the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim for a conference on Irish permaculture on July 7th and 8th.
"Permaculture" describes ways of designing sustainable systems that support human activity while maintaining the integrity of the natural environment. Speakers at the conference include Graham Strouts, who will talk about peak oil (the theory that world supplies of oil will soon begin to decline); Peter Cowman, who will speak about green architecture and design; and Colm Stapleton, who will talk about the Gyreum ecolodge in Co Sligo. More details on 071-9854338.
Meanwhile, the environmental education charity Celt is holding its annual summer courses in traditional and ecological skills from July 28th to 30th. For more details, visit www.celtnet.org, call 061-640765, or e-mail info@celtnet.org.
Focus on wildlife
Amateur photographers have three days left to enter the wildlife photography competition run by Notice Nature and TV3. To enter, individuals must submit, by e-mail, original photographs of birds, insects, fish, animals, plants, flowers or trees.
Entries should be 1.5 to 2 megabytes in size to ensure the photographs are of a high enough quality to exhibit in Enfo Centre in Dublin during July and August. See www.noticenature.ie.
Clare takes stock of old ways
The Heritage Office in Co Clare is interested in hearing from owners of old farming equipment, including planting, harvesting and haymaking machinery, as part of an audit of farm machinery in the county. "This audit aims to inform us as to the historical, geographical, economic and even scientific development of agricultural machinery in one county," says Tomás Mac Conmara, acting heritage officer in Co Clare. More details on 086-6026043, e-mail farmmachinery@bbnet.ie.
Sunny depositions in Trinity
Prof Daniel G Nocera, of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will give a Royal Irish Academy lecture on solar energy in the Edmund Burke Theatre, Trinity College Dublin, on Monday at 4.30pm. The public lecture will be followed by a discussion, chaired by Irish Times Science Editor Dick Ahlstrom. Register online at www.ria.ie.
horizons@irish-times.ie
EcoWeb
www.inishowensummergathering.com
Find out how the people of Inishowen, Co Donegal, will promote local sustainability, explore natural energy and support organic production at the annual summer gathering next weekend.