All those interested in increasing their practical knowledge of organic gardening, alternative energy sources, traditional skills (including thatching, rope-making and turfcutting) and much more, find an empty space in your diaries now. The Organic Centre in Rossinver, Co Leitrim, has a terrific mix of short courses and open days which run from March 1st to October 31st. Here's a sample. Bee-keeping - an introductory course (Saturday May 5th); black gold - the making of good garden compost (Saturday April 28th and Saturday, August 11th); cheese-making (May 26th-27th); designing an edible garden (Saturday, June 9th) and green building (Saturday, March 3rd and Saturday, October 20th).
The Organic Centre will also host the Biodynamic Conference and Workshops on February 3rd and 4th. Workshops on the principles and practices of biodynamic farming will be open to the public on Saturday, February 3rd.
A new visitor and training centre, and an organic cafe are due to open in the spring, which will enhance the facilities substantially. The Organic Centre also co-ordinates an organic seed catalogue by mail order. Contact the Organic Centre on 072-54338 or e-mail: organiccentre@eircom.net Website: www.theorganiccentre.ie
The contributions to modernism by Adolf Loos, the Viennese architect and aesthetic theorist, will be assessed at a oneday seminar at the Royal Institute of Architects of Ireland on Monday. Speakers include Sigurd P. Scheichl from the University of Innsbruck, Austria, who will analyse Adolf Loos's essays on architecture, and Dublin-based architect Shane de Blacam who will discuss the Loos Bar above the Dining Hall in Trinity College, Dublin. Although Loos didn't have an extensive portfolio of completed works (noteable examples are the Loos House, Cafe Museum and the American Bar in Vienna), his ideas were deemed to have an enormous influence in Europe and the US. An exhibition on the work of Adolf Loos continues at the Institute of Architects, 8 Merrion Square, Dublin, until January 31st. Opening hours 9 a.m. - 6 p.m., weekdays. Tel: 01-6761703.
Limerick County Council is setting a good example in its recycling and home composting initiatives. In its most recent newsletter, which was kindly sent to Horizons (calling all other councils to let us know about their waste management projects), the council's steps towards managing its own waste were highlighted. Staff are now recycling paper, cardboard, toner and printer cartridges, batteries and florescent tubes. Limerick County Council also plans to distribute 1,000 composting units (last year, they cost £10 per unit) to homes, together with a booklet entitled Make your own Compost. To put your name down for one, contact Sinead McDonnell, environmental awareness officer with Limerick Corporation, City Hall, Limerick (tel: 061-415799) or Pauline McDonagh, Limerick Co Council (tel: 061-318477).
The ever-thinning ozone layer is giving fish in the North Sea sunburn, according to a report in the current issue of Wild Ireland. Researchers at the Marine Laboratory in Plymouth, England, have found young fish to be particularly affected. "These fish have no protection against the rays because they have never needed to evolve one until man began to influence the atmosphere," commented Ian McFadden, research eco-toxicologist.
Web world
www.eco-schools.org
Find out how Spanish school children built a ship made from used tyres in their town square or how pupils from a school in Cornwall, England are taking care of bats. This is the European website of the initiative known here as Green-schools. It gives lots of details about the initiative whose aims are to improve the school environment (by creating less waste and less litter, for example) and increase environmental awareness in pupils. Overall the site is a bit too wordy and lacking in graphics. The eco-kid postcards do however add a bit of colour.
The Horizons column can be contacted at horizons@irish-times.ie
