Sylvia Thompsonwith dates for your diary.
Pictures at the Gates of Eden
Hard Rain, an outdoor photographic exhibition that highlights climate change, poverty, pollution, habitat loss and human rights opens in the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, Dublin on Thursday. The photographs are part of the archive of London-based photographer Mark Edwards, who has taken pictures of environmental degradation in more than 150 countries.
The title of the touring exhibition is a reference to the Bob Dylan song, which influenced the final choice of photographs in the exhibition. Edwards will speak about the exhibition on Thursday at 3pm.
Hard Rain continues at the National Botanic Gardens until August 31st. Opening hours are 9am-6pm daily. Guided tours on Sundays at noon and 2.30pm. Tel: 01-8570909
Reduce, re-wear, recycle
The proposed Rediscovery Centre for Ballymun in Dublin aims to challenge the way we think about waste by recycling unwanted things into new and saleable items. One of its first projects has been the furniture recycling business in Ballymun which won a Conservation Volunteers Ireland Nature Fund award two years ago for its innovative work. Another inspired project recycles unwanted water-based paint for re-use in community centres in the area. Now, three fashion designers have turned their attention to recycling designer clothing. Eva Maguire, Carrie-Ann Moran and Choi Cheung will unveil an ensemble from their Rediscover Fashion collection on Friday at the Greener Ballymun conference. E-mail greenerballymun@brl.ie or tel: 087-3296932 for more details.
Meanwhile, there is a panel discussion, Future of Fashion: Clothes with a Conscience?, today at 2pm in the Science Gallery, Trinity College Dublin. The event, which is part of the exhibition, TechnoThreads: What Fashion Did Next, The Art and Science of Future Fashion, will be followed by a workshop on bio-responsible wearables. See www.sciencegallery.com
A weekend and you're hooked
Local festivals are increasingly including strong environmental dimensions to their programmes. And so it is with the Hook Peninsula Festival by the Sea on May 2nd-4th. For example, there will be displays of whales and dolphins spotted off the coastline (Hook Head is a favourite whale and dolphin watching point), talks on the wild plants unique to the area and art workshops for children using sand, pebbles and shells from nearby beaches. Watch out for the giant sea urchins roaming the beaches over the weekend. Tel: 051-397502 for full programme details.
Kids go wild about art
Children aged between seven and 12 can enter the Art for Wildlife competition run by the Irish Wildlife Trust (IWT) to celebrate next month's National Biodiversity Week. Entries should be flat and no bigger than A3. Group or individual entries with contact details must be sent to the Irish Wildlife Trust, Sigmund Business Centre, 93a Lagan Road, Dublin Industrial Estate, Glasnevin, Dublin 11, no later than May 23rd.
Meanwhile, children aged five to 15 who are interested in learning about the natural world can become junior members of the IWT. For more details, tel: 01-8602839 or email enquiries@iwt.ie See also www.iwt.ie