Environmental group Coastwatch Ireland held an event on coastal water quality protection last month in Dun Laoghaire, joined by volunteers, experts, sea swimmers and local and national authorities.
Cllr Jim O’Leary, Cathaoirleach of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council welcomed participants to the event in the Town Hall on Friday 28 February, which was preceded in the morning by a field trip to Dun Laoghaire Harbour marina to learn about a native oyster restoration project there, followed with an afternoon field trip to Sandycove and the Forty Foot for a demonstration of sea-step and slipway cleaning methods.
Cllr O’Leary said: “Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is proud to host this important workshop, which brings together experts, community voices and authorities to address pollution risks.
“Our coastal environment and marine biodiversity are such an important part of our county, and we must work together to ensure its long-term protection.”
The event, under the theme of ‘Preventing Oil and Chemical Pollution’, is the second of three such workshops organised by Coastwatch as part of a Horizon Europe project called More4Nature.
The EU project aims to bring about transformative change in environmental protection by including informed citizens and communities as key actors in collaborative environmental compliance assurance.
In support of the event, Frank Curran, chief executive of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council said: “This workshop aligns with our commitment to the protection of biodiversity and our coastal environment. By strengthening pollution response mechanisms and enhancing public engagement, we can create a more resilient and thriving marine ecosystem.”
Karin Dubsky, Coastwatch Ireland coordinator said: “We made great progress today, building upon the water pollution issues and alert system ideas discussed in our January workshop in Trinity College.
“There is recognition that there is huge scope for citizen science monitoring and also for pollution alerts which have enough location and content information to enable and support faster authority reaction to pollution incidents.
“The cooperation with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and staff engagement across water, nature and shore management was really outstanding and a special thanks goes to them, the Green Ocean Foundation and Bunzl Ireland and the volunteers, experts, sea swimmers and local and national authorities who joined in.”
In January, Coastwatch held the first such event in Trinity College, with a focus on agricultural and sewage pollution. The third and final workshop will be held on World Water Day, this Saturday 22 March, and will tie together lessons into a report with recommendations.
