From Sonairte
Two free courses designed to complement each other as one overall programme that aims to enhance employability in your local area or give you the tools and techniques needed to develop your own buisness.
This programme is intended for environmental enthusiasts who want to become more involved in working with the environment either as a volunteer or as a fulfilling way to make an income in their local area. It is also suitable for recent environmental graduates who are just out of college and want to gain some practical field study experience. Finally, these courses are equally suitable to people who have no knowledge of their natural environment but want to learn.
Course 1: Heritage and biodiversity on the Meath Coast
This multi-disciplinary course in heritage and coastal management is intended for members of local groups who want to become more involved with the development and management of their coastal communities and environment.
This course “Heritage and biodiversity on the Meath Coast” is composed of 8 modules, each module is envisaged as a one-day course (approximately five hours). The course will be delivered as a three day a week course over a number of weeks. While each module can stand alone, there will be significant benefit to the trainee and the community if individuals complete all eight modules and the assigned project work.
Training Modules:
1. The History of the salmon fisheries on the Meath Coast – Acquiring research skills, acquiring Practical traditional skills, the role of traditional skills in modern society
2. Building local community resilience – sense of community, community walks, community education on the local area, communication skills, roll of traditional skills, schools heritage teaching, leadership in the coastal community (builds on resilience training currently grant aided under Local Agenda 21 funding).
3. Ecological management and restoration – understanding key concepts, perspectives and field management for biodiversity – a condensed and generalized module designed to give an overview and introduction to the subject. Course involves hands-on practical learning work.
4. Issues in heritage and biodiversity: outline the issues involved in protecting heritage and biodiversity in Ireland, explain the long-term need to protect fragile heritage and biodiversity sites in the context of competing interests recognise the danger posed to Irish heritage and biodiversity by thoughtless or illegal use of sites, especially in the estuarine and inter-tidal contexts.
5. Finance and heritage (as in FETAC level 5)- identify the costs of running heritage and biodiversity attractions, list the means by which heritage and biodiversity attractions earn revenue outline the role of the EU and other funding organisations in facilitating the development of heritage and biodiversity tourism attractions.
6. Start your own business – coastal heritage and conservation
7. Information Technology – techniques in virtual media communication, web design etc, Sonairte does not have the in-house skills or facilities to provide this and will link with County Meath VEC to provide this training.
8. Training the trainers – the trainer as initiator, group leader, teacher and facilitator. In-depth understanding of effective communication and barriers to effective communication, how learning occurs and how best to assist learning, the knowledge and skills necessary to implement training systems.
9.Project Work
Course 2: Community Management of Coastal Biodiversity on the Meath Coast
This course is concerned with ecological conservation, management, and restoration and aims to provide the participants with a thorough understanding of coastal environments from sustainable developments in coastal communities to the conservation and management of costal ecosystems
This course “Community Management of Coastal Biodiversity on the Meath Coast” is composed of 8 modules, each module is envisaged as a one-day course (approximately five hours) and is designed to follow on from the first course (Heritage and biodiversity on the Meath Coast). This course will also be delivered as a three day a week course over a number of weeks and will include some project work.
Ecological conservation, management, and restoration, in both theoretical and practical terms, will be studied and examined as a result of this Training programme. It is suggested that the more general module in ecological management and restoration be taken before this course but that the course would also be suitable for those who also have some knowledge in the area or are prepared to take on the extra work involved if they have no previous training.
The specific modules comprising this training programme would include:
• Estuarine ecology
• Wildlife of the inter-tidal zone including habitat management
• Riparian management
• Dune ecologies and their management
• Animals and plants of the Meath coast – desk and practical
• The propagation of coastal wild plants
• Community leadership in the management of local habitats
• Traditional skills of the fishing community and their impact on coastal biodiversity
• Project work
For each habitat, students will identify plants and animals found in that habitat using a range of keys. They will be required:
• To perform a variety of field work techniques to estimate the number and distribution of plants and animals, using statistical methods.
• To analyse and interpret the data gathered during the field work associated with the point above.
• To learn the economic and social history associated with the habitat and its importance for biodiversity in a wider context.
• To design a base-line study in identifying the effects of changes on the environment under investigation.
• To carry out hands-on work in the conservation of the site being investigated
Course Timetables
Modules will run from 10 am to 4pm three days a week from 29th September till 10th November.
