In association with the National Organic Training Skillnet (NOTS), The Soil Association (UK), Irish Organic Farmers and Growers Association (IOFGA), URGENCI – Global Network of CSA’s, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Cultivate, and FEASTA

present “Growing Together”, an all-Ireland conference on  Community Supported Agriculture (CSA)

17th, 18th & 19th of February * Cloughjordan, Tipperary

The aim of this weekend conference is to introduce the CSA concept to communities and growers on the island of Ireland.  The event will bring together food producers and emerging Irish CSA’s while creating networking and learning opportunities with experienced initiatives from across Europe.

Themes

• Producing Food Together – Sharing the Risk
• Case Studies from Successful CSAs,
• Can CSA Increase Community Resilience?
• Farm and Rural Diversification
• Getting Started
• Sustainable Food Communities
• Access to Land
• Lifelong Learning and Training

Speakers and Panelists

• Ella Mc Sweeney, RTE Presenter of Ear to the Ground
• Peter Young, Farmer and Journalist with Farmers Journal
• Mick Kelly, GIY, Social Entrepreneur, and Founder of Grow It Yourself Ireland
• Amanda Daniel, CSA and Organic Buying Groups, Soil Association (UK)
• Judith Hitchman, International Consultant in Emerging Trends in Local Development
• Andrea Calori, President of Urgenci, International CSA Network
• Bruce Darrell, Grower, Food Systems Specialist, FEASTA Executive Committee
• Sarah Fleming, Local Food Consultant, formally Slow Food International and GIY Ireland
• Pat Malone, Producer at Cloughjordan Community Farm
• Ollie Moore, Food and agriculture journalist and food researcher
• Grace Maher, Development Officer with IOFGA
• Kevin Dudley, Former Orchard Manager at Irish Seed Savers and Biodynamic Grower
• Mimi Pearson, Cloughjordan Community Farm
• Davie Philip, Community Resilience Manager at Cultivate
• Yvonne O’Donovan, Hazelhurst CSA, UK

Schedule

Friday 17th

Django’s Hostel, Cloughjordan Ecovillage

19.30 – Introduction - Welcome to the Ecovillage and Cloughjordan

20.00 - Voices from the Cloughjordan Community Farm 

An introduction to what the local CSA is doing.

21.00 - Networking – Speed dating for Food Initiatives

22.00 – Close

Saturday 18th

St Kieran’s Hall Cloughjordan

09.00 – Tea and Coffee

09.30 - How can CSA’s increase community resilience and food sovereignty?

Bruce Darrell, Judith Hitchman and Davie Philip lead a discussion on resilience and local food systems

11.00 – Break

11.30 - Growing Together, Why CSAs play a vital role in the future of food production. 

Panel discussion led by Ella McSweeney featuring the Soil Association (UK) Yvonne O’Donovan, Andrea Calori and representatives from other UK and Irish CSA’s,

13.30 – Lunch

14.30 - Farm Walk – Cloughjordan Community Farm 

15.30 – Growing for Your Community

Special session supported by NOTS, facilitated by Peter Young 

Featuring the Soil Association, IOFGA, Cloughjordan Community Farm and others

- Diversification for farmers and growers

- Different models of CSAs

- Education and Training Options

- Working with communities

18.00 – Close

Saturday Social – an evening together

Sunday 19th

The Parochial Hall, Step Road

10.00 – Coffee

10.30 - CSA, The Nuts and Bolts of Setting Up and Maintaining a CSA

13.30 – Lunch

St Kieran’s Hall

14.30 - Open Space, Have your Say on CSAs

15.40 - Mick Kelly founder of Grow It Yourself Ireland

16.00 – Close

Costs

Weekend ticket €40 (€35 Members of any of the partner organisations)

Does not include accommodation

If you wish to participate but cannot attend the full weekend, all sessions are also priced individually

Friday 17th  7-10pm €5

Saturday 18th  9 – 6pm €20

Growers session only €10 (3 hours)

Sunday 20th  €20

Accommodation 

Djangos Hostel – Special CSA Weekend Rate €30, One Night €20.

(Mention CSA event when you book)

Book through Pa Funucane at 087 2569348 or at <pafi...@gmail.com>

www.djangoshostel.com

For more accommodation options in Cloughjordan click on www.cloughjordan.ie/

For more information or to book

contact… trai...@cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie

or call Davie on 087 6340697

www.cloughjordancommunityfarm.ie

The Cloughjordan Community Farm is an example of community supported agriculture (CSA). We currently provide fresh vegetables, milk and meat to over sixty member households on 40 acres of land in Cloughjordan.

The independent Review Group, established in February 2010 to review the scope, mandate, structure and performance of the EPA, presented its report in May 2011. This report contains 58 recommendations across a number of different themes such as governance, resources and licensing.

The Minister said that, “the implementation plan contains a list of actions arising from the review, some of which are to be implemented by my Department and others which will be the responsibility of the EPA. I have prioritised certain actions for delivery in 2012, while others will be implemented over a longer period.”

Some of the recommendations include:

• completion of Ireland’s ratification of the Aarhus Convention;
• clarification of the relationship between water authorities and the EPA, minimising overlap and duplication, particularly in the area of monitoring; continuation and extension of the process of making licence performance and enforcement information available on-line; and
• establishment of a specialist Advisory Committee on the interaction between the environment and human health.

The report of the Review Group and the implementation plan are available from www.environ.ie

Competition “Generation ’92″  has been organised by the European Environment Agency (EEA). It has been launched in 2012 to coincide with the UN Sustainable Development Summit in Rio de Janeiro this year, which also marks the 20 year anniversary of the historic Rio Earth Summit.

Alongside cash prizes of several thousand euros, four winners will be invited to take part in an event on sustainable development in Copenhagen on 5 June, and their videos will be promoted by the EEA.

The deadline for submissions is 2 April 2012.

• More information

Launching the public consultation ‘Our Ocean Wealth’, Minister Coveney said, “We need to change the way we in Ireland think about the sea and look for new opportunities to harness the potential of our 220 million acre marine resource.  This government is determined to generate the momentum to drive forward a new era of sustainable economic development across the maritime sectors – we must avail of these opportunities to assist in our recovery. We want your help to shape our plan, to shape our future and to assist in our drive towards our nation’s economic recovery”.

This public consultation represents a significant step in a process to develop an Integrated Marine Plan for Ireland and move from generating only 1.2% of GDP from this vast and diverse marine resource, which covers an area 10 times the size of Ireland’s land mass.

Minister Coveney added “We need an Integrated Marine Plan to harness our ocean wealth, get the environment right for investment and use the potential of our marine economy to create jobs in a sustainable manner”. 

Get informed about the issues and join the debate at www.ouroceanwealth.ie

The consultation phase will be open until 31^st March 2012 and it is envisaged that an Integrated Marine Plan will be published during summer 2012.

Mr. Phil Hogan, T.D., Minister of Environment, Community and Local Government, Ms. Jan O’Sullivan, T.D., Minister for Housing and Planning, together with Mr. Leo Varadkar, T.D., Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and Mr. Alan Kelly, T.D., Minister of State with responsibility for Public and Commuter Transport today (31 January 2012) jointly published statutory planning guidelines for local authorities on Spatial Planning and National Roads.  http://www.environ.ie/en/Publications/DevelopmentandHousing/Planning/

The Guidelines are aimed at ensuring that local authorities, in their planning and transport roles work proactively with the National Roads Authority ensuring that transport and land use planning considerations are taken into account at the early stages of both development plan and development management processes.  This is to ensure that future development  in the vicinity of national roads is guided to the most suitable location and that development on the national roads network is planned for and managed in a complementary and integrated manner.

The guidelines set out a clear national policy framework that local authorities will use in guiding development essential to Ireland’s economic recovery to the most appropriate locations. This type of joined-up thinking is essential to the Government’s  core objective of creating jobs. At the same time we must protect the  major investment in national roads in recent years by facilitating reasonable development proposals that meet road design and safety criteria and that otherwise accord with proper planning and sustainable development.

Minister Hogan highlighted that, “There is a strong inter-relationship between transport and planning policies. The purpose of these guidelines is to ensure these closely linked policies ensure that a plan-led and transport aware approach is adopted from the outset.

We are determined that the planning process will offer clear guidance and certainty to investors as to the most appropriate locations for future development. We will ensure that the national roads network, its performance and development requirements into the future are taken into account at the early stages and throughout the development planning process. Job creation must be at the heart of everything we do and how we do things  and I’m satisfied that these guidelines will also  ensure that there are no unnecessary barriers in the planning process to job creation.”

The Minister added that “improved transport infrastructure between cities, towns and rural areas enables planning authorities to particularly refocus on the importance of city and town centres and other strategic locations identified in the National Spatial Strategy and Regional Planning Guidelines and plans at local level and in a plan-led manner in overall terms.”

Minister O’Sullivan further emphasised that, “The key message of these guidelines is to encourage a collaborative approach between planning authorities and the National Roads Authority with the aim of ensuring that our national roads network is planned for and managed in an integrated manner enabling economic development of Ireland while encouraging a shift towards more sustainable forms of travel and transport.”

The guidelines highlight the need for early engagement and dialogue between the NRA and planning authorities in respect of devising appropriate policies and objectives for managing development within the broader context of the national road network and functions.

Minister Varadkar pointed out that “Ireland now has the benefit of a high-quality national roads network, but we need to ensure that we make the most of this network for many years to come. These new guidelines will copper-fasten close co-operation between the NRA and the planning authorities in the future, while subjecting new development proposals to road safety audits and other important transport policy considerations.”

Minister of State Kelly added “The aim of these guidelines is to facilitate a well-informed, integrated and consistent approach that affords maximum support for the goal of achieving and maintaining a safe and efficient network of national roads in the broader context of promoting more sustainable travel and transport generally, thereby facilitating continued economic growth and development throughout the country.”

Minister O’Sullivan outlined that “Implementation of these guidelines by planning authorities, the National Transport Authority, the National Roads Authority and An Bord Pleanála will ensure that the State’s considerable investment in national roads is harnessed in a manner that is sustainable in economic, social and environmental terms”.

These guidelines will primarily apply to the national roads network and set out policy with regard to planning considerations relating to development affecting national roads outside the 50-kph speed limit zones for cities, towns and villages.

The guidelines are being issued by the Minister for the Environment, Community and Local Government under Section 28 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 (as amended), thereby underpinned by statute.  Planning authorities and An Bord Pleanála area required to have regard to the guidelines in carrying out their functions under the Planning Acts.

Note to Editors

These statutory planning guidelines will replace the Policy and Planning Framework for Roads, published by the then Department of the Environment and Local Government in 1985, and the NRA policy statement on national roads published in May 2006, as well as, supplementing other planning policy guidance e.g. sustainable rural housing etc.

There have been various Government statements on planning policy and national roads over the past number of years, going back to the Development Control Advice and Guidelines issued in 1982 and the more comprehensive statement in 1985, Policy and Planning Framework for Roads, by the then Department of the Environment.  Policy statements made since then have been broadly based on the 1985 document.  While specific responsibility for roads policy now rests with the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport, and his Department, responsibility for planning policy rests with the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government and these guidelines provide for continued and consistent alignment between these closely linked policies.

The key principles (Section 1.5 refers) which have guided the development of these guidelines are that::

• Land-use and transportation policies are highly interdependent
• Proper planning is central to ensuring road safety
• Development should be plan-led
• Development Management is the key to Plan Implementation
• Planning Authorities and the National Roads Authority and other public transport bodies must work closely together

Thur Feb 2^nd is the REAL Ramsar world wetland day and the days after that till Sunday 5^th are added to facilitate the weekend wetland  eventers.  Ramsar people celebrate wetlands across the world.

In Ireland we can celebrate that  1. We have such wealth of wetlands and 2. we have  better wetland law than before .    There is a new opportunity to  change the view and perception of wetlands and to  see  and make better use of the tourism potential , while taking full account of the  need to plan wisely for tourism to avoid wetland degradation and loss.

Participate in the events listed by contacting organisers directly , or organise something yourself. Even one school class out at a  shore, or one group of tourists gently kidnapped  to see  a  local wetland  which is just awakening  (our frogs are  up in Wexford .. ) is worth doing.

Afterwards we would love to hear from you.

-          Help show case Ireland as a country for ecotourism bubbling with wetlands and life. And

-           Help  address things  which harm wetlands.

You can send photos in later for our new website and the Ramsar world website, where  some tourism linked initiatives  are planned.

So more  information on Irishwetlands.ie ( Website going live at Thur  2 pm  2.2 2012 )

Any queries  contact  Karin Dubsky CEPA Focal point and Irish Ramsar Wetland Committee  kdub...@tcd.ie or 086 8111 684.

EVENTS WWDs 2012 – confirmed

World Wetland Days  2012 –  A selection of Free Events to Join – or inspire your own …

The ENVIRON colloquium is the largest annual gathering of environmental researchers in Ireland with over 250 researchers attending the event. The event continues to provide a wonderful platform for PhD students and postdoctoral researchers to present their research to a wide audience. Since its establishment in 1990 one of the main strengths of the colloquium has been that it attracts delegates from a wide variety of disciplines, and in a time when science, engineering and environmental science is becoming increasingly fragmented and specialised, the colloquium provides a unique opportunity for specialist researchers to learn what is happening outside their own research area.

The theme of the 2012 ENVIRON colloquium is “Our Environment: Integrating Today’s Research with Tomorrow’s Actions”. The theme will challenge delegates to consider how ongoing research can influence many overarching areas into the future such as environmental quality, policy, legislation, society and the economy. In order to engage fully with the theme, each presenter will be asked to address how their research relates to the theme in their abstract submission and concluding slide in their oral presentation.

The colloquium banquet takes place on Thursday, March 8th, 2012 at Stillorgan Park Hotel and will cost €45 (3 course dinner, tea/coffee, wine and entertainment). A courtesy bus is provided free of charge by the hotel to transport delegates between UCD and the banquet venue.

The Programme for Government contains a commitment to introduce a statutory register of lobbyists, and rules concerning the practice of lobbying.

The Public Service Reform Programme launched by the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on 17 November 2011 contains a commitment to prepare legislation to meet this objective in 2012.

Context

The Government Reform Unit in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has commenced a review of the international approaches to the regulation of lobbyists to help inform the design of national proposals to meet the commitment contained in the Programme for Government and the Public Service Reform Plan.

Consultation Process

In order to further inform the Department’s work, submissions are invited from interested parties on key issues relating to options for the design, structure and implementation of an effective regulatory system for lobbying inIreland.

This consultation process is based on the agreed OECD Principles for Transparency and Integrity in Lobbying which was the subject of a Recommendation by the OECD Council in February 2010.

The main issues in respect of which information and views are requested are identified in a number of questions related to each of the OECD Principles available here.

Next Steps

Submissions should be forwarded to lobb...@per.gov.ie as soon as possible and no later than by 29 February 2012.

It should be noted that submissions received and reports of any meetings undertaken by the Department with any external parties in response to this request may be published on the Department’s website and will be subject to Freedom of Information requirements.

Note:

Useful public information on the regulation of lobbying internationally can be found at, for example:- 

www.oecd.org/gov/ethics/lobbying

www.regulatelobbying.com  

At a meeting on the island before Christmas with the European Commission, Cork County Council, and the Department of the Environment, FIE was told that the proposed licensce will be limited to the 9 hectares of the East Tip dump only.

A spokesman said: “Numerous reports have shown that contaminated waste from the steel-making activities are wide spread across the 12 hectares of the old steel works site as well as on the 9 hectares of the East Tip dump. Tests from the old steelwork site show levels of contamination that are actually higher for some dangerous substances than found on the East Tip.”

FIE alleges that “The clear identification of contaminated waste which must be addressed under law at the site of the steelworks by the consultants White Young Green’s Report in 2005 was excluded from their subsequent 2008 Report on which the authorities are basing the licence application.”

FIE also raised the issue of the historic dumps at areas known as the South Tip and the East Camber, but was told by officials that these dated from before 1977, when the EU Waste Directive came in.

“It makes no sense to suggest that simply through a loophole in the law the dumps are not to be made safe. It makes even less sense to ignore the repeated reports that show the build up of contaminated materials on the 12 hectares of the steel works.

In its submission, FIE argues that “Because of the infill nature of the land that underlies the entire 20 hectares, leached contaminated hazardous materials travel freely across the island and must be subject to assessment and subsequent terms of any license considered for the hazardous waste on Haulbowline Island.”

Minister for the marine Simon Coveney has said that while he does not disagree with FIE’s concerns, he does not want to “compromise or delay the current application for a landfill licence by submitting a whole series of applications which could set back the existing application for a landfill licence at the East Tip by a year or two”

Read the submission

http://www.friendsoftheirishenvironment.net/cmsfiles/files/library/submission_haulbowline_south_tip_and_east_camber_and_steel_works_and_cover.doc.pdf

The Irish Times has a summary of reactions today.

Commenting, Friends of the Earth Director, Oisin Coghlan, said

“The roadmap provides welcome clarity about the Government’s commitment to passing a climate law and outlines the opportunities for public participation in its development. It sets out a detailed step-by-step plan to pass climate legislation by the end of 2013.”

“But that timeline lacks any sense of urgency. It is climate policy for slow learners, to coin a phrase. We already have two Heads of Bills, one that had all-party backing, as well as the results of a public consultation on climate legislation carried out just last year. If he wanted to, the Minister could easily have Heads of Bill published before he goes to the RIO+20 conference in June.”

The Roadmap commits to the following steps:

• a public consultation on climate policy and legislation until the end of April 2012
• publication of the Heads of a Climate Bill in the last quarter of 2012
• the Oireachtas Committee to make recommendations before the end of June 2013
• the Government to introduce the final Bill to the Oireachtas in the second half of 2013

Mr Coghlan added

“The publication of the Roadmap is in no small part due to the work of the Oireachtas environment committee, chaired by Ciaran Lynch TD. The committee called Minister Hogan in in December to clarify his plans and at that meeting he agreed to publish this roadmap.”

The Oireachtas committee has welcomed the roadmap and the key role the committee will have in helping to develop policy and legislation in this area.

“Ireland has challenging targets for 2020 and also real opportunities to grasp in the move to a low-carbon economy. We have not time to waste. The Oireachtas committee have their work cut out for them keeping the minister to his schedule. It will also be up to the interested citizens who have keep this issue alive to ensure that that there is no further slippage,” Mr Coghlan concluded.