Learning and courses on conservation and wildlife

n1st

I'm a wildlife enthusiast and now have 50 acres to play with.

I'd love to have some formal training on conservation, biodiversity, wildlife management, native plants etc.

Where should I start?

I have an engineering background.

magicbastarder

i can't help you except to say i'm jealous.

As above, jealous, a great situation to be in. You have enough terrain to really get stuck into some decent conservation projects.

Also, the fact you are interested in proper, formal training and education is heartening. There are an awful lot of well meaning folk who do more harm in their first flush of enthusiasm than they will ever balance with worthwhile effort. Quite a few eco-charlatans in the field too.

If you have time and some funds, a 12 month masters would be really useful. NUIG, TCD and UCC definitely have specific courses on wildlife and conservation management, there are likely a few more out there. I can personally recommend the NUIG ones, you will meet a huge range of committed people. And it is rigorous, in depth background on legislation etc.

I don't know what your baseline of knowledge on wildlife is, but there is an enormous range of reading available. General books on wildlife in Ireland you might consider are Michael Viney's Ireland, Padraic Fogarty's Whittled Away.

Youtube has some good stuff, Knepp Rewilding is one, they have a little bit more land to play with though! Just beware there is an awful lot of rot too.

Unfortunately there isn't a good framework of training and education in conservation and wildlife in Ireland outside of universities; UK has a Field Studies Council which runs lots of shorter, more targeted courses. Irish Wildlife Trusts, Birdwatch Ireland, Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland are three great groups to look at for brains to pick.

And you will find out new stuff too, from your own projects; some things will work in ways you won't have expected. Just to reiterate though, that the approach you are looking at, trying to really understand the wildlife, ecology and conservation issues is the best by far; ultimately the most rewarding too.

Good Luck.

magicbastarder

i don't think you'd need formal education to avoid doing damage, to be fair.

what sort of territory is the land on now, and are there any examples of natural or 'unmanaged' land nearby which might give you an idea of what nature would want to do if left alone there?

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118401701#Comment_118401701

No, probably not, it can give a grounding to know where to go for information at the very least though.

Second point is well made; natural and semi-natural types of habitat are what should be templates.

magicbastarder

it could be worth teaming up with or seeking the assistance of an ecological organisation; in case you're near where they operate, or would be doing something in line with their ethos?

e.g. if you were down near boora (to pick a random example) it's possible you could assist with the work of the grey partridge trust, were your land suitable.

n1st

Many thanks folks. The land is in south Roscommon.

Ive been in contact with some organisations this year but have only gotten written advice so far.

Any recommendations on organizations in the south Roscommon or Galway east area greatly appreciated.

deise08

As with the rest, so very jealous,

Are corncrake in your area?

Would that be something you'd consider?.

https://mobile.twitter.com/CorncrakeLife

The world is your oyster now..

JonathonS

Build a stone wall around it! www.dswai.ie

Learn all sorts of organic skills www.nots.ie (based in Leitrim)

magicbastarder

I know the native woodland trust have a site which encompasses some of St John's Wood on the western side of Lough Ree, so maybe not far from you; it was mentioned in the NWT magazine that they had been doing seed collection there this autumn.

http://www.ballydanganbog.com/

These are a great group, well worth contacting.

Also Tommy Earley in Leitrim is an inspiration

https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/it-s-lovely-to-hear-the-call-of-the-curlew-again-an-irish-farmer-s-biodiversity-vision-1.4728543