Our Aims and Objectives

The aim of the Biodiversity Town project is to connect the public with the work that is going on, to inform them of the purpose behind the work that they see and to encourage them to become involved. In so doing, we will deepen the engagement of the public and ensure that the benefits of our work reach beyond the public areas in which we are active and become embedded in the private gardens and public spaces throughout the town.

By reclaiming the gardens and private lands for nature we can secure the future of many species, improve water quality and promote sustainable development. And so our central aim is to promote engagement in the Biodiversity Town concept by the citizens and businesses of Monaghan.

Ultimately we seek to promote and develop the urban biodiversity of Monaghan Town for the benefit of our citizens and our little piece of the planet.

The Training and Promotion projects for Biodiversity Town

Monaghan Tidy Towns seeks to recruit and train a core team of volunteers who will act as ambassadors and advocates for biodiversity in Monaghan town.
We want to build the capacity and confidence of the volunteers to be able to inform and educate members of the public about the plants and animals that make their home in Monaghan town.
Our programme will be built around 5 skills and capacity building workshops for the core team of volunteers and at least 4 community training events.
These will be organized in Monaghan town that will attract the interest of school children, families with young children, adults, older people and new citizens of Monaghan. Each event will have specified learning outcomes for participants at the event

Core volunteers will be enabled to demonstrate competence in -

Organising outdoor events
Carrying out an event risk assessment and reviewing the event
A wildlife guide capable of imparting knowledge / skills to members of the public
Using social media to promote and inform

A promotional campaign will be developed across a number of different media including a web site, social media channels, youtube and more traditional means to disseminate information from the organized events and to promote the biodiversity message to as wide a range of the community as possible

We believe this project is unique in that

It will establish a culture of data collection, so that we know what is living in our town, and the impact our actions are having over time
We will become self-sufficient in the skills our community requires to nurture the natural environment and enable it to flourish alongside humanity
We will build the capacity of the Tidy Towns volunteers so that the organisation can continue the work on a self-sustaining basis
We will use a wide range of media to inform and involve the community at all levels while promoting the importance of protecting local biodiversity
We will create a record of how the Biodiversity Town Model is being created, so that it may be learned from and replicated by others
Sample events will include the annual “Hug a Tree” event in Rossmore Park, a Bat Walk, , National Butterfly Count, Wildflower walk, Moth Breakfast, Garden Bird Count, a Foraging Walk, Water Quality sampling, a Pollinator Workshop – where Monaghan householders can learn about shrubs and wildflowers that can help their garden be pollinator friendly. Events will include species identification and submission of records to National Biodiversity Centre.
Competencies and skills demonstrated by volunteers will include developing the confidence to become Biodiversity Town Ambassadors in one or more areas, for example, trees, water quality, pollinators, butterfly monitoring etc.
They will learn how to use accessible media recording equipment (phones) to gather evidence and record events to share information with the wider public.