Westmeath Heritage and Biodiversity Conference to be held in Athlone
A conference on Westmeath’s Heritage and Biodiversity will take place at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Saturday, November 21. The free-to-attend event is will feature talks by specialists on Westmeath's history, ecology, and areas where the two intersect.
The day-long conference is open for environment enthusiasts and interested parties, and will provide an opportunity for attendees to meet active groups across the county.
The attendees can learn about the work of various groups, and network with others who share an interest in Westmeath’s heritage and biodiversity. “This will be an opportunity for all those interested in Heritage and Biodiversity to come along and hear about some of the projects underway in the county”, said Heritage Officer Melanie McQuade.
The morning session will include presentations by award-winning oral historian Tomas MacConmara on Westmeath Voices: Discovering, Recovering and Safeguarding the County’s Oral Heritage, followed by Phoebe O’Brien's presentation on a county semi-natural grassland survey.
Conservation architect Sinead Gargan will outline how her team developed a Conservation Management Plan for an unusual collection of Wayside Crosses at Fore, while Dr Robert Jan de Baars from UCD will speak on Invasive Species.
Tara O’Faoláin from Abarta Heritage will speak about her recent work on the survey of holy wells in south Westmeath. Later, John Lusby from BirdWatch Ireland will speak on specialist breeding bird surveys on raised bogs in Westmeath.
Afternoon will feature a series of shorter talks. County Archivist Martin Fagan will outline some collections that have recently been digitised, Linda Gilsenan will speak about the Athlone Pollinator Project, Aengus Finnegan will speak on some local place names and their origins, while Brian Browne will tell us about managing Himalayan Balsam at Lough Derravarragh.
The day will close with presentations from Biodiversity Officer Christina Sweeney and Heritage Officer Melanie McQuade.
Christina said: “We have a great line-up of speakers for the day. The schedule runs from 10am to 3pm. Tea/coffee and lunch will be provided and there will be plenty of time for questions and discussion. I hope the Heritage and Biodiversity Conference will become an annual information and networking event that may be held in different venues around the County in coming years”.
The full programme for the day is available on Ticket Tailor or by contacting the Heritage Office. The Westmeath Heritage and Biodiversity Conference is an action of the Westmeath Heritage Plan and is funded by the Heritage Council and Local Authority Ceangal Programme with support from Westmeath County Council.
Registration will open from 9.30am, with an Information Village featuring local heritage, biodiversity and community groups. Admission is free but booking is required owing to the limitation of seats. Bookings can be made at heritage@westmeathcoco.ie or 044 9332098/ 087 6074496.