A grant scheme providing up to €5,000 to support Ireland’s biodiversity and nature recording community has opened for applications.
The scheme is now open for applications until 5:00p.m on Wednesday, April 13, and aims to support the recording of Irish nature and to enhance the knowledge of species identification.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS), which manages the scheme, also seeks to develop the next generation of specialist recorders.
Announcing the opening of the scheme, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan said:
“I hope, given the increased time people have spent engaging with nature over the past two years during periods of lockdown, that more nature enthusiasts will apply for this funding and join this vibrant network.”
Grants provided under the scheme are targeted at volunteer or unpaid recorders, groups, societies and associations of recorders who have limited or no access to financial supports for their work.
All recorded data is utilised by the NPWS to generate information on species and habitats while providing advice on nature conservation objectives and measures to protect biodiversity.
Now in its fourth year, the scheme has already supported over 30 projects covering the entire range of natural history in Ireland. Minister Noonan added that “we’ve seen some great work done in local communities through this scheme”.
Previous projects, for example, covered the recording of many biological groups such as moths, other terrestrial invertebrates, bats, plants and marine organisms.
Provided grants also contributed to the purchase of specialist equipment to track bird movements, according to the NPWS.
Biodiversity projects
The maximum value of an individual grant is €5,000 and the number of grants awarded will be determined by the total budget and the quality of applications.
Projects covering all areas of Irish natural history are welcome, thus there are no restrictions on the habitats or species groups.
The types of costs that can be covered under the grant scheme include:
- Purchase of specialist fieldwork equipment, books and keys;
- Costs of running workshops and training courses;
- Costs of attending specialist training courses;
- Costs of visits to museums to do research in collections;
- Publication of atlases, field guides or keys;
- Websites and online databases;
- Discrete elements of larger projects.
Fieldwork expenses including travel and subsistence within Ireland are also covered under the scheme. However, fieldwork expenses abroad may also be covered if the project demonstrates a benefit to natural history recording in Ireland.