Celebrating biodiversity in the Burren through walks, talks, workshops and other activities, Burren in Bloom will explore the area’s rich diversity of plants, flowers and insects at the height of their seasonal splendour, from Friday, April 28 to Sunday, May 28.
This year the festival will have a musical start on the evening of Friday, April 28, in Seamount College, Kinvara, with a performance of ‘Flutter, Fossil, Fox’ by the local Coole Harmonies choir.
On the evening of Saturday, April 29, in Kinvara Community Centre, ornithologist Sean Ronayne will share fascinating insights into the secret world of bird songs and his mission to record all of Ireland’s birds.
These events, along with a dawn chorus walk led by naturalist and artist Gordon D’Arcy on Sunday, April 30, will be of interest to bird lovers and music lovers alike as they take place on the bank holiday weekend alongside Kinvara’s annual music festival, the Cuckoo Fleadh.
Outdoor events over the month include field trips to explore plants, flowers; butterflies; bats; woodlands; ponds; gardens; and lakes, as well as family walks and games to enjoy the Burren’s bugs, blooms, bees, and moths in the company of ecologists and specialist walk leaders.
The indoor events include a ‘Bio-based Materials Art Workshop’ at Burren College of Art on Saturday, May 20; ‘The Art of Perfume’ workshop at The Burren Perfumery on Saturday, May 27; a talk on ‘The old Irish goat and conservation grazing’ with goat herder, Melissa Jeuken on Saturday, May 20; and screening of ‘Sammy – A Pine Marten Story’, on the rescue and release of a pine marten in Co. Clare on Saturday, May 6.
A webinar on ‘The Irish Hare’ with Karina Dingerkus, on May 10, will explore the Irish hare in our farming and cultural landscape.
The festival will culminate on the last weekend of May with a ‘Bioblitz’ on a Burren farm where participants can help ecologists in recording flora of a beautifully diverse north Burren farm on Saturday, May 27, and a ‘Revisit to the location of the Burren Winterage Cattle Drive’ on Sunday, May 28, to enjoy the arrival of the bounty of wildflowers made possible by the farming practice of winter grazing.
Áine Bird, co-ordinator of Burrenbeo Trust, said that when it comes to ecological wealth and diversity, the Burren has few parallels elsewhere in Ireland, making it a fitting landscape for learning, inspiration, and celebration.
“The events of Burren in Bloom give us all an opportunity to come together as a community and enjoy this but also draw our attention to the threats faced by biodiversity worldwide, and our shared role in reversing the biodiversity declines,” she said.
While many of the events are free, nominal costs apply to some, and booking in advance is essential for all events.
Burren in Bloom is coordinated by the Burrenbeo Trust and supported by The Heritage Council under the Heritage Capacity Fund 2023.