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Outdoor Trails

Discover the great outdoors on Ireland's best walking trails

Outdoor School Group Of Diverse Children Studying Together In Green Field
Education is key: Heritage scheme hopes to turn learning into action
Children everywhere are being invited to take part in the National Heritage Keepers Programme so as to discover and protect the natural, built and cultural heritage on their doorstep

Thu, 24 Sep, 2026

Turf block piles, industrial peat extraction on a raised bog landscape, nature destruction in the Venner Moor, Lower Saxony, Ger
Ireland’s peatland paradox: Restoring bogs while commercial extraction continues
The taxpayer is helping fund  rehabilitation to undo decades of drainage on one set of bogs, while environmental authorities are simultaneously having to pursue unauthorised commercial extraction on others

Fri, 18 Sep, 2026

Kennel dogs locked
Pet peeve: Dog owners can make mistakes from day one
People often fail to give sufficient thought to what they are taking on when choosing a pet which in turn can lead to problems down the road

Thu, 17 Sep, 2026

Portrait of female standing near open fridge full of healthy food, vegetables and fruits.
Donal Hickey: Let’s stop and think to avoid wasting food 
The EPA says households could save upwards of €60 per month by making small changes in how they buy, store and cook food. If people are thinking about waste, they will do something to prevent it

Thu, 10 Sep, 2026

Croagh Patrick
Michelle McKeown: Stronger source-to-sea approach needed to protect our oceans
Our relationship with the ocean does not begin at the beach. It begins in upland bogs, farm drains, city streets, groundwater and small streams. And what happens on land can have very real consequences at sea

Thu, 10 Sep, 2026

Saturn moon Enceladus in front of planet Saturn, rings and other moons
Sky Matters: Active research into enduring and complex question
It’s one of humanities greatest questions: are we alone? And in the 50 years since the 1976 Viking landings on Mars, the question of life in the universe has become so much more complex

Sun, 06 Sep, 2026

Large crowds expected for 54th Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships 
Large crowds expected for 54th Irish Hot Air Balloon Championships 
First established in 1971, the championships have grown from hosting a handful of hot air balloons to more than 40 participating last year. 

Sun, 06 Sep, 2026

Bouquet of flowers in vase
Best buds: Just how green is your wedding bouquet?
Weddings are never an exercise in environmental perfection. But there are a few simple choices we can make that can lessen the environmental footprint of our big day without lessening the beauty of the occasion.

Sat, 05 Sep, 2026

FRANCE-MOUNTAIN-SANCY-AUGUST-2025
Groundhog day: Call for end to hunting of French marmots
Shooting marmots is permitted from September 1 each year in France, however, animal rights activists do not approve and are calling on the French government to prohibit such hunting on humane grounds

Fri, 04 Sep, 2026

SCOTLAND Hedgehogs 1
Urban crawl: Number of hedgehogs in cities spikes
Urban populations appear relatively stable, highlighting the critical role that suburban gardens, parks, and other managed green spaces play in hedgehog survival

Thu, 03 Sep, 2026

Sargassum seaweed in Mayan Riviera and Cancun beach on Caribbean,
Too much of a good thing: Why sargassum has become such a problem
Offshore sargassum is extremely valuable as nurseries and refuges, providing shelter and food for fish, crabs, seabirds and young sea turtles, Near shore, however, excessive quantities can lower oxygen levels, block light and smother seagrass, corals and other marine life

Fri, 28 Aug, 2026

Dodo Bird
Bird-brained: Research debunks long-held beliefs about dodos
Was the dodo really the overweight, intellectually-challenged slob of popular opinion? A new study suggests not

Fri, 28 Aug, 2026

Hikes and trails: Sit in Synge's Chair on defiantly traditional and tranquil Inishmaan 
Hikes and trails: Sit in Synge's Chair on defiantly traditional and tranquil Inishmaan 
Untroubled by the daily pressures of tidal tourism, Inishmaan continues as an authentic outpost of Gaelic culture where Irish defiantly persists as an everyday language

Thu, 27 Aug, 2026

British Berry Growers Blackberry Spotlight
Donal Hickey: Blackberries ripe and 'ready for the bucket'
People of all ages, often three or more generations together, are out harvesting and moving along the ditches as brambles are well-laden with blackberries ready for picking

Thu, 27 Aug, 2026

Lunar eclipse to make moon glow red later this week — here's when to see it in Ireland
Lunar eclipse to make moon glow red later this week — here's when to see it in Ireland
Early risers will be rewarded as the shadow of Earth will make the moon glow red before dawn

Tue, 25 Aug, 2026

Pet rat
Rat trap: Much of what we blame on rodents is our own doing
Rats are dirty. They contaminate food stores, spread disease and damage buildings. But we have only ourselves to blame for their ubiquitous presence

Sat, 22 Aug, 2026

Herd Of Holstein Friesian Cattle
Farming bailouts a barrier to climate-resilient food system
Farmers need and deserve wide public support however that support is under increasing strain and will not last while the focus of the industry is on maintaining business as usual

Sat, 22 Aug, 2026

A real buzzkill: Ecological change and the potential threat from mosquitoes
A real buzzkill: Ecological change and the potential threat from mosquitoes
Mosquito-borne disease is not a major public-health problem here. But a new Irish review suggests we should not assume that will always remain the case

Fri, 21 Aug, 2026

A Peacock butterfly sitting on Lavender flowers in the sunshine in Hampshire, UK
Donal Hickey: Plants to help our under-threat butterflies
Since 2008, when systemic monitoring of the butterfly population began, there’s been a steep decline, with habitat loss being a critical issue

Fri, 21 Aug, 2026

Dollars Yen Pounds Euros Financial Washout
Paradise lost: Tourist taxes and the price of visiting beautiful places
There is a strong argument that tourists should contribute towards maintaining the places they enjoy. Properly designed taxes can raise substantial sums for conservation, infrastructure and public services. But revenue raised is not an environmental outcome and its what happens afterwards is real the problem

Sat, 15 Aug, 2026

Woolly Rhinoceros
Wisdom teeth: Rhino remains cast light on Neanderthals' resourcefulness
‘Grizzly’ Neanderthals have been depicted as brutal and sub-human. They were deemed to have been artistically challenged. However, paintings left by them on the walls of caves suggest otherwise

Fri, 14 Aug, 2026

Buff-tip moth
Wild Matters: Farmer-led initiative helping reveal the magic of moths
The Farmer Moth Monitoring Project is opening our eyes to the world of moths, helping us to appreciate and value these secret inhabitants of our ecosystems

Fri, 14 Aug, 2026

DENIS SCANNELL
Donal Hickey: Local dismay over delays to Killarney sewage plant works
Concerns are growing as essential work to upgrade the town’s underperforming sewage treatment plant will not now take place before 2030

Thu, 13 Aug, 2026

1/8/2008 Solar Eclipses
Solar eclipse in Ireland FAQ: Weather, times, viewing events, and where to get solar glasses
A solar eclipse is a celestial event that occurs when the moon passes between Earth and the sun, obscuring the view of the sun from a small part of Earth, totally or partially

Wed, 12 Aug, 2026

Bobolink, Dolichonyx oryzivorus, male bird perching
More than half of Earth’s migratory bird species are declining — here’s how we can save them
A bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus) leaves its breeding grasslands of North America for the Pampas of South America

Sun, 09 Aug, 2026

Hikes and trails: Enjoy an easy ramble back through the centuries at Portumna Forest
Hikes and trails: Enjoy an easy ramble back through the centuries at Portumna Forest
The quicksilver waters of the Shannon sparkling vividly through the trees at Bonaveen Point is undoubtedly the high point of this three-hour route around this leafy forest trail

Fri, 07 Aug, 2026

Donal Hickey: Warm Atlantic waters attract exotic creatures to our shores
Donal Hickey: Warm Atlantic waters attract exotic creatures to our shores
Our coasts, especially in the south and west, have been seeing more sharks

Thu, 06 Aug, 2026

Adder, Vipera berus
Richard Collins: We have an ancestral fear of snakes — the feeling is mutual
I encountered a snake swimming in the French Basque region’s Huchet River last month. We have an ancestral fear of snakes; the fixed stare of a serpent’s cold eye spooks us

Thu, 06 Aug, 2026

Festivals can make it easy to be sustainable — here's how
Festivals can make it easy to be sustainable — here's how
All Together Now felt culturally self-assured, imaginative and proudly local. A festival ambitious enough to put Irish talent at its centre should be equally ambitious about protecting the landscape hosting it

Wed, 05 Aug, 2026

'Knowledge is power': Showing off the undersea wonders of Cork Harbour
'Knowledge is power': Showing off the undersea wonders of Cork Harbour
A new marine experience has opened up on Cork's coast, spearheaded by local man Dave Quinlan, who tells MARGARET DONNELLAN how the fishing industry has helped provide many of the fascinating exhibits

Mon, 03 Aug, 2026

Stuttgart, Germany - April 14, 2023: ChatGPT artificial intelligence AI Chat GPT with OpenAI logo in Stuttgart, Germany.
AI-altered images on birdwatching forums are putting research at risk
Experts warn increase in enhanced photos on birding platforms creating fake sightings, threatening credibility of tool used by scientists

Sun, 02 Aug, 2026

Car driving on winding road through lush green valley at sunset
Going electric won’t clean up our hedgerows. So what can be done?
We tend to treat hedges as attractive boundaries, but they are busy doing a lot of work. They provide food and shelter for wildlife, connect fragmented habitats, store carbon, and slow water moving across the landscape. Beside roads, their leaves and branches can also intercept airborne particles

Sat, 01 Aug, 2026

Get ready for two rare astronomical events — on the same day
Get ready for two rare astronomical events — on the same day
On August 12, we will have the opportunity, weather permitting, to view the deepest eclipse of the sun by the moon until 2090. That’s 64 years, or almost three generations

Fri, 31 Jul, 2026

Treecreeper (Certhia familiaris) found in European woodlands climbing tree trunks
Richard Collins: We belong to a community of domestic and wild creatures — we are not superior
To what extent do wild animals respond to encounters with others not of their own kind? Are there relationships between them which transcend the species barrier?

Thu, 30 Jul, 2026

A blue barrel for collecting rainwater. Collecting rainwater in plastic container. Collecting rainwater for watering the garden.
Donal Hickey: What is water harvesting and is it making a return? 
Nowadays called water harvesting, this form of collection and storage was widely practised by our practical ancestors. Often, large concrete troughs were part of the scene in farmyards for the same purpose

Thu, 30 Jul, 2026

Opening of Himalayan Hills, Dublin Zoo
Lesser spotted: This elusive leopard is somewhat of a 'ghost'
The snow leopard is more closely related to the tiger than to the ‘common’ leopard. But whereas the latter is a highly adaptable species, the ‘ghost’ is a specialist, at home only on the highest mountains

Sat, 25 Jul, 2026

Fish boat vessel fishing in a rough sea
Uneasy sea-bedfellows: Oceans of conflict around fishing and conservation
A major impediment to fishermen effectively becoming guardians of the seas and leading on restoration efforts is the complex manner in which the sea is managed

Sat, 25 Jul, 2026

Roz Purcell on 'scary' Slievenamon wildfire near home: 'I hope nobody ever has to go through this'
Roz Purcell on 'scary' Slievenamon wildfire near home: 'I hope nobody ever has to go through this'
The fire, which started on the mountain earlier this week, has engulfed surrounding woodland and is making its way toward the homes of local residents

Thu, 23 Jul, 2026

Cracked dried earth texture background, close up. Dry, erosion, ecology problem concept.
Under pressure: Dry conditions are changing the ground beneath us
Drought does not simply make soil dry. It changes how soil is structured, how it functions and how well it recovers, and Ireland is by no means immune to its effects

Thu, 23 Jul, 2026

Bright metallic blue fly on straw
On the fly: Insects play key role in environmental and human life
The next time you hear someone grumbling about insects causing a nuisance ask them to think again. We rely on insects for many things that go unseen

Wed, 22 Jul, 2026

Cork's Fota Wildlife Park celebrates rare birth of two Sumatran tiger cubs 
Cork's Fota Wildlife Park celebrates rare birth of two Sumatran tiger cubs 
Born on June 16 to mother Jambi and father Batak, the cubs’ arrival marks the first time more than one cub has been born in a single litter at the park

Wed, 22 Jul, 2026

Wild Matters: Nature restoration in action through pioneering projects
Wild Matters: Nature restoration in action through pioneering projects
Celebrating restoration  initiatives nationwide that are effectively combatting the loss of nature across landscape and habitat types

Mon, 20 Jul, 2026

Georgian doors in Dublin
Michelle McKeown: In a heatwave, trees are more than just a pleasant extra
During hot weather, trees function as pieces of living infrastructure where they cool streets, shade buildings, and make towns and cities more comfortable. They are, essentially, natural air conditioners

Mon, 20 Jul, 2026

Summer weather June 1st 2025
Flower fairies: Foxglove and fuschia feature prominently in folklore
The warn sunny conditions of late have created the ideal climate for our wild plants, such as foxglove and fuchsia, which are growing in glorious profusion across the country

Thu, 16 Jul, 2026

St Swithin's Day: Could it stay sunny for the next 40 days? Here's what we know
St Swithin's Day: Could it stay sunny for the next 40 days? Here's what we know
July 15 is St Swithin's day and according to an old legend, it could determine the weather for the rest of the summer

Wed, 15 Jul, 2026

Moon Jellyfish stranded on a beach.
These are the jellyfish to watch out for and the ones you don't need to be afraid of
These smugairle róin (translates from Irish as 'seal snot') seem to be on the increase, although in the absence of monitoring and data about jellyfish distribution and abundance, it is hard to know for sure

Tue, 14 Jul, 2026

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