Nature events and notices
The future of food
The risks associated with genetically engineered (GM) food and farming will be outlined at the National Future of Food forum tomorrow in the Brooklodge Hotel, Macreddin, Co Wicklow. Speakers include geneticist and biophysics professor Dr Mae-Wan Ho and author Jeffrey M Smith, both of whom support the campaign for Ireland to conserve its GM-free status, as have Wales and the Scottish Highlands. Dr Ho is the director of the Institute of Science in Society (www.i-sis.org.uk), co-founder of the International Science Panel on GM (www.indsp.org) and co-author of a report entitled The Case For a GM-free Sustainable World. Jeffrey M. Smith is the director of the US-based Institute for Responsible Technology and author of Seeds of Deception. "Leading farming organisations, restaurants, chefs, food producers and consumers around the country are getting involved in the campaign to keep Ireland GM-free," says Michael O'Callaghan, co-ordinator of the GM-free Ireland Network. Earlier this year, the EU lifted its ban on the production of GM foods in Europe.
Alan Dukes, former leader of Fine Gael and chairman of the Agri-Vision 2015 committee, and Robert Cook from the International Society for Ecology and Culture will also speak at the forum.
Managing local habitats
The recently published Conserving and Enhancing Wildlife in Towns and Villages is a very valuable resource for community groups keen to manage wildlife habitats in their locality. The guide, published by the Heritage Council and available on www.heritagecouncil.ie provides the environmental rationale for planting native species of tree, conserving networks of wildlife sites and, most importantly, leaving things as they are when possible. It also reminds community groups to contact their local heritage officer prior to undertaking any work around protected structures and archaeological sites.
Houses lose their lustre
Fewer people are interested in visiting historic house museums, according to an article in the current issue of Heritage Outlook, the newsletter of the Heritage Council. Hugh Maguire, secretary/treasurer of the International Committee for Historic House Museums suggests the decline is linked to the sameness of experience in each house, a changed social perception of the relevance of such homes and the failure of many such houses to use contemporary educational aids.
Roped-off displays are also particularly stressful for parents with young children in tow. However, houses with fine gardens are bucking the trend. Maguire suggests that this reflects the current "vogue for gardening".
A mosaic made of rock
A digital mosaic of the rock structures in Connemara will be developed as part of the first Galway County Heritage Plan. The computer-generated images will highlight the rich geology of the area and will be located at key locations throughout the county. Initially, the study will focus on the Twelve Bens region of Connemara, whose exposed geology, including the famed marble, attracts attention from all over the world.