Gardens go organic: Sustainable gardens are a growing trend in gardening circles as more and more gardeners replace toxic pesticides with eco-friendly alternatives.
A number of courses also kick off this month for those keen to learn the basics of organic gardening. Chief among these are the organic gardening for beginners courses (February 24th and March 14th) at the Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim. Also, the month-by-month course on organic gardening held in conjunction with the Organic Centre at venues in Co Clare and Co Wicklow begin this week. Contact 071-9854338 for full details. Meanwhile, at Cultivate, you can join a hard-core organic gardening workshop with the aptly named, Bob Flowerdew on Saturday next or attend the "no-work garden" lecture on Friday at 7.30pm. The Cultivate members garden club will also be launched next weekend. Contact 01-6745773. Also, check out the Enfo leaflet, The Greener Garden - Blurring the Boundary on how private gardens can be managed more sympathetically for wildlife.
EU laws to cut waste
Member States of the European Union will have to enforce stricter waste management targets if new laws passed in the European Parliament earlier this week are accepted by the European Council of Ministers. The laws include requirements to stop the upward trend of waste creation by 2012 and set strong waste reduction targets for 2020. By 2020, the European Parliament wants 50 per cent of municipal solid waste and 70 per cent of waste from construction, demolition, industry and manufacturing to be re-used or recycled. Rules on landfill and incineration are also set to be tightened up. Find out what Irish MEPs said after the debate at www.radioep.ie.
Museums in conference
The role of museums - particularly in relation to illustrating how science and technology impact on our lives - will be discussed at the Irish Museum Association's annual conference from March 2nd-4th. Held in Dublin this year to mark the 150th anniversary of the Natural History Museum, the conference will feature talks from Dr John Falk, director of the Institute for Learning Innovation, Annapolis, Maryland, US, Paul Bowers from the Natural History Museum in London, Dr Jonathan Bell, formerly of the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum, Co Down, Nigel Monaghan, keeper of the Natural History Museum in Dublin and Dr Michael John Gorman, director of the new Science Gallery at Trinity College Dublin. Themes such as the relationship between art and science and technology and museums will be debated. Contact www.irishmuseums.org or 01-6633579.
Botanic in Wicklow
Have you visited the National Botanic Gardens' Kilmacurragh arboretum in Kilbride, Co Wicklow? The arboretum includes mature conifers, a variety of rhododendron species and some older deciduous trees. This year, the National Botanic Gardens' is running a series of workshops and guided walks there. The first, a workshop on conifer identification is on next Saturday at 2pm, followed by a plant identification workshop on Saturday, March 10th at 2pm. Admission free but booking essential. Contact 01-8570909.