Awards in marble:Research into the history of Kilkenny marble and the architectural origins of the village of Slane, Co Meath came under the spotlight on Wednesday at the formal presentation of awards of the annual Desmond Guinness Scholarship in the Irish Architectural Archive, Merrion Square, Dublin.
Mining engineer Tony Hand received an award for his work on the Colles family and their involvement in the construction of town and country houses through their development of Kilkenny marble.
Architect Olivia Hurley won a prize for her study of the social, economic and architectural developments in Slane village.
Professor Anne Crookshank, emeritus professor of history of art at Trinity College Dublin, also launched the latest issue of Irish Architectural and Decorative Studies, the journal of the Irish Georgian Society, which contains an interesting article on the history of window tax on Georgian houses.
Green routes to school
Growth in car use to and from school has led to social exclusion and reduced community relations among parents and children, according to an article on green schools in a recent issue of Primary Times, the magazine for primary schools. The article also highlighted the introduction of a transport dimension to the green schools, the environmental programme run by An Taisce.
The new initiative encourages schools to reduce the number of car trips made by parents, staff and students to and from school, and offers them assistance and resources to develop sustainable travel alternatives such as walking, cycling, car pooling and use of public transport. Schools are also encouraged to develop school travel action plans.
Feedback from participating schools shows that the scheme can reduce car congestion on school access roads and allow schools develop a more pedestrian-friendly policy.
See www.greenschoolsireland.org or Tel: 01-4002222 for more details.
Iveragh towers
The lakes and rivers of the Iveragh peninsula in Co Kerry will be celebrated next weekend at the 15th Éigse na Brideoige. Each year the bilingual festival celebrates a different aspect of Iveragh's heritage through lectures, music, song, poetry and walks.
"This year, we will deal with the mythology, history and hagiography of the area's rivers and lakes as well as looking at salmon fisheries," says poet and antiquarian Paddy Bushe.
Visitors and locals can speak out at an open forum on fishing on Saturday at 4pm. Tel: 066-9474123 or e-mail pdebuis@eircom.net for more details.
Recycling tour
Finally, if you live in north Co Dublin and would like to find out what happens to the material you recycle, you can contact Fingal County Council for a tour of a recycling centre. The Environmental Awareness Section of Fingal County Council is providing group tours on request.
Contact 01-8906768/8906719 or e-mail envaware@fingalcoco.ie for more details.
EcoWeb
www.ciwem.org
World Wetlands Day is celebrated on February 2nd. This site gives details of the World Wetlands Conference in London on January 31st and February 1st, where preservation of wetlands will be discussed.