Building-skills expo: Stonecutters, woodcarvers, ironworkers, plasterworkers, thatchers, wood turners and stained-glass artists will be among the impressive range of craftspeople demonstrating their work at the Traditional Building and Conservation Skills in Action exhibition in the Warehouse, Albert Quay, Cork City, on Saturday and Sunday next.
Organised by the Irish Georgian Society in conjunction with Cork City Council, its main aim is to encourage property owners and developers to source expert advice and appropriately skilled workers when restoring historic buildings. The Irish Georgian Society's Traditional Building Skills register of practitioners will be available for perusal. Walking tours exploring Cork's built heritage leave from the Warehouse at 11.30am and 5pm on Saturday and at 3pm on Sunday. Exhibition opening hours are 10am-6pm on Saturday and 11am-5pm on Sunday. Admission free.
Bog of Allen for survey
Over the next two months, two Dutch landscape artists, Ineke Roell and Marleen Jansen from the Larenstein University in The Netherlands will carry out a survey of Lullymore Island in the Bog of Allen, Co Kildare. The information garnered from the survey will be used by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council (IPCC) in its proposal that the area be developed as a heritage zone. Now a patchwork of fields, woodlands and hedges covering 220 hectares, Lullymore Island hosted a monastic settlement in the fifth century and the remains of a graveyard mark the spot to this day. The island is surrounded by two raised bogs that are home to a wide variety of flowers, birds and animals. Visitors to the IPCC open day next Saturday at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre, Rathangan, Co Kildare, can join guided walks of the area. Contact 045-860133 and www.ipcc.ie
Guzzler the energy monster
Primary schools will have just received a copy of the Big Book on Energy, a story about Guzzler, the friendly monster who uses too much energy. An initiative from Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI) to teach five- to eight-year-olds about the importance of energy conservation, the book is supported by Guzzler workshops run by SEI. In the workshops, experiments and games are used to teach pupils how to be more energy aware in their everyday lives. See also www.sei.ie
Mosaic on the beach
Eight-year-olds and over can learn about rocks and help artist and geologist Martina Keating create a giant beach mosaic from 10am to 1.30pm next Saturday at Kilfarrsay beach, Co Waterford. The event is one of a series celebrating European Geopark week and the Ireland Newfoundland Festival of the Sea at the Copper Coast Geopark along the Waterford coast. Geologists will also lead kayaking trips (participants must be aged 18 and over) along the Waterford coastline to explain the geological history of the area on Saturday next from 2.30pm-5.30pm. Walks exploring the geology of Ballydowane Cove and Benvoy Strand take place on Tuesday, May 31st and Thursday, June 2nd at 7pm. See www.coppercoastgeopark.com for full details of exhibitions, boat trips and talks.
