In 2021 Newry, Mourne and Down secured funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund through the Shared History programme to deliver a project entitled ‘My Place: memories from 1921 to 2021’. 

Based in the three AONBs (Mournes, Ring of Gullion, and Strangford & Lecale) in Newry Mourne and Down and Ards and North Down Council areas, this project is based on an intergenerational oral social history, capturing and presenting it; facilitated by schools, Museums, senior’s groups, and local families. 

It will take people on a journey of discovery or...

Pre-booking essential. To record your interest please complete the registration form via the link: https://forms.office.com/r/yqTh5m8hDW

Are you interested in becoming a Portico volunteer? If you enjoy talking to the public and can smile(!) then come and join our merry band of concert volunteers. But if you'd rather talk to plants you're still welcome ; ) In fact, as Portico is almost wholly run by volunteers we have devised an A-Z of opportunities:

Archiving, Baking, Choir-singing, Deadheading (flowers only thank you), Event-assisting, Fundraising, Guiding, Heritage displaying, Improving our online presence, Just chatting to newbies to make everyone feel welcome, Keeping audiences safe, Lighting...

Avian Flu has been discovered in wild birds in Northern Ireland - if you find a dead or visibly sick bird do not touch or pick up it up.

Please contact the DAERA helpline on 0300 200 7840 if you find one or more dead birds.

https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/wild-birds-and-advice-public

https://www.daera-ni.gov.uk/articles/latest-situation

Funding announced for Heritage Projects

Two funding strands – part of the Department for Communities’ wider Covid Recovery Programme – are available to support organisations and individuals working in the heritage sector in Northern Ireland.

This funding is being distributed by the Heritage Fund following criteria set by the Department for Communities.

The Covid Recovery Programme for Heritage Organisations aims to reduce or remove heritage organisations’ financial operating deficits which have arisen as a result of the pandemic in the...

Applications for the 2022 programme are open until 5pm on 21st December 2021.

Are you aged between 14 and 17? Would you like the opportunity to learn outdoor adventure and practical conservation skills? Do you have a passion for the Ring of Gullion or Strangford and Lecale AONBs and the wider environment? Perhaps you would like to work in the environmental conservation field? Then this could be the opportunity for you.

14 to 17 year olds are invited to participate in the Ring of Gullion Landscape and the Strangford and Lecale AONB’s Youth Ranger...

Moved by Nature- Big Webinar of Action

About this event

Join us on the 27th January 2022 from 10am-12pm for a discussion in the role we each play to protect and restore our natural environment. This event has been organised by Ards and North Down Borough Council, National Trust, Sport NI and Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership. Speakers include Europarc, Leave no Trace, The WISE Scheme, The Green Blue, The Right Side of Outside and Sustainable NI.

Register for this FREE event via the Eventbrite website here

The Department for Communities, Historic Environment Division (HED) has launched a public survey, to get feedback on and hear the thoughts about the management of historic monuments and sites in State Care across Northern Ireland.

There are currently 190 State Care Monuments, which HED restores and maintains including ancient tombs, medieval mottes, iconic castles and rural heritage buildings from Dunluce Castle, Ballycopeland Windmill to Derry’s City Walls.

They would like as many people as possible to take part in the survey so that they can build a...

The problem

• One million marine animals die every year due to plastic pollution
• A truck load of plastic enters our oceans every single minute
• In Northern Ireland alone, nearly 80% of litter found on our beaches
• contains plastic*

We’ve all heard these figures and seen the upsetting images, but what can we do about it?

The solution

We all need to do our bit to tackle pointless plastic – be part of the solution and tackle plastic in your workplace.

Adopt this easy to follow toolkit to...

Darren McClements, shows DAERA Minister Edwin Poots a fresh catch of prawns. Thanks to funding from the Department as part of a pilot scheme, Darren has purchased innovative on-board equipment for handling his catch on his boat named 'The Golden Ray'.

Fisheries Minister Edwin Poots MLA has today launched a grants support scheme for local fishing businesses worth £1.9million.

The Maritime and Fisheries Fund for Northern Ireland replaces the now fully-committed European Maritime and Fisheries Fund.  Financial support totalling £1.9million for fishing...

Rural Affairs Minister Edwin Poots MLA has today announced that a new £750k tranche of the Rural Micro Capital Grant Scheme (RMCGS) will open for applications on Friday 1 October 2021.

The key aim of RMCGS 2021 is to provide small capital grants of between £200 and £1,500 to rural community-led, voluntary organisations for projects tackling issues of local poverty and/or social isolation.  The Scheme is funded from DAERA’s Tackling Rural Poverty and Social Isolation (TRPSI) Programme.

Minister Poots has visited Maguiresbridge in County Fermanagh to see for...

DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, ENVIRONMENT AND RURAL AFFAIRS

27 September 2021

Poots launches NI’s first ever scheme to protect our pollinators

Environment Minister Edwin Poots has launched Northern Ireland’s first ever Rural Community Pollinator Scheme to improve the health of our bees and pollinators and help protect our eco-systems.

Environment Minister Edwin Poots with Jilly Dougan from Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful launch Northern Ireland’s first ever...

£££ FUNDING AVAILABLE of up to £125k for fishing communities!

CLOSING DATE 8 OCTOBER @ 5PM

For more information contact the SEA FLAG Team on:

: 0330 137 4051

: sea@nmandd.org

: www.seaflag.co.uk

• consultation launched to protect public and local wildlife from dangerous driving
• personal and recreational watercraft – including jet skis – will fall under same laws as ships
• tougher sentences for anyone in breach of safety laws

The Department for Transport on 6 September 2021 published a consultation to modernise laws and clamp down on dangerous driving of jet skis to protect the public...

Summary

Northern Ireland’s water resources are managed and protected using a catchment based approach which includes rivers, lakes and groundwater as well as coastal and transitional water bodies. The Water Environment (Water Framework Directive) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2017 requires the production and implementation of a River Basin Management Plan (RBMP) in six yearly cycles. The River Basin Management Plan takes an integrated approach, identifying those water bodies which can be classified as being at ‘good or better’ status. It also sets the objectives and a...