In what is becoming an annual event, SLLP teamed up with the Strangford Lough and Ards Peninsula National Trust Ranger team and volunteers for an 'extreme clean-up' of marine litter on the shores of Strangford Lough. Thanks to a Small Grant from Live Here Love Here, we once again tackled an “extreme clean-up” of those hard to reach stretches of shore around Strangford Lough and Strangford and Lecale Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

This year our chosen spot for a clean-up was National Trust owned Taggart Island, on the west coast of the lough. Despite delays and challenges...

Membership Renewal 2021

Following a recent call for new membership, Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership, Chairperson PJ Gault welcomes the following new partnership members,

• Dot Blakely, Bird Watching with Dot,
• Liesa Johnston Strangford Lough Tourism Cluster,
• Dr Verity Peet, Manager Portico, Portaferry

You are all very welcome and we very much look forward to working with you all at Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership.

AONBs Lockdown Help for Farms to become More Resilient
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wUi9LeGVu68&t=1018s.
The management teams of the Ring of Gullion, the Mournes and Strangford and Lecale AONBs (Areas of Outstanding Nature Beauty) have teamed up with the Woodland Trust to invite interested members of the farming community to sign up for a farm plan project.
This is the second year of a project which is working closely with farmers to partner them in trialling a new approach to...

Please consider taking part in a 10-minute online survey on Strangford Lough. Constance Schéré, a PhD candidate at King’s College London, is studying marine conservation at Strangford Lough. Part of her PhD research is to understand the role equity (i.e. fairness and inclusion) plays in conservation. Equitable conservation is vital to ensuring effective protection of natural resources while maintaining human well-being, yet equity tends to be overlooked in protected area assessments.

In this fully anonymous survey, you...

SLLP have teamed up with King's College London student, Constance Schéré to deliver a Strangford Lough stakeholder engagement event. Do you work, live or play in, on or around Strangford Lough? If so then we would really value your participation in this project and want to hear from you! Constance is researching ‘To what extent does governance play a role in how effectively a marine protected area in the Irish Sea reaches its biological and socioeconomic goals? In other words, does governance influence or determine whether or not an MPA is successful?’ To develop a scorecard...

image credit - Mark Carmody 'Shore Birds of Ireland - The Collins Press' Mark Carmody PhotographyDo you know your Shelduck from your Brent Goose? Or your Curlew Redshank? Whether the answers are yes or no...this is the event for you! Come along to this free event and enjoy the spectacle of the over-wintering bird population on Strangford Lough under expert guidance.Join us on Saturday 30th November 2019 at 10.45 for a bird-watching session with local naturalist, ecologist and wildlife guide David Thompson @WildAboutToursLearn about...

Sea Generation Ltd (SGL) will be working on SeaGen from 2nd August, raising the cross beam andpreparing SeaGen for Stage 1 Decommissioning works.Stage 1 decommissioning works are scheduled to be conducted from 6th to 18th August. Stage 1works comprise removal of; crossbeam, lift legs and topside. After Stage 1 decommissioning worksSeaGen will be left as shown in the figure below.SGL continues to work with the decommissioning contractor to conduct Stage 2 decommissioningworks between November 2018 and April 2019 comprising the main cut and lift of the remainingsuperstructure.

A lasting collection of stories from Strangford Lough in County Down, told by the people who live and work there, is now available on a beautifully produced double CD, launched this week by the Strangford lough and Lecale Partnership (SLLP)

Former BBC Radio senior producer, Elizabeth Rice, was commissioned by the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership, to capture the essence of this very special place by recording local people and places, telling the stories of their lives, their families and the wildlife and landscapes that are so special to...

The Strangford Lough & Lecale Partnerships FREE over wintering bird watch.  Guides will focus on the fantastic bird life that has made huge journeys to feed and rest here.  Booking is essential as places are limited. Call Leslie on 07715341251

10.30am on 11th February Meet in the Car Park opposite Kilclief Castle, Shore Road, Strangford, Co. Down   

No previous experience required just come along and enjoy the experience, bring binoculars if you have them and dress for the weather 

Fishing Communities Get Maritime Heritage Tourism Boost

Fishing communities in County Down have been given a major boost, through a Maritime Heritage Tourism initiative, launched this week in Ardglass.  Heritage guide training, signage, seating , information panels, free WiFi and media Apps, are among the benefits  to fishing communities at Ardglass, Portavogie and Kilkeel, through the collaborative project led by the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership...

Come Celebrate Portaferry's Wildlife and Built Heritage on 21 March
Hedgerows, woodland, sea shore and magnificent buildings are just some of the features of Portaferry's incredible heritage and on Saturday 21 March, St Mary's Primary school, in association with the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership is inviting everyone to get out and enjoy it.
The event will run from 11am to 3pm with lots of family activities. You can learn some bush skills with the National Trust at Nugent's Wood, plant some trees and get up close to marine beasties with Ulster Wildlife's Touch Tank at...

Killyleagh takes the trophy in the first Narrrows Challenges coastal rowing race.

Everyone was a winner when communities along the County Down coast came together to race their beautiful skiff rowing boats in the first Narrows Challenges, run by the Strangford Lough and Lecale Partnership (SLLP), this weekend. The atmosphere was electric as Killyleagh’s fiery red “Skart” scooped the main trophy just ahead of Strangford’s Strangfjorthr” . The boats completed the course and Ardglass, Dundrum and Killyleagh won the sprint races with teams of all abilities getting the...