Green Drinks 4th February and Outing 1st March - Urban Foraging

The February Green Drinks talk was by Samuel Arnold, an artist who is passionate about foraging wild edibles. As a ceity dweller, he has adapted his interest to his environment and found that living in an urban landscape doesn't have to deprive him of this ancestral activity. Samuel will explain how he gets a lot out of foraging- not just fresh healthy greens, but also a truly rewarding experience in his everyday life. He would like for others to experience this and so will share some knowledge of his activities.

With foraging, edible ‘weeds’ we end up taking care and protecting wild pieces of land (even if this is contained within a small piece of derelict land). We form a relationship with land that is otherwise labelled as ‘neglected’ or disused. It is this type of ‘wild’ land that we so desperately need to allow insect life- and therefore bird life, and indeed human life to become sustainable.

In an urban setting, foraging can be a strong practice in community building, while gathering, preparing, preserving wild foods and materials into many various uses. It is an activity than can include all ages and abilities. 

Samuel also led a very successful foraging event on Sunday 1st March at Dalkey beach, who showed us some of the edible seaweeds and seaside plants that can be found.

Green Drinks 3rd March 2020 - Putting the Bite back into Biodiversity?

The March Green Drinks talk was by Adam Francis Smith, who has a degree in Zoology and Master's on deer ecology from UCD. Adam has talked and written about mammals in Ireland, and is currently studying wolf and lynx populations for a PhD fellowship in Germany with the Frankfurt Zoological Society/University of Freiburg. Adam will talk about conserving our native predators, and about the possibility of reintroducing some of those we have lost. Time for the wolf to come back?

Adam gave a very interesting talk where he talked about the benefits of returning the wolf to Ireland as a keystone species that would help enormously in restoring wildlife habitats, by controlling deer numbers for example. But there are numerous obstacles to this at the moment, not least in winning the support of landowners and the general public. Reintroducing wolves would also have to be an All-Ireland initiative, as wolves don't recognise borders! Adam concluded by saying that, while it may not be practical in the short term for this to happen, in the long-term there is a realistic possibility of bringing back the wolf, if the right policies are pursued.