[tagwex]

I received this today via e-mail and thought that I should share it with you just in case that you have not received or are not involved.


"Dear all,

Today we are launching a pilot Plant Monitoring Scheme. Many of you submit casual plant records to us. These are very useful and we hope that you will continue to do so. In parallel, we hope that some of you will also consider taking part in the pilot Plant Monitoring Scheme.

We have set this scheme up to try and collect some data in a more structured way. Data collected like this is a lot more powerful as it can be better used to work out trends in species and in habitat quality. Equally as importantly, it will enable us to provide volunteers with much better support systems. For those of you who are beginners or out of practice, we hope it will provide a structure where you can upskill and gradually improve your identification skills if you are interested in doing that.

Within the scheme, we ask volunteers to record all plant species found within small plots (2m x 2m) in different habitat types. In the pilot scheme this year we are monitoring grasslands. If you take part, you can choose a grassland site(s) near you and we ask that you record there just once between June and August. On the website http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/plant-monitoring-scheme we have identification guides on the grassland plants you are likely to see along with instructions on how to take part. We also have a dedicated email address where you can email photographs for help with identification flora@biodiversityireland.ie

We hope that enough of you will take part this year to help us demonstrate that a scheme like this can generate important data on plants. If we were able to find future funding to move to a full scheme we would gradually move through different habitat types, coming back around to resurvey sites on a 5-10 yearly basis. In that respect it will enable beginners to gradually improve their identification skills. If you have areas that you particularly like it also offers you an opportunity to have these recognised and officially tracked into the future.

Due to resource limitations the scheme will be managed entirely online. On the dedicated system you can claim the site you’d like to monitor as well as submit your records once you have done your recording. Full instructions on the online system as available on the website. Outside this we will provide as much support as we can to those of you who take part.

It is a pilot, so for those of you who participate we will be very grateful for constructive feedback on the scheme. In return for your generosity in volunteering to take part and collect important plant data, we want to try and ensure that you enjoy participating and get something positive from the experience.

Many thanks

Úna


Project coordinator: Dr Úna FitzPatrick
Project officer: Oisin Duffy (part-time: Monday-Wednesday) oduffy@biodiversityireland.ie
National Biodiversity Data Centre

051-306240

http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/plant-monitoring-scheme

Copyright © 2016 National Biodiversity Data Centre, All rights reserved.
List of recorders who submitted plant data in 2015

Our mailing address is:
National Biodiversity Data Centre
WIT West Campus
Carriganore
Waterford,
Ireland"

[Ado 2]

Thanks T. You are very kind

[tagwex]

I know!

[tagwex]

I received this today via e-mail and thought that I should share it with you just in case that you have not received or are not involved. Just for the record I submitted sightings of pine martens and red squirrels.

Dear Recorder,
As you have submitted mammal records to the Data Centre I just want to provide you with an update on progress with the Atlas of Mammals in Ireland 2010-2015 publication. I am pleased to let you know that the Atlas is almost ready to go to the printers, and we hope to have it published in early December, just in time for Christmas. The Atlas, which is edited jointly by Ferdia Marnell (NPWS) and myself, has been a major undertaking but now as we are seeing the final proofs we are exceedingly pleased with the content and design of the publication. We very much hope that it will make you proud to have contributed to it.

The Mammal Atlas maps almost a quarter of a million sightings of 72 species of marine and terrestrial mammal. It brings together data from 57 different datasets, and includes more than 15,000 records that were submitted directly to the Data Centre from 2,400 different recorders over the five years of the data collection phase. All of these records have been extremely valuable in building up a comprehensive picture of the distribution of mammals in Ireland. It has been a very large collaborative project, and would not have been possible to produce without the contribution and support of a large number of people and organisations.

The Mammal Atlas runs to over 200 pages and has chapters on the Origins of mammals in Ireland, Mammal research in Ireland, Legislation and wild mammals in Ireland, Advances in mammal studies using genetic analysis, and Future outlook for mammals in Ireland. The main part of the Atlas are the Species Accounts of 72 terrestrial and marine mammals, written by 42 leading experts in Ireland. They provide information on the identification, distribution, habitat, ecology and population of each species, and presents two distribution maps showing the pre 2010 and 2010-2015 distribution. Other features include a chart showing the distribution of sightings broken down by month, and the Red List Status. I attach an example of both a terrestrial and marine mammals to give you an idea of what the final publication will look like.

The number of records that were submitted for inclusion in the Mammal Atlas far exceeded our expectations, but we now have a very solid baseline of mammal distribution in Ireland and its marine waters, to serve as a benchmark against which future changes can be tracked.

National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Heritage Council have contributed very generously to the publication costs of the Atlas, so we are able to keep the cost of the A4 hardback Atlas to €25 (plus postage and packaging). This can be ordered directly from the Data Centre from next week, and we hope to have formal launch of the Atlas in mid-January.

Finally, on behalf of Ferdia Marnell and I, thank you very much for your contribution.


Very best wishes,
Liam



****************************************************************************
Dr. Liam Lysaght, Tel +353-51-306240
Director Email llysaght@biodiversityireland.ie
National Biodiversity Data Centre
Beechfield House
WIT West Campus
Carriganore
Waterford
Ireland

Visit www.biodiversityireland.ie for a map of our location.
View Biodiversity Maps http://maps.biodiversityireland.ie/

[Greengage]

Something for the christmas tree.
I signed up for the plant monitering scheme but unfortunatly didnt take part as i have too many other commitments, but i did submit bumblebee recordings and butterfly recordings and plants and Mammals so probably didnt do too bad. Not to mention road kill, you would be amazed at the amount of badgers and foxs and hedgehogs dead on our roads, I did not record Pheasants, rabbits, cats or dogs. dangerous place out there.

[tagwex]

I sent in a few Japanese Knotweed locations too.

[Greengage]

The recipient of this year’s Distinguished Recorder Award will be Zoë Devlin (Wildflowers of Ireland) in acknowledgement of her major contribution to promoting the recording of Ireland’s wildflowers. Read more about Zoë and her work at http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/…/distinguished-recorder…/
The Award will be made to Zoë at 11.30am on 25 November at the National Museum of Ireland. Please email info@biodiversityireland.ie if you'd like to attend.
Congratulations Zoë and we're looking forward to celebrating with you on 25th!!
From Biodiversity Ireland facebook page, well done to Zoe.

[tagwex]

Not me??? Ahhhh shucks.