Biodiversity should be second nature..

Latest grants focus on local problem-solving

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Corncrakes on Inis Mor

IRELAND is very good at talking about biodiversity.

We produce strategies, action plans and warnings about the looming collapse of nature. We're far less good at backing the kind of practical, local action that might slow that decline.

That's why this round of community biodiversity grants is worth paying attention to — not the headlines but for what it quietly gets right.

This year, 78 community projects received funding through the partnership between Community Foundation Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, with €542,250 being shared out nationwide.

It might not be transformational but it is smart money.

The strength of the scheme lies in its focus on local problem-solving. Forty communities are being funded to work directly with ecologists to identify what actions will actually make a difference where they live. A further 38 are already moving from plans into action.

Too many environmental initiatives never get that far. They stall at the point where tough decisions, local buy-in and real change are required.