CatchmentCARE Training Programme

An important part of the CatchmentCARE project is to engage with landowners, farmers, anglers and local communities to upskill individuals to look after their local rivers into the future.

In May 2019, a series of river training events took place in partnership with NIEA and Dr Ken Whelan to help local groups understand how to sample their local rivers. The courses will help volunteers monitor and carry out health checks on their local river.

In 2020 a more comprehensive training programme is being rolled out across the 3 project catchments and has been made available to local interest groups.

Training Courses to be Covered in Programme

1. Water & Flood Awareness Safety Training

The aims of this water & flood awareness course are to develop individuals to water awareness level in water safety and for them to operate safely and competently within or near a water environment.

2. Non-Native Invasive Plant Identification and Control Options training

This one-day workshop will provide candidates with the opportunity to be hands-on with common terrestrial and aquatic invasive species across Ireland.

3. Habitat / Invertebrate Scoring Training Course

The course is designed to train those who are interested in small streams / small rivers on how best to monitor and characterise these small water bodies.

4. Bespoke Fisheries Habitat Assessment

The aims of this course will be to help participants identify catchment pressures and be able to identify and map various elements as outlined below.

Benefits of the Training Programme

  1. The participants gain the knowledge and skills to make informed assessments of their catchment water bodies, thus increasing their engagement and investment in the local area. Participants go back to their own groups and train more individuals on the techniques learnt – thus maximising the reach of the training programme throughout the catchment.
  2. The training allows participants to gain extra knowledge and skills to look after and protect local water bodies and associated flora and fauna. It gives a chance to discuss eco-systems with other groups in the catchment and have access to further information from the experts / organisations giving the training.
  3. Empowering people with these skills gives a long lasting return. We need volunteers to be the catchments eyes and ears in order to maintain and enhance water quality. They will also be in a better position to discuss problems areas and methods of mitigation with the wider public.
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