Native Species Weekend at Dublin Zoo
When: 19th & 20th May 2012
Come and join Dublin Zoo and a wide variety of wildlife experts for a fun-filled and fact-finding weekend.
Thirteen different organisations will be present with hands-on activities ranging from energy science experiment to pond-dipping for creepy-crawlies. There will be opportunities to meet with some of Ireland’s leading wildlife experts, check-out a mini sea aquarium and working wormery and see and feel all sorts of biofacts. On Sunday, Don Conroy will be demonstrating to another generation of young folk tips for drawing wildlife.
Since 2007, Dublin Zoo, in partnership with a variety of wildlife experts and organizations, has hosted the Native Species Weekend. The aim of this weekend is to acknowledge the richness of our native flora and fauna and highlight and how everyone can play a role in conserving it. Over the weekend, wildlife experts set up in and around a marquee on the Great Lawn.
This year, the thirteen organisations hosting this event with Dublin Zoo are:
Bat Conservation Ireland Birdwatch Ireland
Galway Atlantaquaria Irish Grey Partridge Conservation Trust
Irish Peatlands Conservation Council Irish Wildlife Trust
Marine Dimensions National Parks and Wildlife Service (Biodiversity Policy Unit)
Natural History Museum OWLS Nature Club
Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland Wicklow Mountains National Park
Woodland Trust
No pre-booking required and normal admission rates apply.
Saturday, 19th May, also sees the event BioBlitz taking place in the Phoenix Park. BioBlitz is a race against time where scientists catalogue as many different species as possible within a 24 hour period (from 17.00 on 18th May to 17.00 on 19th May). This event is taking place in four parks across the island and the park with the highest biodiversity recorded wins!
Dublin Zoo will have information on this event at the Native Species Weekend and we will also be keeping a tally on the number of species found within the zoo.
To learn more about Bioblitz 2012, please visit http://bioblitz.biodiversityireland.ie/