Funding boost for exciting community geoheritage project in Kilkenny
Geological Survey Ireland, a division of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, has awarded geoheritage grants to six community-based projects around the country, including an initiative in Kilkenny.
The funds, valued at up to €10,000 each, are available under the Geoheritage Grant Scheme run by the Geoheritage Programme in Geological Survey Ireland. They support the development and publication of educational and outreach materials.
Castlecomer Discovery Park will produce an online-linked geology trail to showcase the geoheritage of the Castlecomer Discovery Park and the geology of the Castlecomer area.
The geoheritage highlights include the coal mining heritage and the discovery of rare carboniferous amphibian fossils in 1864.
A geological map of the Castlecomer area will be created, which will also be present on the trail guides and will be provided to schools taking the new geology session.
The trail aims to promote the geoheritage to schools and the public both within the local area, and the larger catchment of Castlecomer Discovery Park.
The aim of the fund is to encourage the telling of the Irish geological story, improve the understanding of geoscience, and to engage with local groups throughout the country.
Geology is part of the heritage of Ireland and is celebrated as part of who we are. Our tourism industry is influenced by the landscape and the underlying rocks, and the geological and geographical features give rise to our agriculture, food, and often our place names and traditions. Due to the broad diversity of geology in Ireland and the relative recentness of the shaping of the landscape, every townland has the potential for an interesting geoheritage story.
The fund has been available to all community and local groups since 2019 in order to promote geodiversity, geoheritage and geoscience education through wider community engagement.
The successful applications in 2022 continue to demonstrate the diversity of Irish geology and geoheritage and its value to local initiatives and communities.