All this week Deise Today will be featuring interviews with some of the participants in the Bealtaine Living Earth festival which runs until May 24th.
The Bealtaine Living Earth Festival is a fantastic annual celebration of biodiversity and the rich natural heritage in the South-East of Ireland, which is is coordinated by Calmast, Waterford Institute of Technology’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths Engagement Centre. 2020 is 16th year.
Especially in these strange times we are all keen on exploring the extraordinary things we can find in ordinary places - right at our doorstep. This is exactly what the festival does: through many events, guided tours, talks, hands-on activities and more partners such as MT Congreve Estate, LafcadioHearn gardens, JFK Arboretum showcase what we can discover in nature all around us. This year, the festival is taking place online: virtual tours, activities everyone can do at home, photo competitions…
Each day, at 5pm there is a to a different site on the website: www.livingearth.ie. and a q&A session with the expert guides.
On Monday Damien spoke to Agnes Aylward from the Lafcadio Hearn Gardens in Tramore:
On Tuesday, Michael White from Mount Congreve tells Damien about the glory of the gardens at this time of year.
On Wednesday, Damien spoke to Dr Nick McCarthy, WIT forestry lecturer about the importance of forestry for biodiversity
Thursday's Deise featured a chat with horticulturist and head guide at JFK arboretum in Wexford Mary O'Neill Maloney
