We’ve stood with the community in Warrenpoint for years, demanding action on air pollution and public health. 
Now, as the pressure mounts, some are trying to deflect blame from those responsible by pointing to “illegal immigration” instead of the polluters and those in power.

Join the fight for clean air and water, and a just and sustainable future for all life around the shores of Carlingford Lough.

I don’t think I’ve seen such a genuine outpouring of grief, love and appreciation for an Irish person since the passing of Seamus Heaney. All so deserved. A unique talent, a man who plugged into our deep connections with language and land. A profound loss. #ManchanMagan

According to the National Land Cover Map 2023, forest cover in Ireland is considerably higher than the often reported 11%. Based on a definition that includes scrub, treelines, hedgerows, and coniferous & broadleaf forest, Ireland’s forest cover is 18.29%. www.farmersjournal.ie/news/news/on...

@quadratdtp.bsky.social & @climatecocentre.bsky.social PhD Student Dario Di Girolamo has been working with Ulster Uni librarians to digitise 27 PhDs detailing the ecology & biology of #LoughNeagh they are curated here & freely available: climatecocentre.org/news/lough-nea… please share!

It's shocking, but sadly not surprising, to see Ireland ranked third for nature & farmland loss per capita in Europe. @naturalistdara.bsky.social @rewildingire.bsky.social @whittledaway.bsky.social @wildlifeni.bsky.social @irishwildlifetrust.bsky.social @donnarainey4.bsky.social @rspbni.bsky.social

The quiet beauty of the Mourne Mountains has inspired many songs over the years. This one, Mourne Rambler, was written by Tommy Sands 60 years ago, in 1965. youtu.be/qs_CLxKJomM?...

Make it a Sunday afternoon date with a difference! 🍂 The wonderful Mary Reynolds follows her Saturday talk at Queen’s University Belfast with a Sunday afternoon visit to An Cuan, Rostrevor on October 12th. Admission is free, but booking is essential ⬇️ www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/an-inspiri...

“With the great dehumanising of refugees in Europe and Britain that is going on, we’ve set out to humanise these people and to inhabit their world every single part of the way.” A new podcast revealing the unjust and unsettling costs of the global waste trade. www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio...

Great to share the company of so many inspirational thinkers and activists at the Thomas D'Arcy McGee Summer School over the past few days in Carlingford. Yesterday’s session shared stories and hopes around Community Action for the Rights of Nature.

Great news for Rostrevor and the future of the Mourne Mountains! The Mourne Gateway/Gondola was always a deeply unsustainable, undemocratic and unwelcome project. Those who pocketed millions pursuing it against the will of the people must now be held accountable. www.irishnews.com/news/norther...

“In the UK, we sometimes think that to connect with nature you have to go to really exotic, faraway places and spend a lot of money. But actually, it can be more effective to connect with the local marine life on your doorstep.” www.theguardian.com/environment/...

In the midst of challenging those who threaten nature around us, it’s also vital to make time to celebrate the wonders of nature. Please check out our annual collaboration with the Fiddler's Green International Festival for our In Tune with Nature programme starting next Sunday in Rostrevor!

I am starting a PhD and am looking for grassland restoration/rewilding sites in Northern Ireland! Please forward this flier to anyone who might be interested in having their land surveyed for fungi!

Time for Talking Rubbish 📣 RARE’s Colum Sands has teamed up with community campaigners in this powerful new song about the long-running waste saga in Warrenpoint. The song highlights the urgent need to clear and clean the air in more ways than one. 🎶 Watch: youtu.be/xEEcturLw2Q?...

We’re delighted to announce that Richard Nairn, author of ‘Future Wild: Nature Restoration in Ireland’, will be giving a talk on the birds of Carlingford Lough as part of our Environmental Hub at Fiddler's Green Festival this year. The Lecture Hall Rostrevor Wednesday 16th July 15:30 FREE EVENT

Utter madness that, as a 5'2" woman, a huge proportion of the cars that I walk past *in town*, squeezed into parking spaces that barely fit them, have bonnets that are almost level with my shoulder. What chance does a child have.

Respecting the environment involves respect for all life on earth - human life included. Our respect to all who protest peacefully for a return to human empathy & sanity as witnessed on The Great March for Gaza yesterday, from which we share some photos on the Newry canal towpath & Town Hall area.

Homebirds! We are delighted to bring news that photos like this one by Louis McNally have inspired our "Birds and Flight" theme for this year's Environmental Hub programme during July's 2025 Fiddler's Green International Festival in Rostrevor. More news on our guest speakers & activities soon!

"Tiocfaidh ár gondola” How much more reasoned pressure and backstory is required before Council decision-makers and their cheerleaders come up with an alternative proposal for their white elephant Mourne gondola project in Rostrevor?

“Who will champion the voices of the people, demand that projects align with community needs, and ensure that proper consultation and transparency guide the council's actions moving forward?" An excellent letter from Jim Boylan. Public confidence in Newry, Mourne & Down Council has hit rock bottom.

‘We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels’ And far better for it.

Cartoons to give people a lift. When council officials and their cheerleaders go into pantomime mode, they must prepare for the sound of very loud laughter in their ears. Please sign the petition to say NO to the gondola in Kilbroney Forest Park, Rostrevor ⬇️ www.change.org/p/say-no-to-...

Our response to BBC News on the story of attempts to move the failed Donard cable car project to Rostrevor. We sent the following comment with photograph (March 2025) of an “infrastructure” of crumbling barrels of concrete on the shore side of Mourne Coastal route between Rostrevor and Killowen.

“Successful regeneration of the South East Coast requires more than a series of capital projects and a marketing programme, there is a need for integrated planning, sustained support for the local community and resources for the ongoing management of visitor impacts in the area.” 1/3

From John Manley, Irish News, NEW: Newry, Mourne & Down Council is proposing to relocate its doomed £50m Slieve Donard gondola project to Kibroney Park in Rostrevor. Dreadful waste of public money. #Spéirghorm

There is broad consensus about anthropogenic climate change among scientists. Yet only 6/10 people in N Ireland “believe” human activity is the main cause of CC. To what extent is this due to a lack of public trust in environmental organizations and the scientific knowledge they rely on?

"Revitalising the Warrenpoint Sea Baths is more than a restoration project; it's about honouring our heritage and investing in our future. We urge our councillors to seize this moment and lead the charge in transforming the baths into a beacon of regional pride and cross-border unity."

The golden hour of a May evening as the moon appears above Rostrevor Oak Wood to let the setting sun know it has arrived for the night shift.

“What action will the council take to recoup the money spent on the gondola project from the National Trust?” Not content with shifting the blame for the Mourne Gateway farce to @nationaltrust.org.uk, elected reps from NMD council appear to think the NT should also foot the bill for this debacle.

Evening light on the A2 roadworks for the Narrow Water Bridge exposes plastic, carpets, foam, piping, builders rubble and other rubbish buried in unauthorised groundworks carried out on the watch of Warrenpoint Harbour Authority (WHA) during their efforts to expand Warrenpoint Port.

National Trust to face scrutiny? What a desperate attempt at distraction from those who concocted the farcical Mourne Gateway scheme - to be carried out on land they didn’t own! Scrutiny should begin with those who came up with and supported this idea throughout its squandering, stumbling course.

A walk along the shore across from Warrenpoint Port after the recent Carlingford Lough Keepers meeting in Omeath provided a timely reminder that noise, smell and waste pollution are all transboundary issues.

Sometimes heard but seldom seen...thanks to Rostrevor’s Louis McNally for his much appreciated chronicling of nature's magic and for allowing us to share his superb shot confirming the arrival of the cuckoo for another year!

Are sheep to blame for the lack of trees in the Mournes?🐑 Not according to this 1997 pollen study, which found "scant evidence" that overgrazing by sheep was degrading vegetation on Slieve Muck. Could the story of our uplands be more complex than we thought? www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/2...

Wonderful news as the National Trust rejects the fundamentally unsustainable Mourne Gateway/Gondola Project, saving the public and future generations millions. How the project advanced this far without the landowner’s support should be a matter for NIAO. m.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/environ...

“And Gents, The jewel in the crown - The Southern Relief Road - what actual stage is that (at) please?” A few interesting snippets from the FoI response we received today from the Department for Infrastructure regarding Warrenpoint Harbour Authority’s role in lobbying for the Southern Relief Road.

We look at life from both sides now! A wonderful gathering of community energy and ideas from around the shores of Carlingford Lough and The Cooley Peninsula at Saturday's Carlingford Lough Keepers meeting in Omeath.

"We are committed to ensure good health for children and youth...The government is implementing this measure because we are committed to protect our children and their health." Norway bans marketing of unhealthy food and drinks to children. www.regjeringen.no/en/aktuelt/n...

Great to see more coverage of tomorrow’s Carlingford Lough Keepers meeting in Omeath at 11am. If you sometimes find yourself saying or thinking “Someone should do something about that”, this is the meeting where you can acknowledge that you are someone! m.independent.ie/regionals/lo...

“One hundred years ago we had water pumps in every town in Ireland and it was the norm. Every single town in Ireland and every sports club should have access to high-quality free drinking water.” m.independent.ie/irish-news/i...

Thanks and much respect to The Newry Reporter for dedicating a full page to the importance of Saturday morning’s upcoming meeting in Omeath regarding the governance and management of Carlingford Lough.

If you are in Louth you may be interested in this event on the Rights of Nature ...

Sunlight on stone as this morning’s bus for Kilkeel approaches yesterday’s tram tracks from Rostrevor to Warrenpoint.

“Imagine a world where the variety of food sources we rely on is reduced to a mere handful of species. This is not a dystopian future. It’s the path we are on right now, and it’s happening silently in fields, farms, and forests across the globe…” www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

A 25-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of arson in connection with the major gorse fire in the Mourne Mountains last night. www.psni.police.uk/latest-news/...

I’ve written a few words in the Irish News about human-wildlife coexistence in Ireland, which might be worth a look for those interested in conservation and rewilding, both in Ireland and beyond. It’s behind a paywall, so I’ve shared a version of the article below. www.irishnews.com/life/the-rev...

One of those lovely calm mornings yesterday when the water of Carlingford Lough is so still that there are two versions of the Cooley Peninsula on offer!

"Our ability to adapt is one of humanity’s greatest gifts. But sometimes that adaptability means we forget what we’ve lost. Over time, we risk accepting polluted rivers & declining wildlife as just the way things are. But it doesn’t have to be this way..." Oliver Bolton youtu.be/kqQuh4OFkRo?...