From Bram Stoker to Seamus Heaney and Manchán Magan to Colm Toibín, Ireland’s wetlands have provided creative inspiration for aeons.

Now a new guide, the first of its kind, produced by the Community Wetlands Forum (CWF) aims to provide similar inspiration to local communities across the country, in a bid to enthuse people about native wetlands and work towards their protection, preservation and promotion.

The work of 19 leading artists and creatives whose work centres on Ireland’s necklace of wetlands features in the guide, and illustrates their unique beauty and importance to Ireland's eco-systems.

Community Wetlands Forum was established to promote Ireland's wetlands and peatlands, 13,000 of which are dotted throughout the country.

The promotion is being done through community collaboration and integration, and through the provision of a platform for local people to get involved in the many conservation projects in their area. 

Guide

The compilation of A Guide for Wetland Communities Engaging in Creative Projects is seen as a major step forward in bringing communities together in shared purpose that has important ecological, societal and cultural benefits.

Mary Mulvey, volunteer chair of Community Wetlands Forum, said that peatlands are emotionally and politically charged terrains, as they are sites of climate transition, contested histories, livelihoods, restoration and loss.

She said: "They are fragile ecosystems as well as living places and work in these environments must consider environmental impact, biodiversity and the cultural significance of the land."

"Creative projects can help make sense of these complexities, but without care they can also risk oversimplifying or misrepresenting them.

“This guide supports communities - particularly those connected to peatland and wetland landscape - to collaborate with artists and other creative practitioners, to develop work that is thoughtful, nuanced, and grounded in local realities," the chair outlined.

The guide offers guiding principles, practical checklists and examples to help communities explore creative approaches to conservation, and to shape projects that are inclusive, reciprocal, and which reflect the richness of local identity and the importance of ecological care, the chair said.

"We need each other and we need communities to understand that we need them.

"Our rich and bountiful wetlands have been here for millennia and with the help of our local wetlands communities they will be here for many more," Mulvey said.