34th Irish Environmental Research Colloquium, Environ 2024

The conference will commence on Monday, 25 March 2024, with a choice of two guided field trips to either Anne Valley Park (guided by Mike Walsh) or Copper Coast Geopark, followed by an interactive workshop on Greener Lab workshop. 

On Monday evening a wine reception, environmental photography exhibition by Tasneem Khan (Sea School Dunmore East) followed by public engagement panel discussion on “How to Run your Business Sustainably” will be hosted at the SETU Waterford campus. This event will include guest speakers from the various industries such as Food (Danone), Agriculture (Carbery Group), Marine (BIM), Pharmaceutical (MSD) and Consumer Products (Monkey Reusable Products Ltd) to discuss sustainable practices in their businesses for a healthy environment. 

The second day of the conference, Tuesday, 26 March, will begin with a welcome address and opening speeches from the President of SETU, Prof. Veronica Campbell, SETU Conference Convenor, Dr. Peter McLoughlin, Head of School of Science and Computing, SETU, Dr Graece Tan & ESAI Chairperson, Dr Niamh Power. This will be followed by a keynote talk from Grace O’Sullivan, Green Party MP, Member of the European Parliament and member of the European Green Party and Dr. Tara Higgins, Program Manager of EPA’s Evidence Programme. Afterward, there will be oral parallel sessions throughout the day featuring talks from various keynote chairpersons, a dynamic mix of presentations from environmental researchers and including 5-minute short presentations from early-stage researchers. Dedicated networking poster sessions will feature throughout the day. The second day will conclude with the Gala Dinner at the Tower Hotel in Waterford City, followed by music and dancing.

The last day of the conference, Wednesday 27 March 2024 will commence with a talk by Tasneem Khan, the founder of SEA School in Dunmore East, Waterford, followed by oral parallel sessions and a dedicated networking poster session. The conference will conclude with a student award ceremony recognising ‘Best In Conference’ with over €2500 to award in various categories.

There will be over 140 poster and oral presentations delivered at the event. The parallel session's themes include:

• Maximising Marine & Coastal Resources
• Future Proofing Our Forests
• Biodiversity & Ecosystems
• Sustainable & Regenerative Agriculture
• Soil Health & Use
• Wastewater Treatment & Management
• Environmental Monitoring
• Land and Sea Carbon Capture
• Water Quality & Health
• Green Chemistry for Sustainable Development
• Sustainable Energy Development
• Waste Management & Circular Economy
• Sustainable & Green Building
• Planning for Climate Change
• Climate Policy & Communication
• Incorporating Sustainability into the Curriculum

Monday, 25 March 2024 - Workshops @ Environ

• Anne Valley Park guided walk by Mike Walsh. (Attendees must pre-register to attend and there are limited spaces available) - a guided walk through a community-developed amenity encompassing woodland and wetland, from Dunhill (ruins of Dunhill Castle) to the seaside village of Annestown. The guided walk will cover the flora and fauna in the area, including heron, kingfisher and otter. The walk will be approximately 2h to complete the loop. (Time: 10.15am – 2pm). Bus will leave the Cork Road campus car park at 10.15am sharp. Lunch will be in the University after the trip.
• Copper Coast Geopark guided tour (Attendees must pre-register to attend and there are limited spaces available) - A guided tour of the Copper Coast, a 25km coastline and UNESCO Global Geopark, which displays a spectacular record of the earth’s past linked cultural and intangible heritage and community activism. Its rocks and geosites tell the story of volcanoes under the sea, arid deserts and dramatic ice-ages. The guided tour will be a 2h tour, starting from the Copper Coast Global Geopark Visitor Centre to the Geopark mining exhibition, Tankardstown Engine House, Stage Cove, Bunmahon Geological Garden and will end at the Geopark visitor Centre again. (Time: 10.15am – 2pm). Bus will leave the Cork Road Campus car park at 10.15am sharp. Lunch will be in the University after the trip.
   
• Green Lab Workshop - this two-hour, interactive workshop will be aimed at any lab users, whether from HEI's or industry to provoke thought about the ‘way things have always been done’ in the lab. The workshop will look at how lab users can reduce the environmental impact of lab practices without impacting the quality of research. Guest speakers include: Dr. Jane Kilcoyne, (Analytical Chemist, Marine Institute), Mr. Jack O'Grady, (Senior Program Manager, My Green Lab), Dr. Una Fitzgerald (Director of Galway Neuroscience & Founder of Galway Green Lab), Chair: Dr. Niall O'Reilly (Manager of PMBRC, SETU)
• Tea/coffee and biscuits will be provided mid-session (Time: 3pm – 5pm @ Tourism & Leisure Building, Seasons Restaurant, SETU Waterford.
• Wine reception at the SETU Cork Road Campus (19:00 – 20:00) - The best part of any event is the opportunity to network, and this year at Environ 2024, we are organising a wine reception and an environmental photography exhibition by Tasneem Khan, the founder of Sea School, Dunmore East, before the Public Engagement Event. This is an excellent opportunity for the general public to engage with the environmental research community, various businesses, meet with our colleagues, exchange knowledge, and enjoy the night before the Public Engagement Event. 
• Public Engagement Panel Discussion & Q&A session (20:00 – 21:30) - This is a public event featuring short presentations from keynotes speakers, followed by an open discussion and panel Q&A session focused on "How to Run Business Sustainably". The aim of the event is to inform the public & fellow researchers about the sustainability efforts of various industries in Ireland. The panel will comprise of reputable speakers from different sectors from food, agriculture, marine, pharmaceuticals and consumer products in Ireland. Each panellist will give a 10 min presentation on the sustainability journey of their respective companies, followed by a discussion on current and future challenges, policies and sustainable solutions to ensure a better environment protection. The diverse audience will have the opportunity to pose questions to the panel, fostering interactive discussions about the future of sustainable Ireland. The event is free to attend but registration is required. The link to the registration is: bit.ly/3T67GkK - Speakers include: Mailo Power (Managing Director, Monkey Reusable Products Ltd), Enda Buckley (Director of Sustainability, Carbery Group), Ben Dallaghan (Project Manager, Bord lascaigh Mhara), Mark Stafford (Nature & Sustainability Manager, Danone), Kieran Ryan (Energy & Sustainability Lead, MSD Ireland), Tess Ames (Ocular Therapeutics Research Group Manager).

Tuesday, 26 March 2024

• Opening Ceremony (9.15-9.45am) - The event will be opened by Prof. Veronica Campbell, President of SETU, Dr. Peter McLoughlin, Head of School of Science & Computing, SETU, ENVIRON 2024 Conference Convenor & ESAI Chairperson
• Plenary Lecture 1 (9.45 am – 10.15 am) by Grace O'Sullivan, member of the Green Party and EU member. Title: Milestones of this Mandate. Grace O’Sullivan is a mother of three from the beautiful seaside town of Tramore in Co. Waterford, on the South East coast of Ireland; she is an environmental and peace activist, a Green Party MEP, an environmental education specialist and an ecologist and in the past has been involved in a number of sustainable business developments. Grace has always had a strong affinity with all things marine and worked in her early years as a lifeguard and later as a member of a sea and cliff rescue team in Tramore and proudly holds the title as Ireland’s first female surf champion! At 21 Grace took up a job with Greenpeace, where she spent the next twenty years of her career travelling the seas and oceans of the world, taking part in actions for peace and climate justice and was a crew member of the Rainbow Warrior when it was bombed by the French Foreign Intelligence Service in 1985. Grace continued her work as a peace and environment activist within the political sphere serving for three years as a Senator in the Irish Parliament and subsequently as MEP after she was elected to the European Parliament in 2019. ​Grace is a proactive member of important committees serving on the Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (PECH) Committee, and the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) Committee. Grace is also a member of delegations on Mercosur and Palestine, a member of the Euro-Latin America Parliamentary Assembly and a member of a number of inter-groups and working groups and is the Green Party Spokesperson on the Marine. Grace is also member of the SDGs Alliance in the European Parliament and a member of Parliamentarians for the Global Goals.
• Plenary Lecture 2 (9.45 am – 10.15 am) by Dr. Tara Higgins, Programme Manager of EPA’s Evidence Programme. Title: Bridging the gap, connecting EPA research with policy. Dr Tara Higgins is Programme Manager of the EPA’s Evidence Programme, which includes the EPA Research Programme. The EPA has been funding independent scientific research in Ireland for 20 years, focused on generating the evidence needed to respond to environmental challenges such as climate change and biodiversity loss. The EPA places a high importance on ensuring that the outputs of EPA-funded research are effectively transferred to the policy system. With this in mind, the EPA is now actively embedding knowledge transfers processes right across its research programme, helping to bridge the gap between research and policy. Tara has previously worked in the EPA’s licensing, circular economy and strategic environmental assessment units. Prior to joining the EPA, she carried out applied environmental research in the US, Australia and Ireland. She holds a BSc and PhD from NUI Galway, an MSc from the University of Edinburgh and a Fulbright Fellowship from the University of Colorado.

Reception, Live Music & Conference Dinner (19:00 – 22:00) - A drinks reception will set the stage for an atmosphere of entertainment, fun, and relaxed communications among all attendees at the Tower Hotel, Waterford, overlooking the River Suir and Marina. The three-course dinner (20:00 – 22:00), followed by live-music & dancing, will take place in the same venue.

Wednesday, 27 March 2024

• Plenary Lecture 3 (9.30 am – 10.00 am) by Tasneem Khan, Founder of Sea School, Dunmore East. Title On SEAing: Connecting Marine & Maritime Knowledge. Tasneem explores and interprets knowledge systems from coastal & marine landscapes - with an aim to juxtapose research and learnings from the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic. Researcher. Zoologist. Photographer. Educator. Diver. Sailor. Adventurer. Artist. Tas is happiest underwater, knee-deep in the mangroves or working under the hull of a boat. She has been designing field-ecology curriculum through art-science methodologies for the past 15 years - the currents of her work have taken her from the equator to the arctic circle and her work has featured across numerous popular and scientific publications, art shows and modules. Currently living in Dunmore East, she has launched a community centred initiative SEA school, creating a living archive of coastal knowledges, seascapes and biodiversity influenced by the Ocean.
• Student Award Ceremony