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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment

@rare-rostrevor.bsky.social

210 followers 350 following 180 posts

Community action group dedicated to speaking up for habitats, heritage and health in Rostrevor and beyond 🌳🐾🌎

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Nov 16

We firmly believe the most important moments in life unfold, and will continue to unfold, under the ever-changing skies of the real world, not on social media platforms that tend to deepen forms of alienation between people and the rest of nature.

That being said, we’re willing to give this a go.

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Reposted by RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment

Helen O’Rahilly @helenorahillytv.bsky.social · 3d

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

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · 1d

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...

Only half of Ireland is fields of green grass

Report published on map created by the Ordinance Survey of Ireland and the EPA.

www.farmersjournal.ie

Reposted by RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment

Mark Emmerson @meecoprof.bsky.social · 6d

@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!

https://climatecocentre.org/news/lough-nea…

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · 6d

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

Dara Sands @darasands.bsky.social · 7d

The findings from the #GreenToGrey project have been leading the news in Norway today. Yet, Ireland isn’t far behind when it comes to converting nature and farmland per capita to make way for construction, housing, roads, luxury developments, etc. Has this been getting much coverage back home?

Per-Erik Schulze @pererikschulze.bsky.social · 7d

Again Norway tops a not so nice list, of nature and farmland consumption per capita for construction and "development". But all countries in Europe are on a slippery slope to piece by piece nature destruction. There is an urgent need to stop this nature crisis.

Full story www.nrk.no/dokumentar/x...

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · 13d

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?...

The Sands Family - Mourne Rambler

YouTube video by Music Of Ireland - Ceol traidisiúnta na hÉireann

youtu.be

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · 15d

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...

An inspiring talk by Mary Reynolds in Rostrevor

Mary Reynolds - nature activist and reformed landscape designer tells of the shifts we can make to support our local biodiversity.

www.eventbrite.co.uk

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · 15d

“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...

‘A broken system full of criminality and death’: the podcast lifting the lid on what happens to the UK’s rubbish

Turkey’s recycling centres treat vast amounts of the UK’s waste – and rely on refugees who work in conditions so unsafe that hundreds have died. A new podcast uncovers the sinister side of what happen...

www.theguardian.com

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Sep 4

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.

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jul 30

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...

Andrew Muir’s department vetoes council’s alternative Mournes’ gondola plan

Three months after the National Trust pulled the plug on the Slieve Donard gondola plan, Newry, Mourne & Down Council’s alternative proposal has suffered a setback

www.irishnews.com

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jul 29

“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/...

I’m obsessed with snorkelling in Scotland: starfish below, sea eagles overhead – and it really isn’t that cold

Developing snorkelling trails is part of my job, but I never tire of the teeming underwater life and seeing some of the least crowded parts of Britain’s coast

www.theguardian.com

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jul 7

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!

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Reposted by RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment

Jake Dalzell @bitheolaidhe.bsky.social · Jun 5

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!

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 13

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?...

Time for Talking Rubbish 2025

YouTube video by Colum Sands Songs & Stories

youtu.be

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 11

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

Reposted by RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment

Ciara | Ciaraíoch 🎨 @ciaraioch.bsky.social · Jun 11

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.

MAREcus 👻/ 🏳️‍🌈🇧🇧 @marcusjdl.bsky.social · Jun 11

Well you don’t need to be a road safety engineer to know this was going to be the outcome www.dumptheguardian.com/world/2025/j...

Ever-rising height of car bonnets a ‘clear threat’ to children, report says

High-fronted vehicles are more likely to kill and are on the rise in Europe with the UK an extreme example

www.theguardian.com

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 8

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.

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 8

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!

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 8

"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?

RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 6

“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.

Reposted by RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment

Eoghan Daltun 🌍 @irishrainforest.bsky.social · May 31

‘We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels’

And far better for it.

Mark Hennessy @markhennessy.bsky.social · May 31

‘The story of the Irish, as told by Colin Farrell - coming soon to TV - ‘We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels’

www.irishtimes.com/politics/202...

‘We Irish were never homogeneous. Always hybrids, always mongrels’

New RTÉ TV series tells the story of the island over thousands of years in a way that both informs and challenges

www.irishtimes.com

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · Jun 1

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-...

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · May 30

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.

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · May 29

Response to the Mourne Gateway Proposal (2023):

www.mountaineering.ie/_files/Mount...

Response to the South East Down Coast Masterplan (2012):

www.mountaineering.ie/_files/MI-re...

www.mountaineering.ie

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · May 29

If you’re interested in gaining a deeper understanding of the issues surrounding NMD Council’s plans to build a gondola - first in Newcastle, now in Rostrevor - and their disjointed approach to tourism in South Down, then the responses from Mountaineering Ireland below are well worth reading. 2/3

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RARE - Rostrevor Action Respecting the Environment @rare-rostrevor.bsky.social · May 29

“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

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