Wildacres

What fitting way to celebrate the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals Week than to dig two more ponds at Wildacres with the wonderful team from Yahoo!

Yahoo! are the first team to see the Secret Acre at Wildacres - an area that is now surrounded by native hedgerow on 4 sides with a willow archway entrance in the making !

We love having the Yahoo team to work with us each September and the fact that they’ve been coming to us since we opened in 2022 💚💚💚💚

We greatly value their support and friendship. Thanks Sean and all the Yahoo team 🙏💚

Supporting Wildacres means Yahoo is supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals:

Good health and well-being :

At Wildacres we promote and encourage connecting with nature; proven to benefit physical health and mental well-being.

Quality Education

Through our workshops, tours and other outputs we provide education – not just about nature but also sustainable lifestyles (SDG target 4.7)

Clean Water and Sanitation

We protect and restore water-related ecosystems (SDG target 6.6) such as ponds and riverbanks – improving water quality & decreasing flooding risks.

Decent Work and Economic Growth

We promote sustainable tourism that promotes local culture and products (SDG target 8.9). We advertise and collaborate with local suppliers and destinations.

Responsible Production and Consumption

At Wildacres we minimise the use of materials, reuse wherever we can, and promote responsible consumption through our own sustainably produced goods.

Climate Action

Through the planting of over 15,000 trees, creation of now 72 ponds, native hedgerows, meadows etc, we capture carbon, and strengthen resilience to climate-related hazards (SDG target 13.1)

Life On Land

Our aim at Wildacres is to take urgent action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt biodiversity loss (SDG target 15.5), and to encourage others to do the same.

Exciting news! We’ll be getting some Droimeann for conservation grazing in the coming months 🎉🐮 More on that soon!

This page on Droimeann Cattle (a registered heritage breed IRBS ), beautifully illustrated and written by the very talented Aga Grandowicz 🪶 Natural History/Wildlife Artist and Designer , is from her latest book Animals of Irish Name and Origin. Swipe to see the front cover so that you know what to look for in your book store 😉

What a literary treasure! Animals of Irish Name and Origin is for sure a book to be shared between older children and adults. Written, illustrated and designed by Aga Aga Grandowicz 🪶 Natural History/Wildlife Artist and Designer , it brings together 49 animals with Irish names or Irish origins, exploring the fascinating connections between animals, language, place, and Ireland’s cultural and natural heritage. The two years it took to research, write, illustrate and design is evident in this wonderful creation and I would highly recommend it for animal lovers and budding naturalists.

This book features 49 thoughtfully selected animals some of which are Irish wildlife and others being breeds and domesticated animals associated with Ireland for generations. Their names can reveal connections with particular places, physical characteristics, traditional uses, folklore, history and the Irish language.

Fascinating facts, storytelling, and stunning illustrations make this books wonderfully readable and a super coffee table book which will encourage conversation around natural heritage, history, biodiversity and language .

What a treasure indeed! Why not add to your nature library or gift to someone you know will love it. I gifted one to my niece - an keen animal lover 💚 - for her 21st birthday last week 🎉

I’m sure this book is flying off the shelves. Well done Aga 👏

Come join us on 19th September. This group workshop will provide heaps of inspiration and practical information on how to bring more biodiversity to your outdoor space.

Whether you have a garden, community space or acres of land, this workshop will give you the tools to take positive action for nature.

With 100+ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️five star reviews this is a not to be missed opportunity! It is our last public workshop of 2026!

There are limited places and our workshops usually sell out so book today to avoid disappointment - link in bio.

All the ticket income goes back into the Wildacres project of nature restoration and education so you are supporting an environmental social enterprise by coming on this 5 star workshop!

For more info see link in bio.
Or visit www.wildacres.ie

Hope to meet you next month.
Yours in nature
💚Gilly & Brian

What a day! On Heritage Day at Wildacres last Friday we had 60 visitors throughout the day who learnt how to do Flower-Insect Timed Counts 🐝 🦋 🪰🌼🌸 Additionally we introduced all visitors to the Bumblebee Monitoring Scheme and everyone went away with a Bumblebee swatch to start their journey on getting to know Ireland’s most important pollinators 🐝

And the pond dip demo and tray analysis gave lots of interesting results. The water stick insect and Emporer dragonfly larvae being the most popular.


Since May we’ve been monitoring bumblebees, pond-life, and conducting FIT Counts as part of our Wildacres Biodiversity Monitoring Programme 2026 supported by The Heritage Council 🙏😇

Monitoring matters as the data is so important for National Biodiversity Data Centre to track changes in variety and abundance of our pollinators and other species.

But they need help from everyone. You too can become a citizen scientist! 👨‍🔬🧑‍🔬

A Flower-Insect Timed Count is super easy and fun to do with friends, family, colleagues, neighbours….

Try it out !
is over but we need to protect our natural heritage every week to help restore Ireland’s biodiversity
🙏💚🐝🌼

Thanks to our amazing volunteers, to Jack Rewildlife YouTube Channel for filming and Richenda Garland for leading the project 🙏🙏🙏💚💚💚