Nature-inclusive parks and open spaces key objectives under Kilkenny Biodiversity Action Plan

• 18 month-long consultation between statutory agencies, landowners, elected members, biodiversity specialists and communities already reaping rewards

Kilkenny is leading by example with its comprehensive Kilkenny County Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030, committing to record, conserve and restore habitats, protect and, where possible, restore ecological corridors.

The five-year Action Plan unveiled at Woodstock Gardens & Arboretum, Inistioge, Kilkenny, also provides Kilkenny County Council with an opportunity to examine its own work practices.

Community groups, landowners, statutory agencies, elected members and council officials all worked together with biodiversity specialists over 18 months on the comprehensive plan. It builds on much of the work completed over the past 20 years by the Heritage Officer for the county, and more recently by the Biodiversity Officer, Bernadette Moloney.

The Action Plan showcases how Kilkenny is leading the way by designing nature-inclusive housing estates, parks and open spaces. It also commits to improving water quality and habitat diversity on public grounds. 

The plan also provides a structured approach to biodiversity restoration, outlining objectives and actions needed to protect and enhance biodiversity developed in the context of both national and international biodiversity commitments, as well as regional and local policies, priorities and local consultation. Just three other counties have so far published Biodiversity Action Plans under Heritage Council guidelines. They are Offaly, Galway County and Limerick.

The development of the Action Plan was assisted by the newly-established Biodiversity Working Group. It identified a demand for and ran a community biodiversity course over the summer with Kilkenny Carlow Education Training Board.  The course is just one example of what opportunities lie ahead when stakeholders collaborate effectively, those behind the Action Plan say.  

Cllr. Mary Hilda Cavanagh, Cathaoirleach of Kilkenny County Council, thanked everyone who engaged in the preparation of the Biodiversity Action Plan, adding: “By completing biodiversity best practice, the Council will improve ecological connectivity and empower local communities to connect with nature.

“Biodiversity policy is being embedded in all aspects of Council operations and through educational and outreach initiatives, appropriate biodiversity actions will be encouraged, with skills developed to contribute towards biodiversity recording and restoration well beyond the duration of this Action Plan.”

Lar Power, Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council said the Kilkenny Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030 is a strategic plan to protect and restore the county’s biodiversity. “This plan underscores our commitment to preserving biodiversity, as well as addressing the impacts of climate change. Our vision is to foster a climate-resilient, natural environment in Kilkenny, where biodiversity flourishes, ecosystems are restored, enhanced and protected.”

Dr. Martina Moloney, Chairperson of The Heritage Council, described the Action Plan as a milestone initiative that brings national biodiversity to life at a local level, rooted in Kilkenny’s unique landscapes, ecological richness and unrivalled community spirit.

“The Local Authority Biodiversity Officer Programme, initiated by the Heritage Council in collaboration with the City and County Management Association, has been instrumental in ensuring that biodiversity becomes a central consideration in local governance.”

Kilkenny Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030 objectives are to:

• Provide Biodiversity leadership at local level
• Strengthen local biodiversity policy and integrate biodiversity procedures into council operations
• Manage public open spaces for biodiversity
• Conduct habitat mapping and monitoring to support data-driven management decisions
• Record and monitor protected species or species of conservation concern
• Foster engagement, education and promotion of best practice biodiversity action

Invasive species control works have been taking place at Woodstock Gardens and Arboretum in the run-up to the Action Plan launch.  A Grassland Ecology Kit, the first of its kind in Ireland, has also been developed to assist community groups and secondary school groups to monitor their biodiversity actions under the National Parks and Wildlife Services Local Biodiversity Action Fund.

Other initiatives already underway in the community include a hedgerow campaign, a collaboration between Kilkenny and Carlow local authorities, The Heritage Council and Nore Vision as part of the upcoming National Hedgerow Week (29th August-7th September).

For more information on Kilkenny Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030 and how you can play your part, log on www.kilkennycoco.ie/eng/publications/council_publications/