Biodiversity Challenge Ballyhoura Biodiversity Challenge What is the Ballyhoura Biodiversity Challenge? It’s a week-long initiative for beginner & experienced nature enthusiasts to record as many Birds, Bees, and Butterflies as possible in the Ballyhoura region This National Biodiversity Week (May 17 - 22) you can learn about the natural beauty of the Ballyhoura region while maintaining social distancing. Beginners and Experts alike are encouraged to explore your local area, take a picture of the Birds, Bees, and Butterflies you see and log your discovery in the national database for biodiversity here. We’ll have lots of information, activities for children, and events leading up to the biodiversity week, which you can access here and through our Facebook page here. Prizes To encourage everyone to get involved we will be rewarding the top contributors to our Facebook group during the week of May 17- 22 with prizes of family mountain biking sessions, orienteering days, and more! We’ll also be posting identification and recording how-to's, and if you are having trouble identifying a species you can pop a picture in the Facebook group above and we’ll be happy to help identify it for you. Nature Events – Biodiversity Week FREE Griston Bog Tour 21st May 3-4 PM – Pre-register HERE Explore the history and formation of Griston Bog – also a bountiful place for recording species for the challenge! For families and nature enthusiasts Welly Waddler Taster Session 21st May – Pre-register HERE A natural play series for toddlers aged 2-5years, at picturesque Griston Bog. IDENTIFICATION RESOURCES Birds Birdwatch Ireland has full identification resources, but here are the top 20 garden birds to get you started from Irish Garden Birds here. For fun on the go with kids, there’s also a printable resource of some of the most common birds for download here. Bees National Biodiversity Ireland recently launched a FREE crash course in butterfly identification, available here. A child-friendly guide on the importance and types of bees can be downloaded here. Butterflies National Biodiversity Ireland recently launched a FREE crash course in butterfly identification, available here. For the little ones, they also have a handy poster of all 32 native species for download here. Children’s Biodiversity Activities Ballyhoura Colouring Sheet 1 – Download HERE Ballyhoura Colouring Sheet 2 – Download HERE Sensory Scavenger Hunt – Download HERE To find out more or to enquire please contact us at [email protected] or on 063 91300. Booking for this event has now closed. Manage Cookie Preferences