Emma Roberts and Colin Lawton, NUI Galway

This MSc project aims to investigate the role of ecological corridors and habitat fragmentation in the dispersal of red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) through the urban environment of Galway city. We are looking at the distribution of red squirrels in the city and investigating their population dynamics in Galway city parks and woods.

Following a severe decline, Ireland’s native red squirrel population has recovered considerably in recent years. The status of the species changed from “Near Threatened”, in 2009, to “Least Concern” on Ireland’s 2019 Red List for Mammals. This is thanks to conservation efforts throughout the island of Ireland and the regional decline of the invasive grey squirrel.  Our knowledge of the red squirrel recovery has been informed by national squirrel surveys conducted by NUI Galway, the latest taking place in 2019.

Galway city centre is an urban environment with a number of small, fragmented woodlands and parks, some of which have limited resources and are relatively isolated. The River Corrib and Galway city’s extensive road system act as ecological barriers to small mammal movement. Red squirrel sightings submitted to the “2019 All Ireland Squirrel and Pine Marten Survey” have been reported in wooded areas such as Merlin Woods and Menlo village, which lie to the east and north of Galway city respectively. One-off sightings have also been reported in Dangan, located to the west of the River Corrib, and Terryland Forest Park located near the city centre. Sightings suggest that Terryland and Dangan woods are functioning as ecological corridors for dispersing individuals.

Habitat fragmentation refers to when a continuous habitat is divided into smaller patches of different habitats by way of natural or man-made barriers. Within these habitat fragments, wildlife can become isolated. This occurs if they do not have a sufficient pathway through which they can move between habitat patches. These ecological corridors are vital to protecting potentially vulnerable species. In the long term, isolation can lead to a loss in genetic diversity and decrease the isolated population’s chance of survival.

In our research on urban red squirrel population dynamics Galway, we can find out more about the city’s wildlife and the importance of green spaces in protecting our native animals. The information will allow us to model movement and dispersal through our city parks and will help to determine the feasibility of population expansion into other forested areas to the west of the city. Ultimately this will help us to plan for the future management of red squirrels and other wildlife species in Galway.

At approximately 11%, Ireland has one of the lowest percentages of forest cover in all of Europe. With an increase in urban areas, it is necessary that we investigate the suitability of urban environments in providing habitat for and facilitating movement of wildlife.  Protecting our green areas and maintaining connectivity between them is crucial for the future prospects of our native mammals, birds and other animals.

More information on the project can be found at our Facebook page. If you see a squirrel in Galway city, please let us know (galwaysquirrelproject@gmail.com).

Listen to Dr. Clare Noone in this video talk about the role of the Mace Head Atmospheric Research Station of NUI Galway in the research of Climate Change and Air Pollution using a operational system known as StreamAIR, which integrates highly sophisticated  equipment, atmospheric models and real time air pollution and climate data.

Located on the Atlantic coast near Carna Connemara, the mission of the station is to facilitate key-process research into the evolution of atmospheric composition and to its impacts on climate change, concomitant with the promotion of knowledge transfer and the underpinning of policy development and education in the areas of atmospheric climate, and air pollution.

Reducing carbon emissions from and restoring carbon capacity of Europe’s degraded peatlands. Covering only c3% of global land surface, peatlands store twice as much carbon (c33%) as all of the Earth’s forests combined, but are now responsible for 5% of global carbon emissions due to degradation (CarePeat)

In this video Niall Ó Brolchain of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics of the Data Science Institute at NUI Galway discusses the importance of Care Peat, a €6.23 million project, that he along with Dr Terry Morley of the university’s School of Geography and Archaeology are part of, which is about developing new policies and methods for managing and monitoring carbon reduction from peatlands. The research project includes  partners from Britain, Belgium, France, and the Netherlands as well as experts from the NPWS, IPCC, UCD, Bord na Mona, An Taisce, and the Community Wetlands Forum.  Care Peat has supported peatland restoration and monitoring at the Cloncrow Bog in county Westmeath which can be seen here

‘The time to green our labs is now’ is a video documentary of the Galway Green Labs initiative which led to the lab at CÚRAM, the SFI Research Centre for Medical Devices, being the first in Europe to be awarded Green Lab Certification.

It tells the story of this programme, which was spearheaded by Dr Una Fitzgerald, a CÚRAM funded Investigator and Director of the Galway Neuroscience Centre at NUI Galway. Together with her ‘green team’ of CÚRAM researchers and staff, and with the support of the University Registrar and Deputy President, Professor Pól Ó Dochartaigh, and the Community University Sustainability Partnership(CUSP), she is working to transform practice across campus to address issues such as plastic waste, energy reduction, recycling, and water usage.

Explaining the motivation for establishing Galway Green Labs, Dr Fitzgerald said,“What has emerged is that people who work in labs are using 15-16 times more plastic than the average person in Ireland. This practice is done more so out of convenience than out of necessity, so we’re trying to change mind-sets to heighten our awareness of the cumulative negative impact on the environment of this way of working. All we’re asking lab scientists to do is question what they’re doing – to ask themselves, “Is there something I can do to lessen the environmental impact of my work in the lab”. And to talk to others, and spread the message of the urgent need for change.”

ENERGE is a project led by NUI Galway that aims to improve energy efficiency in schools and energy-related education outcomes.

Check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9eqh_3ZNfRg

With the aging of the existing post-primary school building stock (new schools/deep retro-fits can take years from planning to completion) there is a need for low-cost solutions that enable long-term resource efficiency in schools & reduced greenhouse gas emission (GHG). EU building energy directives & climate actions to 2020 & 2030 underpin this necessity.

ENERGE addresses this need using targeted physical interventions that combine a web based platform & building sensors (e.g. electrical, thermal etc) with behavioural studies & new educational approaches that enable schools engage in energy & GHG mitigation. This holistic, adaptable & multidisciplinary approach will combine sociological, pedagogic & communications expertise with low cost technology, ICT interventions & systems engineering.

ENERGE will be demonstrated in schools in France, Germany, Luxembourg, Ireland, the Netherlands and the UK. ENERGE aims to achieve a minimum 15% reduction in total energy consumption at 12 demonstration site schools over the project period and will engage and enable management, teachers, students and maintenance staff to reduce energy consumption by developing a new web-based platform tailored to different stakeholder within the school ecosystem. Long-term impacts will be consolidated by the development of additional and revised educational material to supplement existing school curricula for second level students.

Many cities present data and information to people via a ‘city dashboard’. But few if any studies have taken place to know if these dashboards are of any real benefit to citizens.

Heike Vornhagen of the Insight SFI Research Centre for Data Analytics in the Data Science Institute of NUI Galway worked with a representative grouping of individuals in Galway city in order to evaluate existing dashboards from a user’s point of view and then to develop a list of criteria for dashboard creators in order to make them more useful to citizens. Based on these criteria, she built a simple dashboard prototype to test if these criteria would make a difference. The good news is they did!

Check out https://youtu.be/Cw5IXI7cmDU