Ours to Protect

Ours to Protect brings a flavour of how sustainability and climate action are inspiring lots of different groups in our communities. We will hear about biodiversity and future focussed rainwater harvesting in Carraroe, planting and orchards at the Sligo Children's Community Garden, greener buildings from architecture students at ATU Sligo and supporting our health by connecting with nature through the Havin a Laugh charity. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fast fashion is one of the topics we'll be looking at today on Ours to Protect, as students from Ballinode College put their favourite brands under the microscope at a workshop with Eco UNESCO's Tim Mac. We will also be looking at ways that we can cut down on plastic, by taking a trip to Sligo's refill shop. Áine O'Loughlen, Environment Awareness Officer with Sligo County Council joins us to explain how easy it is to compost Autumn leaves and to introduce new green initiatives at Sligo Rovers and among Sligo's business community. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In this episode we see how topics around environment, climate and sustainability are taught in our classrooms. We will get a flavour of An Taisce's Green Schools programme from Carbury School students in Sligo and Travel Officer, Dolores McWeeney. We hear how three secondary schools in Sligo and Mayo are blazing a trail on environmental education by piloting a new leaving cert subject in Climate Action and Sustainable Development and meet a gaggle of different students from primary schools across County Sligo who have been helping to trial and develop a primary school workbook that uncovers the concepts behind the Sustainable Development Goals.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The second episode of Ours to Protect concentrates on the natural world, taking in ancient trees at Cleveragh Wood with the Hometree Charity, regenerating forests at Hazel wood with Joan Swift of the Sligo Cycling Campaign and leafy river banks with ecologist Piro Kocsis. We are also looking at how anyone can easily engage with citizen science to help protect the diversity of life here, with Michael Bell of Birdwatch Ireland and Dr. Adam Smith.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This month on Ours to Protect we are splashing around the Summer filled waters of the North West with fishermen, paddlers and swimmers of all kinds. Looking at the life that inhabits our waterways is one of the best and simplest ways to tell if they are healthy and Dara Timpson of Inland fisheries will be scooping up creepy crawlies that let us know how clean our water is. Luke Kenny of the Local Authorities Water Programme will pass on a few tips for ensuring that our rivers and lakes remain at their best and Aga Piwowarczyc explains how we can all use our water connection for good. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ours to Protect returns with a half hour broadcast on the last Sunday of the month. In this first episode, we're weighing up a few different options for sustainable transport. We'll be joining some local schools as they participate in Seachtain na Rothar, we'll talk to engineer and sustainable transport researcher, Brian McCann and we'll hear from Sligo Cycling Campaign.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In the third and final episode of Digging Deep we see how social farming can foster wider connections and generates positivity in ways that you might never expect, on a visit o Aidan Gillen's Tattie Hoaker Farm in North Sligo. We also turn our focus to the other side of the coin to see how social farming rubs off on host farmers and their farms and get the view of occupational therapists from mental health services on a farm visit.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Episode Two of Digging Deep I'm setting my compass for Quarryfield farm in Buninadden in Co. Sligo, where I'm meeting farmers Fiona and Gerald Doherty and social farmers Tadhg and Bradley from CI Connect in Sligo as they get hands on with a  flock of sheep, snuggle up to some llamas and set a new paddock in order.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catch up on The latest instalment of Clar Sa Charr on The Breakfast Club with Kevin. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ocean FM is out and about on farms across Counties Sligo and Leitrim to check out the heartwarming phenomenon of social farming, where people at risk of disadvantage spend time on family farms cultivating new skills, increased confidence or relationships. This episode brings listeners to Friendly Farm, outside Dromahair in Leitrim, where social farmer, James, is looking to build his farming skills in order to make him more employable. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Catch up on all things music with Clar Sa Charr on The Breakfast Club with Kevin.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One hundred years on, John Lynch explores the history of Arigna during the revolutionary period, through the stories of local heroes Captain Michael Cull, Comdandant Séamus Cull and Volunteer Patrick Tymon; men of the infamous Arigna Flying Column who lost their lives during the Civil War. The Death and Cull and Tymon looks at how that history has shaped the Vale of Arigna and its people over the last century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One hundred years on, John Lynch explores the history of Arigna during the revolutionary period, through the stories of local heroes Captain Michael Cull, Comdandant Séamus Cull and Volunteer Patrick Tymon; men of the infamous Arigna Flying Column who lost their lives during the Civil War. The Death and Cull and Tymon looks at how that history has shaped the Vale of Arigna and its people over the last century. Episode One: The Death of Cull and TymonSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

One hundred years on, John Lynch explores the history of Arigna during the revolutionary period, through the stories of local heroes Captain Michael Cull, Comdandant Séamus Cull and Volunteer Patrick Tymon; men of the infamous Arigna Flying Column who lost their lives during the Civil War. The Death and Cull and Tymon looks at how that history has shaped the Vale of Arigna and its people over the last century.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week Ours to Protect on Ocean FM looks at the capacity of our soils to store carbon and a beautiful creative project by the Soil Collective to open the door on the word of the microscopic soil ecosystem to young children.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today Ours to Protect touches on different kinds of construction and building materials that could help us reduce the impact of building on the environment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week we discuss the idea of getting protein from insects with scientists from ATU Sligo and see how the idea might go down with the Sligo public.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ours to Protect seeks to seek out the most sustainable option when it comes to Christmas Trees and suggests a few alternative ideas for those looking to be a little more creative.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pack it in, pack it out: We hear how we can enjoy the great outdoors with a clear conscienceSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Connie Nell and the Community Gardeners in Cranmore give us the heads up on Water ConservationSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Presenting the second episode of Language of the Lough, recorded as a tribute to the rare and beautiful atmosphere of Lough Arrow in Sligo, its people, its nature and its precious, wild trout.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Woodlands: At one time it was said that a squirrel could travel from one side of Ireland to the other through the tree-tops without ever touching the ground. However today Ireland is one of the least forested countries in Europe - something that is being addressed to help reduce our carbon emissions. Today we are going to marvel at what our trees bring us in their own right, for climate change, biodiversity and our own well being. We'll visit a pocket of ancient hazel woodland in South Sligo, the almost unnoticed alluvial woodland that graces the banks of the Garavogue River and join the Power to Change project's community day at the inspiring native woodland park, in Cloonamahon.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

In Our Nature soaks up the ethereal atmosphere of our peatlands, on a trip to Lough Easkey with ecologist Derek McLoughlin and a visit to The Canopy's big restoration project nearby. We hear how sphagnum moss was exported to the frontlines during WWI, discover carnivorous flowers, and hear about the incredible carbon busting power of our forgotten bogs - while exploring a future-focussed project to support farmers in upland areas to contribute to Ireland's decarbonisation.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

For the fifth programme in our series we are taking in Minecraft, marram grass and marvelling at how natural features like dunes and nature based solutions can protect our coasts. With Clean Coasts and the innovative SCORE research project from ATU, we will see how communities living by the coast are being equipped to deal sustainably with impacts of climate change such as more severe storms and increases in sea levels, through citizen science, nature and new technologies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ireland's forty shades of green have been a defining feature of our home for centuries. However this iconic image is not created simply by green grass - it's a patchwork of different colours and textures created by rushes, sedges, hay meadows and pretty delicate flowers. In this episode, ecologists Dolores Byrne and Derek McLoughlin discuss how farmers in the North West can keep their green fields healthy and reveal how the wonderful diversity of our grasslands can help us to adapt to changes brought about by climate change.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is the first programme in the In Our Nature series , in which we are going to see some gorgeous wild places across the North West of Ireland through the keen eyes of a group of scientists, experts and enthusiasts. They will uncover what it is that makes them so special, reveal the wonder of the nature that they shelter and to see how they are faring in our changing environment. While we're there we'll also see how they offer a haven for us humans too - getting a glimpse into how they sustain us and we can do to sustain them.This week, in the first episode of In Our Nature, we walk the shores of Lough Gill with ecologist Saoirse O'Donoghue to discover how the beautiful woodland along the bank helps to keep our water clean and support wildlife from mayfly and frogs to wild salmon and otter. We join an inspirational group of dragons on the water, with Clodagh Flynn and Medb's Dragon Boat paddlers and we hear about a pilot project to encourage native plants in the clear cool waters of Lough Arrow, famed for its trout fishery.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This week In Our Nature goes underground to look at the fascinating world of the microscopic life teeming in our soils with soil scientist, Aga Piwowarczyc, and we stretch our imaginations with the Soil Collective's children's theatre project.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

On this week’s ‘ours to protect feature’ which is an Ocean FM Programming Initiative to raise awareness of Climate change and to educate us on how to make a difference, as well as enabling us to actively encourage climate change locally.This Week Aisling Heraughty has a special feature on tree plating by the Lough Gill Distillery and how this initiative will look to help protect the environment.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.