‘We all need to be protective of our biodiversity for our future generations’

Meath County Council's first biodiversity officer is urging people to be as engaged as possible with local biodiversity initiatives, and in light of the recent local elections, to ensure their public representatives consider the issues on the ground affecting our environment.

“Biodiversity is something that communities rely on which makes its importance even greater,” says Navan man, Ben Malone.

“It’s about wildlife and the environment and it’s something that we depend on greatly even if we under appreciate it. We depend on it for food, substances, fuel and timber, even clean healthy drinking water depends on biodiversity. Where we are able to rehabilitate biodiversity, we can ensure that drinking sources are protected.”

Malone's journey to becoming Meath's first biodiversity officer began in school with a particular interest in biology but getting into biodiversity was not his initial aim when he started college in Maynooth University. Before studying biological and biomedical science, Malone's interests leaned more towards cancer research as his mother was a palliative care nurse but when classes started, his interests leaned towards biodiversity.

“Once I got into college and got the grips of the biological sciences my interest began to sway and we started to become familiar through the various modules with the challenges facing our environment at a national level and a global level. It was really a case of the lecturer twisting our arms and saying ‘if your generation isn’t going to deal with this then who is?’ It was a very compelling argument.”

Volunteering in many different organisations and picking up small contract work, Malone got to work in the National Biodiversity Data Centre in Waterford for a couple of years after doing his Masters in Global Change, Ecosystem Science and Policy. Taking his knowledge from that, he headed back up to the Northeast to work with the local authority's water programme. “All of that led me to the biodiversity officer role where I am now. There was never a biodiversity role until last year.”

A major focus for Malone at the moment is the development of the council’s biodiversity action plan. Meath's Biodiversity Action Plan 2025 to 2030 is designed to provide a structured approach to biodiversity conservation at local authority level. The rest of the year will be spent working on this plan, says Malone.

“I will use the summer to pull together the actions and put the plan together. We need to get that approved then in early autumn, conduct environment assessments, and then go back to the consultation on the draft plan. People will have a second opportunity to have a say on the plan for Meath. Then we will be hoping to launch it in late Spring 2025 and that will be a five-year plan.”

Projects already approved this year include a two-year project involving 29 local authorities recording the Irish mayfly, primary and secondary school biodiversity education initiative and the continuation of the Barn Own Conservation project. But that's not all, Malone talks about other projects in the works.

“The types of projects being funded are the trail in the Commons of Lloyd, Kells and we also are assisting landowners create new habitats for biodiversity and a survey will be done on Co Meath's swift birds that comes in from South Africa.”

One of the challenges biodiversity officers are facing now is resourcing.

“Really what we would need is full teams of people who have backgrounds in ecology and are ecologists because biodiversity officers are not going to be able to do it all themselves, unfortunately.

“Change is difficult and it is a quite transformative systematic change that is needed across most if not all sections of the local authority in order to address biodiversity loss.

But awareness and education are two areas that need improvement when it comes to biodiversity.

“We are looking to improve and better our understanding and knowledge of biodiversity in Meath. We conducted a biodiversity audit in Co Meath to improve our baseline understanding of how our environment is performing. Then on a community level, we want and need to create video resources and radio campaigns for the promotion of messages, we will also be working with local schools as well to ensure the education side of it.”

The importance of what people in communities can do to help is vital now more than ever says Malone.

“We're coming out of the back of a local election so people should be using the democratic process first and foremost to make sure that people who represent us in our communities, consider the issues on the ground in our areas that affect biodiversity and ask our public representatives to make sure their happy on the protection of our biodiversity for the future generations.

“Secondly, be as active you can. Engaged citizens themselves can be getting involved in the local community initiatives that help spread awareness about our local biodiversity and to celebrate it.”

Mr Malone urges people and communities to appreciate and celebrate biodiversity.

“If people are out walking everyday can slow down and take a closer look at what's around them, it is immensely beneficial for our own health and mental wellbeing. More natural environment, green areas where we allow meadows to form, trees to grow, birds to sing and bees to forage, when we are exposed to that, is hugely beneficial.”