Eglinton Residents All at Sea!

There are plans to set up a new group in the Eglinton whose aim is to promote an awareness of the importance of keeping Ireland's seashores clean as well as to increase knowledge of the country's marine wildlife.

Last Tuesday, 10 residents met with Aidan Gray from Coastwatch Ireland and Sandra Flavin from An Taisce (Ireland's Heritage Watch group) as well as Brendan Smith from Galway University who organised the meeting in Atlantaquaria.

The idea was to set up an Eglinton branch of Coastwatch Ireland. It was agreed that efforts would be made to organise a bus trip to a beach in Connemara that would combine an enjoyable day trip with an environmental learning experience for the adult residents of our asylum seekers' accommodation.

For this trip, Aidan will act as ecological guide and educate participants on the species that inhabit the rock pools and shoreline. He intends to give a talk in the Eglinton next month before the trip takes places which is expected to be in late April.

In May, it is planned that the residents will participate as a distinct group in the largest one-day clean up ever of Irish coastal areas. It is being coordinated by Collete Lavin of the nearby Atlantaquaria (Ireland's national aquarium centre) and will take place all along the Salthill waterfront which as we know is literally outside the doors of the Eglinton. This event will form part of the lead-up to the arrival of the round-the-world Volvo Boat Race to Galway in May.

Residents hope that involvement in such pro-active volunteer schemes such as Coastwatch Ireland will help in the integration of asylum seekers into Irish society.

For further information, contact any member of the Eglinton Residents Committee or Carole Raftery at reception