Ten Clare parishes are playing their part to carry out biodiversity actions on 12 church grounds across County Clare.

The ‘Return to Nature Clare Church Biodiversity Project’ is an ambitious project led and funded by Clare County Council with funding also from the Local Biodiversity Action Fund administered by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).

The project came about in 2023 when the Irish Bishops’ Conference agreed on a policy that parishes would return 30% of church grounds to nature by 2030. In September of last year, Clare County Council’s Biodiversity Officer Barry O’Loughlin gave a presentation of the potential biodiversity actions that could be undertaken on church grounds in Clare to Jane Mellett of the Laudato Si’ Working Group and the Bishop of Killaloe, Fintan Monahan.

As a result, Clare County Council worked with the Diocese of Killaloe and signed up 10 parishes to the Return to Nature Clare Church Biodiversity Project through the diocesan network.
The project links a local parish priest with community members to deliver biodiversity actions on church grounds, which include: installing nest boxes for barn owl and swift (both species experiencing national population declines); developing and implementing a pollinator plan for each church yard; erecting bat roost boxes on trees; installing bird tables and bird feeders; planting pollinator friendly fruit trees; erecting other bird boxes for robin and spotted flycatcher; and erecting pollinator friendly signage. The parishes and Clare County Council continue to work with: BirdWatch Ireland; the NPWS; Ennis Men’s Shed; Irish Seed Savers; the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan; Tidy Towns Groups; local farmers; and local schools in delivering these actions.