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Apply to join the Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss – deadline this Sunday

In October 2022, Ireland will hold its first Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Designed with children and young people, the Assembly will bring together 35 randomly selected Members aged 7-17 from across Ireland to explore, discuss and create recommendations on how to protect and restore biodiversity in Ireland.

All 7-17 year olds across Ireland are invited to register their interest to become a Member of the Assembly. The deadline for applications is this Sunday, 18 September.

Apply to join

Expressions of interest can be submitted through the Assembly website: https://cyp-biodiversity.ie/apply/. It is a very quick and straightforward process that can be completed in a matter of minutes.

No previous interest in or knowledge of biodiversity, nature or the environment is needed, so please help us encourage 7-17 year olds who might not think this is for them — because it is!

It’s completely free to take part. All participation costs for those selected to participate will be covered by the organisers, including travel and accommodation for Assembly Members and their accompanying parent/guardian, and any support workers required.

Make a submission

All children and young people under 18, including those under 7, can also share their thoughts and ideas to help inform the Assembly’s work. These submission can take a variety of forms: words, drawings, videos, etc. Find out more at: https://cyp-biodiversity.ie/share-your-views-and-ideas/

About the Assembly

The Children and Young People’s Assembly being designed by an intergenerational team consisting of a Young Advisory Team and an independent research consortium. The Young Advisory Team comprises nine children and young people from across Ireland, aged 8-16. The research consortium includes experts in children’s participation, deliberative democracy, and biodiversity from Dublin City University, University College Cork, and terre des hommes, an international organisation with a focus on children’s environmental rights. The project is funded by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Please spread the word with anyone you know who might be interested.

Learn more:

You can apply here: https://cyp-biodiversity.ie/

Twitter: @cypbiodiveristy

Instagram: @cypbiodiversity

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Local Authority Waters Programme.

Local Authority Waters Programme

The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.