Events

So far we have held bat walks and talks, hosted Wildlife Gardening Workshops and had a fun Christmas party!

We are a new group so intend to undertake Citizen Science Surveys, host workshops and have guest speakers in Winter.

Contact us to be added to our contact list for upcoming events.

Forthcoming Events

Bull Island field trip

RBG invited members of the public to accompany them to Bull Island for a field trip on Sunday, June 29th. We had a fantastic day. We recorded a number of orchids, saw a Common Lizard and a frog and saw the numerous sand dune plants in bloom.

The children in the group used their wildlife detective skills to identify what animal lived in what burrow. We used the RBG purchased identification swatches to identify bees and butterflies along the walk.

Photography Competition 2025 Results

Thank you to all the students that entered our Biodiversity Photography Competition. Please browse the winning and runner up entries.

RBG Gardening for Wildlife Workshop at CCC Plant Sale

RBG will be holding a workshop at the annual plant sale in Castleknock Community College this Saturday (Saturday, May 10th at 2pm). We will talk about our projects that we have undertaken in the past year, and hope to undertake in the coming months. We will then focus on how you, as a homeowner in a suburban housing estate, can make an impact on conserving wildlife.

Biodiversity Week Events 2025 May 16th-25th

RBG is celebrating National Biodiversity Week 2025 by running a local schools’ photography competition and also running a bat walk and talk.

  • RBG is delighted to announce its inaugural Biodiversity Week photography competition for students of St Patrick’s N.S, Diswellstown; Scoil Choilm; St Mochta’s N.S.; Castleknock Community College and Luttrellstown Community College.
    Our competition is open to all students in the above schools and the challenge is to capture some of the biodiversity in Riverwood Estate.
    The photos should be of wildflowers and wildlife in Riverwood Estate. See this guide.
    All photos must be submitted by email to riverwoodbiodiversitygrp@gmail.com by 16 May 2025.
    See Competition Guide and Terms and Conditions here.
  • RBG Biodiversity Walk Bat Walk and Talk
    There are 9 species of bat in Dublin and none of them sucks your blood! These amazing mammals are insectivorous and one little bat can eat 3000 mosquitos in one night! Get to use a bat detector to ‘hear’ the calls of the different bats as they fly overhead in search of insect prey.  Learn about how they echolocate to find their way and their prey and become a bat detective.
    Meet in the park between Riverwood Way and Luttrell Park Green at 21.15 on Thursday, May 22nd. Bring a torch, suitable clothes, children welcome. No dogs please.

Evening Talks in Castleknock Community College

We are hosting two one hour evening talks between 8pm and 9pm in Castleknock Community College in March and April.

Monday March 10 – Ger O’Halloran, Laurel Lodge Environmental Group: “Environmental Projects in the Community

Tuesday April 8 – Paul O’Flaherty, Biodiversity Officer with Balbriggan Tidy Towns: “Learning about the Biodiversity of Balbriggan and what we do to protect it

RBG members interviewed on Phoenix FM

On 5 February 2025 Mairead Stack and Frank Lynch were interviewed on local radio station, Phoenix FM.

RBG members participate in Water Bat Monitoring

RBG members took part in the annual BCI Daubenton bat survey during August. Daubenton bats, aka water bats, hunt insects & even small fish on bodies of water shortly after sunset.

Bat Conservation Ireland assigned a 1km survey area which was located between Westmanstown and Collins Bridge along the Royal Canal.

We carried out 3 surveys (1 day survey and 2 night surveys). Over the course of the 2 night surveys we saw only 2 Daubenton bats but we heard lots of them using our bat detector.  All sight and sound information was recorded. We noted that the greatest volume of bats were recorded on the darkest, quietest areas of water away from Westmanstown & Collins Bridge. It was a very interesting and thoroughly enjoyable experience.