EDUCATION AND OUTREACH
In the end we will conserve only what we love; we will love only what we understand; and we will understand only what we are taught
Baba Dioum
It is through Education and Outreach that we can raise awareness of our marine environment and the Whales, Dolphins and Porpoises that inhabit them. If we can ignite a passion within the greater community for our oceans and their inhabitants, then there is great hope that they will prosper into the future.
National Heritage Week
National Heritage Week celebrates Ireland’s cultural, built and natural heritage. The IWDG runs a series of events during this week each year connecting people along our coastline, sharing our natural marine heritage.
National Biodiversity Week
Each year, the IWDG take part in National Biodiversity week. Find our more about marine species here.
Science Week
Science Week is a week-long event in Ireland each November organised by Science Foundation Ireland, celebrating science in our everyday lives. Science Week includes a wide variety of events involving industry, colleges, schools, libraries, teachers, researchers and students throughout Ireland. Science Week has a number of regional festivals offering a range of opportunities for the public to engage with STEM in across Ireland. Explore how the IWDG embraced Science week in 2024.
Training Courses
Throughout the year, IWDG run courses and workshops on topics such as Species Identification and Recording, Live Stranding, Photo Identification and more. Courses are run out of the Shannon Dolphin Centre, Kilrush, but we are happy to travel and deliver courses anywhere in the country if members can arrange a venue and guarantee a minimum number of participants. We also organise whale watching trips for members for research purposes and talks on all aspects of whales and dolphins. Keep an eye on our events page for the next upcoming event near you!
Visit Our
IWDG Centre
The Shannon Dolphin Centre is an education and research centre which exhibits a wide range of whale and dolphin artefacts and information. We have a large collection of whale and dolphin skulls which are used to teach people species identification. In particular, you can experience the Shannon Dolphin story, where we have followed individual bottlenose dolphins from the resident Shannon Dolphin population for over 25 years. The Shannon Dolphin Centre is also our research hub where we store samples and equipment for research and monitoring throughout Ireland. The Shannon Dolphin Centre welcomes bookings from schools. The centre is open daily from May through to September unless research commitments take us out to sea.
The IWDG can organise visits to schools. We have a wide network of officers & members prepared to visit schools & share our passion for whales & dolphins with young people.
We try and find the right person living locally to the school. Sometimes we arrive by land and sometimes by sea. In 2019 we initiated the “Floating Classroom” onboard Celtic Mist, where we sail a stretch of coastline visiting schools and invite young people onto the boat when its safely docked. The Shannon Dolphin Centre in Kilrush is also open to school visits where students can see skeletons, hear sounds and learn about latest research. Contact us to arrange a visit.
Collaboration
The IWDG collaborate on many projects with the National History Museum of Ireland and organise joint events each year.
FIND OUT MORE
