IT says something about a growing interest in nature and environmental matters when close to 200 people of all ages turn out on a winter’s night for a talk about the humble hedgehog.

EVEN a casual visit to a bottle bank quickly reveals a lot about a changed Ireland, and no scientific research is needed. The first observation is we’ve become very partial to wine, the other is we’ve taken to glass recycling with gusto.

WATER will be on people’s minds until early 2014, at least, when they become liable for water charges. But, is it not time to examine news ways of enabling nature to provide safe, drinkable water?

PATRICK KAVANAGH, a poet with a remarkable feel for rural life, once said that a man that cannot find happiness and contentment in a turf bog is a ‘’bad case’’. As someone that walks in bogs year-round, I fully concur.

Is there anyone that doesn’t like trees? We might even dare to suggest that everyone loves an individual tree, or trees.

SURVEYS regularly show that natural scenery is the big attraction in Ireland but, often, we blissfully ignore gems that are under our noses.

A RECENT decision by An Bord Pleanala, to give planning permission for road improvements to a wind-farm site near Rockchapel, Co Cork, highlights access problems.

Recent studies into wildlife in Ireland have thrown up some interesting findings, with more people now taking note of what is emerging from universities and research institutes.

THE fascination of American visitors with Irish castles is well known, and the fact that they don’t have attractions stateside which are as old might be part of the reason for this.

ONE of the more interesting innovations in Irish tourism in recent years has been the development of abandoned railway lines as greenways for cyclists and walkers, helping to make ecotourism a key niche market.