The Dublin Mountains Partnership (DMP) has just recruited 14 Volunteer Rangers and will be launching a Volunteer Ranger Service in early June 2009. The DMP was established to improve the recreation potential of the public lands in the Dublin Mountains, while balancing recreation with the other key objectives of the various land owning organisations (commercial forestry, conservation, water collection).
The DMP members are Coillte, the National Parks & Wildlife Service, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, South Dublin County Council, Dublin City Council and Dublin Mountains Initiative (who represent the recreation users).
The Volunteer Ranger Service aims to:
• Assist the public in appreciating the Dublin Mountains through education and communication
• Increase community involvement in, and awareness of, the management of the forest and mountain lands
• Develop volunteers’ personal understanding, knowledge and sense of belonging to the Dublin Mountains
• Promotion of the Leave No Trace principles
• Assist in practical conservation tasks
The first training/induction weekend for the Dublin Mountains Partnership Volunteer Rangers took place on Sunday 24th May. Shay Walsh (Master Educator of Leave No Trace Ireland) gave a one-day Leave No Trace Awareness Session. The rangers found the session very interesting and some comments were – “I really enjoyed last weekend, and can’t wait to get started now” and “I really enjoyed the weekend and found it to be really informative”.
The whole ethos behind the Volunteer Ranger Service and everything it does will be to promote and encourage others to ‘Leave No Trace’.
For more information on DMP, please visit www.dublinmountains.ie.
