If you are like myself and live in the South Dublin area of Ireland and would like to get involved in some community-based volunteering that involves the environment, then this may be perfect for you!

For those of you who do not know, the River Dodder is a 24 km river in Ireland that runs across the South Dublin region. This river begins out by Glenasmole and runs right through South Dublin (Tallaght, Clonskeagh, Dartry, Milltown, Ballsbridge, etc.) until eventually joining up with the River Liffey at Ringsend Docklands.

There is a community-based group that, with the help of equipment provided by Dublin City, South Dublin & Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Councils, manages the environment of the River Dodder.

The groups safe-guard the natural river environment and allow a very beautiful piece of our South Dublin landscape to be maintained effectively. This group are always looking for volunteering by people with no or lots of experience!

The Dodder Action Group are amazing and they have achieved great things to date! The action group organise monthly clean ups of the areas along the River Dodder to ensure that it is a suitable place for the public to visit and enjoy, as well as appropriate habitats for local wildlife.

Here is a small glimpse of the fantastic work this action group does for the River Dodder:

1. Volunteers give talks about ecology and conservation to primary schools
2. Winner of the South Dublin County Council Community Sustainability Initiative.
3. Monthly Clean-Ups of the River Dodder
4. Collaborate with UCD for some citizen-science volunteering
5. Currently on-going petition for the introduction of a refund scheme for drink containers – to promote less rubbish in the environment
6. Lead nature walks along the dodder – educational and aesthetic value on a lovely weekend or weekday evening during the summer!

I really cannot praise this action group enough, they are fantastic!

If you are a student that has just finished their exams and does not know what to do for the summer, I recommend looking into volunteering with this great action group! It will look excellent on your CV and will give you some hands-on experience if you every want to go into the field of environmental or wildlife conservation.

Additionally, this action group welcomes people of all ages to become involved, as I am a student myself I understand how crucial it can be to find things to build up a CV whenever there is a good opportunity!

There really is no opportunity like maintaining the River Dodder, it is a remarkable sight on a great day and the biodiversity across all the parks that this river flows through is incredible.

I highly recommend that if you are in South Dublin, take a stroll along the R. Dodder, you will thank me! Also, if you live in Dublin I definitely recommend making contact with this action group over the summer as they will be taking part in excellent environment-based activities and the group are always open to new volunteers!

I have linked the information needed below for anyone who would like to know more about this action group!

Website: https://www.dodderaction.org

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Dodder-Action-262894190451698/

Twitter Page: https://twitter.com/DodderAction

Email: dodderaction@gmail.com