By Aoibhín Ní Bhroin, MSc Marine and Freshwater Resources Management Student
This year’s Canoeing Ireland Instructor Symposium (Canoeing-Ireland-Instructor-Symposium-2025) was held at the Petersburg Outdoor Education and Training Centre, Co Mayo (Petersburg Outdoor Education & Training Centre). The symposium brings together paddlesport instructors from all corners of the island with various levels of experience, for a weekend of learning, collaboration and inspiration.
The symposium featured a workshop on ‘Paddlesports and the Environment’ which included the use of a Check Clean Dry station, raising awareness in preventing the spread of invasive species. Check Clean Dry are three simple steps we can all follow as water users, to help protect our wildlife and the activities we enjoy from invasive species.
During the workshop, we spent time at the edge of Lough Mask discussing our connections to our paddling environments and exploring our individual motivations to protect them. This was an inspiring space, where the paddlers told magical stories of the waterways as well as the non-human creatures that we share them with. Our classroom, Lough Mask, stimulated conversations on environmental problems, including the presence of invasive species such as zebra mussels.
We discussed the reality of the state of our water bodies and instructors came up with some solutions and ways to prevent negative impacts on the environment when we practice our paddlesports. One focus was preventing the spread of invasive species and the groups came up with lots of fantastic ideas, such as; supporting paddlers and club members in knowledge-building, improving identification skills and equipment sharing between clubs. Valuable discussions were had, about overcoming the logistical barriers to successfully implementing biosecurity measures and good habit building. We also discussed the steps to take when an invasion has already occurred, and the importance of Check Clean Dry with smaller pieces of gear such as throwropes (where invasive species could be hiding in the coils)!
Thanks to Steve Fahy from Canoe
ing Ireland (Canoeing Ireland) for giving space to our environment and the issue of invasive species at this year’s symposium. Many thanks also to Chantel Carr, the National Biodiversity Data Centres’s Shared Island Biosecurity and Citizen Science Officer (Staff-Chantel Carr), for supporting and giving us plenty of printed resources for the attendees to help them improve the knowledge base within their paddling communities.
This workshop was a unique and insightful opportunity to connect Canoeing Ireland with its members in terms of environmental concerns. The next step is bringing the instructors’ ideas forward and help empower them in caring for our beloved water bodies, because when it comes to invasive species, we all must play our part by remembering to “Check Clean Dry”. To learn more visit: Check Clean Dry – Invasives.ie