Green Limerick: Street art with a biodiversity twist

A NEW street art project, with a biodiversity-focused twist, has been announced for Limerick.

Limerick City and County Council, in collaboration with the Draw Out initiative, has announced the launch of the Wildlife Walls project.

With work having already begun on murals dotted around Limerick, the focus is to “raise awareness of biodiversity” by painting nature-style creations on city walls.

This initiative aims to “enhance Limerick’s impressive portfolio of street art with high-impact, true-to-life depictions of local wildlife”.

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Draw Out is a Limerick urban-art initiative that uses creative resources to reinvent urban spaces both visually and functionally. Work has begun on the new artworks.

Catherine O’Halloran of Draw Out, said: “Draw Out continues to transform the landscape of Limerick city with its wide range of street art.

“Wildlife Walls is a three-year collaboration that will see further additions in 2025 and 2026.”

The first two murals, set to be completed by the end of 2024 and will feature a seed-eating siskin bird with striking plumage on Clery’s Furniture, Clare Street, and a fox with its unmistakable russet-red fur, pointed ears, and bushy tail at the corner of Athlunkard Street and Island Road.

Sinead McDonnell, biodiversity officer at Limerick City and County Council, said: “The Wildlife Walls project aims to raise awareness of Limerick’s biodiversity.

“The images of the siskin and fox will animate the public consultation period of the Limerick Draft Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030, which runs until January 7, 2025.”

The project is funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service local Biodiversity Action Fund.

A non-statutory public consultation on the Limerick Biodiversity Action Plan 2025-2030 is open to participants and can be viewed on the Council’s website.

Biodiversity loss poses a significant challenge, comparable to climate change.

The Irish Government declared a biodiversity emergency in 2019 and launched the country’s fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan in 2024.

Only 2% of Limerick waters are deemed to have a high ecological status, with 30% good, 32% moderate, and 35% poor.

As well as this, nationally 26% of Irish bird species are now on the Red List of Birds of Conservation Concern, with 63% of Irish birds identified as declining.

There has been a 50% decline in pollinators since 1980, with two species extinct in the last 80 years and over a 50% decline in Ireland’s and the UK’s native plant species.

Native grasslands are said to be suffering the largest decline.

Managed by the Heritage Council of Ireland, the National Biodiversity Officer Programme supports biodiversity initiatives across the country.

Additionally, the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) manages state-owned national parks and nature reserves.

It promotes awareness of natural heritage and biodiversity issues through education, outreach to schools, and stakeholder engagement.

The NPWS is responsible for implementing Ireland’s fourth National Biodiversity Action Plan.