Battling sperm whales and giant squids

Only at the Climate Cocktail Club are you told to think like a pearl mussel and be self-aware of being a human super-predator, whilst imagining what Meloni or Orbán may look like in bee suits - that was the 11th Dublin event "The birds & the bees: Biodiversity for Adults".

"Giving up on hope is lazy." Mya-Rose Craig

"We need to take our foot off the throat of nature." Fintan Kelly

There's diversity in biodiversity, its the all and the many, and the few and the forgotten. Our expert panel and 200 Clubbers got a taste for what's a stake, what's happening and what needs to happen when it comes to driving transformational and regenerative change on nature and biodiversity.

"With engaging speakers and panel discussions ranging from youth activism and advocacy, to the richness of Irish marine life, Hen Harriers and bees, through to financing nature and government policy. The Climate Cocktail Club continues to go from strength to strength providing a relaxed, but informative forum for learning and discussion on the critical issues that we face in Ireland and globally.” Thomas Ball

Hosted by the emphatically enthusiastic and energising Anja Murray the event kicked off with an inspirational delve into the life and perspectives of Dr Mya-Rose Craig aka "Bird Girl". Sharing her journey growing up with nature through family bird watching activities and early recognition of what's at stake to protect and restore. Mya-Rose reflected on a life of activism and campaigning, through the Black2Nature charity she founded to the three books she's authored. "Giving up on hope is lazy" is a telling quote that demonstrates her unrelenting committed to thriving as a person in the nature field where too often negative news can predominate a sense of doom. Mya-Rose now focuses energy on tackling people's fear of not having a right to take action, we all have a right and can do something, and the importance of not feeling alone (sentiments shared be all in the CCC no doubt!).

"It was such an honour to be invited to speak at the Climate Cocktail Club, especially alongside an array of other fascinating speakers. I had a wonderful evening, and thoroughly enjoyed learning about so many different topics, and I came away from the evening feeling energised and positive which is something I always crave!" Mya-Rose Craig

"Totally different to anything I've been at before, great community of engaged people, I absolutely loved it." Fintan Kelly

Fintan Kelly set the scene for the biodiversity crises faced in Ireland and globally with perfect dash of dinosaurs and dark humour, whilst spotlighting radical stats that would keep even the most optimistic person up at night - 90% of wetlands lost in Ireland; only 0.7% of grasslands native or natural. Fintan called on public land for public interest, with the scaling up of nationally significant nature parks that would home radical and urgent restoration. Whilst acknowledging that Ireland is seem as a world leader in results-based financing schemes for agriculture and nature.

Our "stories from the front line" followed with a beautiful video of a skydancing Hen Harrier and commentary following by Dr Barry O'Donoghue a leading voice and national treasure on the future of this species and upland communities in Ireland. Barry shared the inherent conflicts of wanting it all in the finite land space we have, from forestry to solar, livelihoods to harriers.

"[Hen Harrier] is one of the most special species in Ireland's wildlife we're so lucky to have it." Barry O'Donoghue

Moving from terrestrial to aquatic Grace Carr provided a stark reminder of what's a stake below the surface of our seas through the lens of sharks and rays. Reflecting like the hen harrier, the basking shark is an indicator species and crucial to monitor and protect in Irish waters. Grace reminded us that no areas of Irish seas are strictly protected and the target of 30% MPAs is far off with only 9% currently. Surprisingly we learned that Spain is the world's 3rd largest exporter of shark fins, something we commonly associate with Asian fishing practices. Grace made clear that fishing and coastal communities needed offer for alterative livelihoods for people and nature to thrive.

"71% decline in shark numbers... 9% marine protected areas... 0% strictly protected." Grace Carr

Paul Handrick closed out the panel session with a deep dive on the context for conservation and regeneration of bee populations in Ireland. Sharing his journey battling establishments and barriers, Paul connected the "tech bros" with the bees and global with local, and gave the audience an excellent spoken word piece that cut through the crap.

"Save one queen bee today and that could be 10,000 bees in five years." Paul Handrick

The event closed with a panel connecting finance with business and business with radical restoration ambition. Thomas Ball nailed the need and choices for nature financing, as well as the obstacles that it may face in deployment, across Ireland and beyond. Thomas shared the need to connect what can be fragmented financial and project systems together, aligning on shared impact, with human relationships playing a key role. Orlaith Delargy stepped up to the panel and supported the patience and empathy approach required to make real change happen, acknowledging the pioneering work if Peatland Finance Ireland and their new Standard, as well as the research of ReFarm. For Ray Ó Foghlú a personal connection to the topic and a call for more urgent action at scale, sharing his mission to look back on life (via his future self) and see that his dedication led to real measurable change, not just a faction of a percent of what's needed. He called on the State to create and foster demand for nature financing and projects (perhaps via a carbon tax similar or biodiversity net gain mechanism). He also called on an overhaul of primary education, giving more and meaningful time for children to connect and understand nature, and the world around them via playful interactions. The ending of perverse subsidies was called by all panellists.

The event was expertly wrapped up with closing remarks from our own Tom Popple with a handy signal to upcoming events in Cork, Galway and beyond! AND we brought the CCC book club to Dublin featuring Anja's and Mya-Rose's books no less!

Huge thank you to all the partners of the Climate Cocktail Club, without their sponsorship and support these events would not happen.

Official Cocktail Partner: Diageo
Brand Partner: THINKHOUSE
Delivery Partner: ERINN Innovation
Supporting Partners: KPMG Ireland and BE IMPACTFUL

The Climate Cocktail Club operates on a voluntary basis and needs the support of partners to ensure the events are a success - please support our future events and become a sponsor.

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See you next time.

Tom

Climate Cocktail Club