Ballina Hub for Wetland Restoration: A Centre for Research, Education & Co-Creation

Ballina and its surrounding landscape have a special character; it is divided by and provides a crossing of the river Moy. It is surrounded by beautiful wetlands – estuary, peatlands, lakes and ponds. The proposal is that Ballina will provide a central accessible hub for peatland and wetland research and restoration, education and eco-tourism, embracing the unique identity of its landscape. Ballina is accessible by train and road network, as well as by boat, providing a point from which expeditions to the surrounding wetlands can be launched. We propose a site to establish a centre for the gathering and dissemination of wetland restoration research, to include a central outdoor area. A sample site to the south of Ballina, neighbouring the OPW offices and between the Foxford Road and the River Moy, a site that could be developed into a hub and demonstration area.