new 13th March 2008
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Welcome to the Old School |
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You
can check on prgress at the Old School by clicking the links either side of the photo below. |
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For information on the ISLA Project please scroll down the page. |
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new 13th March 2008 |
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The Old School House Ballinakilla, |
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How did the idea
come about? Due to the obvious
level of interest from the large number in attendance John J. Sullivan
presented the three possible locations for the Heritage Centre. These were
the Old School Ballinakilla, Ardagh’s Tower and The Military
“Cutting”. Finbarr Murphy was complimented on the work already carried
out on the Old School including a new floor, new windows, new roof, old
plaster removed and old stone walls pointed, toilets and the installation
of a septic tank and was funded through grants obtained by the Leasing
Trust. As a substantial amount of work was carried out on the Old School
since the fire in 1979 it was agreed to further explore the work required
to complete the project. Past residents and
frequent visitors to the island asked if it was acceptable to those who
live on Bere Island for them to be involved in procuring the Heritage
Centre. The overall feeling of those present was that these people were
not only welcome to be involved in the project but were also needed. It
was agreed to call this group who attended the meeting “Friends of the
Heritage Centre” and three people were elected to the sub committee; Una
Kingston, Deirdre Lillis and Kitty Rooney The members of the Projects Group who were present indicated the groups help and support to this project if it were to go ahead. |
| The ISLA Project Over the last 10 years the islands off the North West Coast of Europe have suffered a decline in population due to limited employment and social exclusion. An in-depth look at a number of islands across North West Europe has shown that these problems cannot be addressed unless all the islands come together as a group. These
communities are already in isolated locations and current approaches taken
to these problems frequently exacerbate the problems. Economic
diversification is called for, particularly through tourism. However, not
all forms of tourism lend themselves to islands. There is a need to
explore how and in what form tourism can be beneficial to islands without
being detrimental to their cultural and ecological integrity. Another
common issue shared among islands is the provision of essential services.
The cost of providing access, energy, water and wastewater treatment is
often inordinately high. Island-specific cost-effective solutions remain
to be found. These issues all suggest that islands should work together in
finding common solutions to their specific needs. Clearly, islands are in
need of a new approach to sustainable development that builds on the very
assets of islands, those being their aesthetic, natural and cultural value
and the resilience of its people. Such approaches should adhere to the
principle of sustainable development and benefit both local communities as
well as the public at large The
ISLA Project is the first of it’s kind in Europe, whereby 5 island
communities have come together with a main focus of finding real solutions
to the problems they face and identify best practice solutions to them.
The
five partners that are involved in this project are (Lead partner) DLG
from Holland, BIPG from Ireland, Shetland Amenity Trust from Shetland
Islands, Argyll & Butte Council from Scotland and Conservatoire de
Littoral from France. All the partners are confronted with the challenges
of living on an island and seek to collectively address these challenges
through 3 steps: 1 Identify the solutions to the problems 2 Test the solutions on the islands 3 Disseminate and publicise the best practice solutions through
conferences, networks and website. ISLA
has 5 themes; Theme
1 = Working Group 1 (please see below) Theme
2 = Working Group 2 (please see below) Theme
3 = Working Group 3 (please see below) Theme
4 - Overall Project Management Theme
5 - Demonstration Site (for Bere Island this will be the renovation of the
Old Schoolhouse) |
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ISLA
Working Groups 1. Role
of Government in dealing with islands - The consultants focused on
different levels of government from EU to national to local, the provision
of access to island and stakeholder consultancy. 2. Island
Tourism - This theme focused on regulation and management of island
tourism. A means for measuring the carrying capacity of islands and
marketing strategies will also be looked at. 3. Cultural
and Natural Landscape of Islands - The consultant looked at new uses for
land and redundant buildings, organic farming strategies, methods for
preserving our cultural heritage and water management. All three groups have finalised their reports and presented them to the Thematic Conference in March 2007 in Holland. |
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ISLA
Demonstration Site |
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ISLA
Project Management ISLA
Funding
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Webpage created and modified by Bernie 14/03/2008 Email: bereisle@eircom.net |