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GLOBE Ireland River Ecosystem Campaign 2027

Registration is now open for the GLOBE Ireland River Ecosystem Campaign 2027. Open to primary and secondary schools nationwide, this hands-on citizen science project gives students the opportunity to investigate the health of their local river while contributing valuable environmental data to a national database.

River Ecosystem Campaign

GLOBE Ireland are inviting schools to take part in this exciting campaign, which will take place during March and April 2027. Participating students will visit their local river ecosystem and explore its health through visual analysis, water sampling, chemical testing, and ecological monitoring. Schools will contribute their findings to the GLOBE international database, helping to build a picture of river health across Ireland. All participating schools will receive free teacher training and support and equipment packs containing everything needed to take part. The campaign will also feature an Expert Webinar, Student Sharing Webinar and GLOBE Ireland Annual Project Competition, which are open to all enrolled schools.

The campaign continues to grow in popularity each year and is very well received by participating students and teachers. Over 120 schools registered in 2026, and the team are targeting 130-140 schools for 2027.

Participating schools receive a water quality kit to carry out the testing, and teachers are supported to deliver the campaign themselves through provision of classroom resources, step-by-step instructions, and online teacher training by the GLOBE Ireland team. Additionally, schools may participate in knowledge-sharing webinars, student project competitions, and presentations.

Register Your School

Places are limited. Registration is open until 27^th November 2026 or until all places have been filled.

Learn more

For more information on GLOBE Ireland and their campaigns, email globe@antaisce.org.

GLOBE (Global Learning and Observations to Benefit the Environment) is an international environmental citizen science programme which is active in over 127 countries. In Ireland, the programme is delivered by An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit (EEU) and is supported and funded by the EPA. The programme delivers citizen science campaigns to hundreds of primary and secondary schools nationwide each year, on themes including climate resilience, air quality, and water quality.

About author

EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

Who is involved?
Quite simply, everyone in Ireland has a role to play. This can be from something as simple as making sure you don’t pollute your local stream, or a local community working together to establish a Rivers Trust to enhance the rivers and lakes in their area, to a Government Department or Agency helping a Minister implement a new policy to help protect and enhance all our water bodies.

This website has been developed and is maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency, and is a collaboration between the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the River Basin Management Service.

River Basin Management Service

The River Basin Management Service coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

Environmental Protection Agency

The EPA is responsible for coordinating the monitoring, assessment and reporting on the status of our 4,842 water bodies, looking at trends and changes, determining which waterbodies are at risk and what could be causing this, and drafting environmental objectives for each.

Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage

The Department is responsible for making sure that the right policies, regulations and resources are in place to implement the Water Framework Directive, and developing a River Basin Management Plan and Programme of Measures to protect and restore our waters.