Genetic Heritage Ireland (GHI) was established in 1993 as the Irish Genetic Resources Conservation Trust. It is a non-governmental organisation whose main objective is to promote the conservation and sustainable utilisation of Ireland's plant and animal genetic resources. Granted charitable status in 1994, within GHI special emphasis is placed on projects involving species, breeds and cultivars which are rare, in danger of extinction in Ireland, indigenous to Ireland and/or of cultural or historical importance. The name Genetic Heritage Ireland was adopted in 2001 as a working title, although the charity is still registered as the Irish Genetic Resources Conservation Trust.
Blog 1: The Synge cottage project
Thatched cottages were, and still are, common on Inis Meain, one of the Aran Islands, situated off the west coast of Ireland. The famous author J.M. Synge visited the Aran Islands many times between 1898 and 1903, where he stayed in the cottage of a local family, the MacDonnchada's.
What's new?
The next workshop for GHI's Growing Wild Conservation Programme will be held at the Central Library on Foyle St., Derry...
The Department of Agriculture's Biodiversity Unit has agreed to fund GHI's proposed Plant Genetic Resources Database Project. ...
Thanks to the feedback we received from the "Growing Wild" Conservation Programme workshop participants, the "Growing Wild" website has been re-designed and updated to reflect the comments and suggestions of users....
GHI is launching a series of workshops as part of its "Growing Wild" Conservation Programme....
GHI Action
Today, the planet earth supports a rich and diverse plant and animal life which have resulted from millions of years of evolution. From the early days, farmers have been selecting plants and animals for various reasons such as yield/size, adaptability and food value. By mutation and selective breeding of plants and animals, thousands of varieties have been developed for different traits. Natural selection has also occurred over the millenia, with many plants and animals evolving to be being highly specialised for survival in specific environmental conditions. Each of these plants and animals is thus a valuable genetic resource as it is a result of evolutionary selection, natural or controlled, and as such contains genetic information about both the past and present.
