ENVIRON 2026 at DkIT brings Irish environmental research community to Dundalk

The conference theme reflected the urgent need for evidence-based action on environmental change. It also recognised the role of education, public engagement, research, policy and applied solutions in protecting natural systems. Over three days, the conference addressed key environmental challenges, including climate change, water quality, biodiversity loss, the circular economy, waste management, renewable energy, emerging pollutants, sustainability, environmental education, technology, governance, and policy.

The final programme featured 106 oral presentations and 38 posters across a broad range of environmental research themes. Delegates presented work spanning monitoring and observation, laboratory and field research, technical innovation, ecological restoration, habitat protection, pollution control, wastewater management, renewable energy and sustainable practice. Many presentations also linked local environmental issues in Ireland to global priorities, including the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The conference opened on Monday 27 April with four practical workshops. These covered bioinformatics tools in phylogenetics and sequence processing, climate resources and services for environmental researchers, AI and natural language processing for environmental research, and the DkIT Wind Turbine Tour and History. The wind turbine session showcased the first wind turbine installed on a college campus worldwide, located at DkIT. A key public engagement event took place on the evening of Day 1 with the national launch of Meadow Magic, a short film by Athrach focused on a youth biodiversity initiative. The public seminar also included an evening reception and a panel discussion on biodiversity initiatives and education. Speakers included Dr Noeleen Smyth from UCD, Collie Ennis from Trinity College Dublin, Aoibheann McCann, and Prof France Lucy, ATU Sligo.

Day 2 opened with formal welcome addresses from DkIT President Dr Diarmuid O’Callaghan, Dr Orla Lynch, Research Office Manager, Dr Edel Healy, Head of School of Health and Science, Dr Siobhan Jordan, Head of Department of Agriculture, Food and Animal Health, and Dr Suzanne Linnane, Director of the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies. Conference convenors Dr Sarah Murnaghan and Dr Hammond Antwi Sarpong also welcomed delegates, alongside ESAI Chairperson Dr Niamh Power.

The plenary programme included contributions from Dr Darragh O’Neill, Senior Manager for Research Strategy at the Environmental Protection Agency Ireland, and Dr Brian MacSharry from the European Environment Agency. Dr MacSharry presented the launch of the EEA’s five-year State of Europe’s Environment Report.

Throughout the second day, four parallel sessions gave delegates the opportunity to engage with a wide range of oral presentations. The programme also included short five-minute presentations from early-stage researchers. Dedicated poster sessions provided space for discussion, networking and research exchange. The day concluded with a drinks reception, gala conference dinner and music from Dr Clodagh King (CFES, DkIT) at the Gateway Hotel.

The final day opened with a debut ENVIRON conference session on Environmental Education. This session featured plenary talks from DkIT experts Dr Caroline Gilleran Stephens, Environmental Education Lead at the Centre for Freshwater and Environmental Studies, and Virtual Labs research leads Dr Sinead Loughran and Dr Bernard Drumm from School of Health and Science. Further parallel oral presentation sessions and a dedicated networking and poster session followed.

The conference closed with a student awards ceremony. More than €2,500 in prizes was awarded across several categories, including Best in Conference, DkIT CFES Best Water-related Presentation, and DkIT CREDIT Best Renewable and Sustainable Energy Presentation. The awards recognised the quality of student research and the strong contribution of early-stage researchers to the ENVIRON community.

ENVIRON 2026 highlighted the vital role of research, education and collaboration in tackling today’s environmental challenges. 
The conference was convened by Dr Sarah Murnaghan, DkIT, and Dr Hammond Antwi Sarpong, DkIT, who led the ENVIRON 2026 programme on behalf of the DkIT Organising Committee.

Speaking on behalf of the organising committee, Sarah said: “Thank you to all the staff and student volunteers, sponsors, delegates, speakers, session chairs, workshop facilitators, public seminar contributors and everyone who helped make ENVIRON 2026 such a memorable event. The event strengthened DkIT’s role as a centre for environmental research, education and public engagement. The conference created space for new collaborations, practical knowledge exchange and focused discussion on sustainable practices for environmental protection. It also highlighted the value of bringing together science, education, policy, community action, and the arts to address environmental challenges at local, national, and international levels.”

Check out the fantastic Meadow Magic featuring children from Mullaghbuoy National School: https://tinyurl.com/MeadowMagic
 

List of awardees