Published first in the Council Journal (https://council.ie/galway-conference-shine-light-on-natural-and-constructed-wetlands/) on 22 July 2016 By Féidhlim Harty The recent international conference on natural and constructed wetlands in NUI-Galway hosted experts from across Ireland and elsewhere in Europe; and as far afield as Australia, Asia and North and South America. The conference was the first of its kind in Ireland to bring together speakers from natural wetland and peatland research as well as from the growing environmental engineering field of constructed wetlands and reed beds for wastewater treatment and water quality protection. We are lucky here in Ireland to have a rich diversity of natural…
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First published for Feasta on April 26th, 2016, reproduced here in full. Link to original article below. Introduction Closed loop agriculture is farming practice that recycles all nutrients and organic matter material back to the soil that it grew in. This forms part of an agricultural practice that preserves the nutrient and carbon levels within the soil and allows farming to be carried out on a sustainable basis. Current farming practice (as shown in Figure 1) relies heavily on imported nutrients to sustain high production. We eat the food; and then the nutrients and biomass from faeces and urine are…
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An in depth interview with Féidhlim Harty from FH WETLAND SYSTEMS Ltd. The Council Journal speaks to Mr. Harty regarding his new book as well as how best to use waste as a resource… First published in the Council Journal on 15th April 2015 (https://council.ie/harnessing-waste-as-a-resource/). Feidhlim, congratulations on the recent publication of your very well-received new book – Septic Tank Options and alternatives. The book has been praised for offering a comprehensive guide to a wide range of sewage treatment options for households and businesses. What general advice can you give to environmentally-conscious homeowners and business owners looking at the…
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Published for Feasta on 19th Sept 2014 (https://www.feasta.org/2014/09/19/sustainable-water-use/) Like many things in modern life, the vast majority of our current water and wastewater infrastructure is completely dependant upon fossil energy to keep the toilets flushed and the taps running. Even the word “wastewater” itself assumes that we have no better use for the water that we flush out of our homes or the nutrients and biomass it contains than to dump it. In a truly sustainable society, “sewage” would be a word of the past, and we would begin to hear terms not typically used in today’s media like “humanure”…