Siobhán McNamara joined Open Hive as a volunteer in 2022. She is School Librarian in Gonzaga College SJ (site of one of OpenHive’s apiaries) and also coordinates the school’s Green Schools programme. Her special interest is biodiversity and she has led initiatives such as hedge planting and the establishment of All-Ireland Pollinator Plan wildflower areas on the school grounds.
Siobhán volunteers with Bloomin’ Crumlin, a community-led greening initiative, where she has been involved with projects such as distributing fruit trees for residents to plant in their gardens, and the ongoing development of a Community Biodiversity Action Plan for the Crumlin area.
Siobhán’s other main area of interest is active travel. Having rediscovered the many benefits of cycling as transport a few years ago, she would love more people to feel safe and comfortable walking, wheeling or cycling around Dublin. Siobhán is Vice Chair of Dublin Cycling Campaign and an Executive Committee member of Cyclist.ie, the national network of cycling advocacy organisations. She fully shares Dublin Cycling Campaign’s vision of a city where people of all ages and abilities can get around safely by bike or trike.
Look out for her in the upcoming St Patrick’s Day Parade, where Dublin Cycling Campaign will have a ‘Bikes and Biodiversity’ pageant, a fortunate combination of her two passions. The pageant will be a vibrant and colourful celebration of Ireland’s various habitats.
‘I had done an introductory beekeeping course in 2019 to learn how a honeybee colony works and to find out how honeybees fit in to the wider ecosystem. I found it all fascinating. Volunteering with OpenHive was a great chance to get some practical experience over the course of a full beekeeping season, from building frames in the early spring to harvesting the honey at the end of the summer. I am still amazed at the complexity of the colony. I’m very thankful to Jack, Kyle, and Mark for sharing their knowledge in a supportive and constructive way, and I’m so glad to have met the other volunteers with their wide range of interests and skills.’