Don Conroy | |
---|---|
Nationality | Irish |
Other names | "Uncle Don", " The Don",”Banksy” |
Education | Life drawings and culture at the National College of Art and Design |
Occupation(s) | Artist, environmentalist, writer, television personality |
Known for | Preserving wildlife, his slots on The Den during which he would teach the children of Ireland how to draw |
Children | 5 |
Website | http://donconroy.com/ |
Don Conroy is an Irish artist, environmentalist, television personality and writer of children's literature. His artistic and literary work focuses on natural themes, including wildlife. He works for wildlife conservation in Ireland and made regular appearances on The Den since it began in 1986, becoming the longest continually serving member of the cast.
Don Conroy grew up in Donnybrook, Dublin, near Herbert Park. He has four siblings. He attended Oatlands College, a Christian Brothers school in Stillorgan. He was encouraged by his mother and extended family to draw. [1] Conroy studied at the National College of Art and Design and then worked as designer and illustrator for advertising agencies as well as in the theatre. [2] He was in amateur dramatic productions with the Lantern Theatre and the Guinness Players, and was awarded a diploma from The Royal Irish Academy in Speech and Drama. He appeared as an extra in a number of films in the 1970s and 1980s, [1] including The Big Red One . [3]
Conroy made his first appearance on Irish television in 1982 on the Late Late Show , going on to present his own show, Paint For Fun. [2] From 1986 Conroy made regular appearances on The Den , becoming the longest continually serving member of the cast. [4] He has also appears publicly, at libraries, schools and elsewhere, where he entertains children with stories and drawings of various animals, in much the same capacity as his role on The Den. After The Den, Conroy hosted his own show again, The Art of Don. One of his favourite animals is the barn owl. [2] [5] Conroy appeared at Electric Picnic giving art classes. [6] In 2020, Conroy restarted Draw with Don as a YouTube channel in response to the COVID-19 social restrictions in Ireland. [7]
Conroy played a part in the project to reintroduce the golden eagle to Ireland, was involved in establishing a sanctuary for whales and dolphins in Irish waters, [2] and other events highlighting issues relating to endangered animals and habitats such as World Curlew Day 2020. [8] He is an honorary member and patron of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council. [9]
Conroy, and his wife Gay, [13] has five children, and has a home in County Wexford, near Enniscorthy. [1]
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, moors, or muskegs. Sphagnum moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most common components in peat, although many other plants can contribute. The biological features of sphagnum mosses act to create a habitat aiding peat formation, a phenomenon termed 'habitat manipulation'. Soils consisting primarily of peat are known as histosols. Peat forms in wetland conditions, where flooding or stagnant water obstructs the flow of oxygen from the atmosphere, slowing the rate of decomposition. Peat properties such as organic matter content and saturated hydraulic conductivity can exhibit high spatial heterogeneity.
Conservation in the Republic of Ireland is overseen by a number of statutory and non-governmental agencies, including those with responsibility for conservation of the built environment and conservation of the natural environment in Ireland. Conservation has sometimes been a contentious issue, with debates impacting its progress since the 1960s. Concrete initiatives are sometimes driven by European Union (EU) heritage protection and environmental policies, including EU environmental law, which – as a member – the Irish government is obliged to adopt and implement.
A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials – often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and muskeg; alkaline mires are called fens. A bayhead is another type of bog found in the forest of the Gulf Coast states in the United States. They are often covered in heath or heather shrubs rooted in the sphagnum moss and peat. The gradual accumulation of decayed plant material in a bog functions as a carbon sink.
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster and is part of the Southern Region. Named after the town of Wexford, it was based on the historic Gaelic territory of Hy Kinsella, whose capital was Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 163,527 at the 2022 census.
Fota Wildlife Park is a 100-acre (40 ha) wildlife park located on Fota Island, near Carrigtwohill, County Cork, Ireland. Opened in 1983, it is an independently funded, not-for-profit charity that is one of the leading tourism, wildlife and conservation attractions in Ireland. The park had an attendance of 455,559 visitors in 2017, making it the eleventh most popular paid attraction in Ireland for that year.
BirdWatch Ireland (BWI) is a voluntary conservation organisation and registered charity devoted to the conservation and protection of wild birds and their habitats in Ireland. It was formerly known as the Irish Wildbird Conservancy (IWC). Irish Wildbird Conservancy was founded in 1968, among others by Major Robert (Robin) Ruttledge, an Irish ornithologist who became its first president.
Mark Trail is a newspaper comic strip created by the American cartoonist Ed Dodd. Introduced April 15, 1946, the strip centers on environmental and ecological themes. As of 2020, King Features syndicated the strip to "nearly 150 newspapers and digital outlets worldwide."
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ZooAmerica is a zoo located in Hershey, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1910 by Milton S. Hershey with a few animals, including bears, birds, and deer. Today, it covers 11 acres and is home to more than 75 species and 200 individual animals, including some that are rare and endangered.
Northwest Trek Wildlife Park is a 723-acre (293 ha) wildlife park located near the town of Eatonville, Washington, United States. The park is home to black and grizzly bears, grey wolves, bald eagles, a cougar, wolverines, bobcats and more. Its primary feature is a tram tour which takes visitors through a 435-acre (176 ha) free-roam area. The park also allows guests to drive their own vehicles past bison, mountain goats, Roosevelt elk, deer, caribou, swans and more on a Wild Drive tour. Guests can also take a premier Keeper Adventure Tour and go off-road in a Jeep with a keeper and up close to wildlife. The Zip Wild zipline is also open seasonally.
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The North Atlantic moist mixed forests is a temperate broadleaf and mixed forest ecoregion in Northwestern Europe. It consists of maritime forests and heathlands on the western and northern coasts of Ireland, Scotland, and neighboring islands. The ecoregion has undergone major habitat loss.
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George Collie was an Irish painter. His work was part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics.
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