Courage in Crisis - NCI panel for Mary Robinson Climate & Nature Conference

Natural Capital Ireland will be hosting a panel at the almost-sold out 'Courage in Crisis' Mary Robinson Climate and Nature Conference 2025 on May 26th-27th in Ballina, Co Mayo.

The conference, hosted by The Mary Robinson Centre & Investnet, in the birthplace of the former President is a transdisciplinary meeting point to connect around climate and nature concerns and actions, taking inspiration from the ongoing work already happening nationally and globally while acknowledging that there is so much more to do. The climate and biodiversity crises are interlinked and part of a wider polycrisis, so the theme Courage in Crisis recognises that we need bravery to face the harsh realities of our inactions and take more radical but necessary actions.

The NCI panel is an Open Session in the Climate Hub on Tuesday, May 27th, 14.00-14.40, covering messages of hope and empowerment on how communities, NGOs and the private sector can get involved in nature restoration and ways to fund it, with a focus on the potential of and recent developments in the natural capital approach to bring together various sectors and stakeholders to demonstrate the value of nature, the cost of inaction and the initiatives paving the way for ecosystem accounting to inform nature restoration.

Our panellists are, as pictured above (L-R):

Panel Chair: Bernie Connolly, The Enviromental Forum

Bernadette has a background in Business Studies and Rural Development with a varied career spanning the public, private and community development sectors. She has been in her current role as Coordinator of The Environmental Forum for over 13 years. This role involves managing the activities and projects of the organisation whose strategic goals are to raise awareness and build understanding regarding the environment, facilitate action and behavioural change and to bring an environmental perspective to policy as well as support projects that provide solutions to current challenges, one such example is the Transport and Mobility Forum.

Martina von Richter, NCI Director, Sustainability Consultant, Founder Sustainablevalues.org

As a strategic thought leader with an entrepreneurial mindset, Martina has a proven track record of developing impactful organisational strategies at the board level. Her experience spans sustainable finance, ESG and impact investing across Europe, driving strategic growth and innovation to advance nature-positive outcomes by 2030. Deeply rooted in nature-centric sustainability, Martina believes a sustainable future begins with the conservation and regeneration of our natural world. Committed to reshaping the business and finance sectors, she champions practices that are financially sound and dedicated to protecting nature. Her aim is to harness the transformative power of nature, striving for a world where investments yield positive returns, uplift communities, and leave a lasting legacy for future generations.

Dr Mark Kearney, Assistant Agricultural Inspector, Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine

Mark graduated with a degree in Agri-Environmental Science from University College Dublin (UCD) in 2019. He continued his academic studies by completing a Ph.D. through the collaborative Walsh Scholarship programme between UCD and Teagasc Grange. Mark developed the Grange Dairy Beef Systems model to evaluate dairy-beef production systems from bioeconomic, environmental, and feed-food competition perspective, providing valuable insights into improving the sustainability and efficiency of the sector. In 2024, Mark joined the Nature & Land Use Division of the Department of Agriculture, Food, and the Marine as an Assistant Agricultural Inspector. He is involved in farming part-time with his father and two brothers on their mixed beef, sheep, and tillage farm in Co Westmeath and sits on the NCI Steering Committee on behalf of our co-funders, the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine.

Dr Maria Fitzpatrick, Consulting with Nature, Business For Biodiversity Ireland

Maria has a PhD in Freshwater Ecology, looking at Irish headwater streams, and worked as an Environmental Consultant before moving to London to work at Queen Mary University of London and then on to the Royal Botanic Gardens Kew to build and head up the Research Funding Services for Kew Science. She is Circular Economy trained (Circular Economy Institute) with a Corporate Sustainabilty Reporting Directive professional qualification from the CSRD Institute. With a blend of scientific expertise, project and relationship management skills, and a keen understanding of the environmental challenges our world is facing, she is skilled at building compelling cases for change and funding and encouraging collaborative, inclusive efforts. She is passionate about driving change for a nature-positive and economically sustainable future and is Business Development Manager at Business For Biodiversity Ireland.

Dr Jimmy O'Keeffe, Dublin City University, NCI Steering Committee Chair, Farm-NC

Jimmy is a hydrologist and lecturer in environmental systems at DCU where he co-developed Ireland's first undergraduate course in Climate and Environmental Sustainability. He has over 14 years’ experience working on natural capital and ecosystem services in Ireland, UK and South Asia, with farmers, developers, regulatory authorities and governments, and helped organise Ireland's Children and Young People’s Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Jimmy lead the Science Foundation of Ireland-funded project VniC-Health (Valuing Natural Capital in Communities for Health) which applies the approach to evaluate benefits of green spaces in an urban setting. He leads Farm-NC, working with farmers to identify and evaluate natural capital and ecosystem services on Irish farms.

Mary Mulvey, Founder, Ecotourism Ireland, Director, Tourism Ireland

Mary has a long history in Community and Heritage Tourism since the early1990s. She is founder of the Toastmasters of Sustainable Speakers Club online and has volunteered for Leave No Trace Ireland, Community Wetlands Forum and Climate Reality Leaders in Ireland. Mary also chaired a  sustainability subcommittee on the Board of Tourism Ireland as a director. 

NCI Executive Coordinator Deirdre Lane will also be on hand to answer questions you may have about our work advocating for the natural capital approach to value, protect and restore nature.

​Conference keynote speakers include:

• Mary Robinson, Former President, Member of The Elders, Project Dandelion

• ​Anja Murray, Policy Analyst, Broadcaster and Author

• Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, Associate Professor in the School of STEM Education, Innovation & Global Studies at DCU

  
  

Public tickets for the conference are close to sold out but there may still be some availability for NGOs, local authorities and professional/corporate tickets. Come and talk to us!

Register via eventbrite https://ow.ly/m4nK50VInwB