Welcome to CORE – Cross-border Opportunities for a Resilient Environment.
The CORE project is supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
The island of Ireland is a single biogeographical entity, with shared water, wildlife, flora, and fauna. Brexit has introduced regulatory divergence, complicating environmental governance, making it harder for groups on both sides of the border to work together. On top of all that, environmental groups and NGOs face similar challenges – fragmented funding, board and volunteer recruitment – no matter which side of the border they are on.
The project will help environmental groups and NGOs rise to meet these shared and interconnected challenges through training and capacity building.
The CORE project will offer:
* Training – helping your group improve leadership, governance, and other skills you’ll need;
* Knowledge exchange – giving groups and NGOs the chance to get to know and learn from each other;
* Cross-border pilot projects – supporting groups to work together in new ways, and to try out new approaches
* Mentoring opportunities
The CORE Project is open to organisations of any size working in Ireland and Northern Ireland, especially in the border counties.
Find out more about our events and how to contact us, below.
The project is led by Irish Environmental Network, in partnership with Northern Ireland Environment Link.
Sign up to the CORE mailing list
To be first to hear about our training and networking events, and to find out what’s on offer from CORE, sign up to our mailing list
Events
Wednesday 4th November, 10-3.30, Belfast (venue tbc)
Governance for a Resilient Environment
This free training day is the first in a series, aimed at environmental NGOs across the island of Ireland.
We will look practically at:
Building and recruiting an effective board
Developing the policies that keep an organisation accountable
Building the structures and systems that help organisations grow sustainably, whether they are volunteer-led, staffed, or a mix of both.
Takeaways will include:
* A board skills audit and recruitment plan that you can use straight away
Knowledge sharing with environmental groups, North and South
* Discuss challenges and solutions with a network of peers
* Organic opportunities to forge relationships with other organisations
This training is being offered by the CORE Project, which is funded by PEACEPLUS.
Link to book:
CORE Project Launch and Co-creation workshop, Friday 11th September 2026
Carlingford, Co. Louth
To be first to find out about future CORE events, sign up to the CORE mailing list
Project Team
Sadhbh O’Neill, Project Manager – sadhbh@ien.ie
Ciara Fee, Project Officer – ciara@ien.ie
Sarah Bradley-Adam, Communications, Network and Monitoring Officer – sarah@nienvironmentlink.org
