Latest news with #All-IrelandPollinatorPlan
Agriland
10-05-2025
- General
- Agriland
Goats a catalyst for change in Co. Carlow
A small herd of Old Irish Goats attracted almost 2,000 visitors from across Carlow in the sunshine recently as people of all ages learned about the county council's urban pollinator foraging initiative and a little about fire safety on the cusp of wildfire season. The Old Irish Goats – Ireland's indigenous landrace breed now only found in remote mountain ranges, roaming in feral herds – will return to Co. Carlow in September. On that occasion, the council will work with some local retired farmers to demonstrate how to make cocks of hay, a scene that has not been seen in Carlow for many years, according to Shane Casey, environmental officer with Carlow County Council. In 2023, the Carlow local authority adopted a green infrastructure strategy, which includes the policy that no pollinator in Co. Carlow's towns and villages will have to travel more than 200m to find a food source. Casey said: 'To do this, we developed a unique urban pollinator foraging network map in Carlow town. This has since been advocated by the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan as an example of best practice for prioritising local resources.' The Old Irish Goats hitching a lift on the fire brigade 'In 2024, we commissioned Flynn Furney to contact all community and residents' groups in the eight largest towns and villages in Carlow: Carlow town; Tullow; Bagenalstown; Leighlinbridge; Hacketstown; Borris; Ballon; and Rathvilly. 'We asked them to map any community-managed open spaces, where there was a desire to do more for pollinators. Over 60ac in total were mapped and all individual sites were a minimum size of 0.5 ac, and were being mown regularly. 'The focus of the next stage is to encourage a change in management, to move away from regular mowing, saving time and labour and reducing carbon footprint, and towards long flowering meadows in these areas, significantly improving conditions for biodiversity and enabling enhanced ecosystem services,' Casey said. The environmental officer went on to explain the important role of the Old Irish Goats in bringing about this different approach. 'The goats are a catalyst for this change in management, rather than the sole solution, and we will be partnering with the Co Carlow Environmental Network in September to offer practical help to local residents who want to make such changes.. 'This will involve us helping to 'cut and lift' these spaces, limited to any green space which is a minimum of 0.5 ac in size, where a mown boundary strip is maintained throughout the summer, and where signs – which we will provide – are erected and maintained,' he said. It is anticipated that the 'lifted' vegetation will be used as part of a cultural event to demonstrate the skill of making cocks of hay. The goats stayed overnight in the parochial house in Bagenalstown. They then visited the green adjacent to Leighlinbridge church, and also took in the green areas of Brooklawns, Burrindale and Sherwood, before finishing up at Hacketstown fire station. Their shepherd, Melissa Jeuken, was on hand throughout the week, along with Casey, to deliver educational talks on pollinators, land management for pollinators, and the goats themselves, the subject of Casey's agricultural science undergraduate thesis. According to Casey: 'Also joining us throughout the week was our fire service crew, delivering fire safety awareness as we enter wildfire season. 'These were the same goats as seen on Howth Head, controlling gorse and scrub to manage wildfire impacts, an issue all too prevalent in Carlow as well. 'We also found time during the week to create a Carlow version of the classic 'Three Billy Goats Gruff' performed by local woman, Wibbly Wobbly Wendy, and posted on Facebook by the National Heritage Council.' Shane Casey and Melissa Jeuken with the Old Irish Goats
Agriland
03-05-2025
- General
- Agriland
Festival of Farmland Biodiversity celebrates hedgerows
The National Biodiversity Data Centre is currently hosting the month-long Festival of Farmland Biodiversity, which is focused on our hedgerows. This year's virtual festival celebrates the value of the native species-rich hedgerows that crisscross the Irish landscape. Hedgerows provide food (such as blossom and berries), create wildlife corridors, help with shade and shelter for livestock as well as field drainage, and offers a habitat for beneficial insects. The festival, which continues until the end of May, will also highlight some of the ways that farmers can work to support nature on their farms. Festival of Farmland Biodiversity farm walk. Source: Ruth Wilson As part of the festival, there are a series of walks and talks on farms across the country which will allow farmers to see this work firsthand. The walks will be hosted by National Biodiversity Data Centre, Farming for Nature and and the Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme (ACRES) Breifne team. Ruth Wilson, farmland pollinator officer with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, told Agriland that some of the work being undertaken by farmers for nature and biodiversity on their lands will be showcased during these events. 'You can notice year-on-year greater interest from everybody, and the farmers are keen to share what actions they are taking on their farm,' she said. Hedgerows This year's festival will include a photography competition where people can submit images of hedgerows under four categories: Best Blossom; Best Shelter or Shade for Livestock; Best Margin for Wildflowers and Best Hedgerow Network. Along with prizes for the categories, the judging panel will also select the overall best hedgerow photo which 'really stands out'. The festival includes a photography competition Wilson added that the National Biodiversity Data Centre will be launching an online course focused on pollinator-friendly hedgerows this month. 'The course covers the wonderful native species that we find in our hedgerows, and how best to manage them as well to benefit pollinators and biodiversity,' she said. Farmers are being invited to take part in the Festival of Farmland Biodiversity by sharing content on social media about biodiversity on their farms (using the #FarmlandBiodiversity tag), in particular hedgerows. They can also submit biodiversity sightings of different species and plants on their farm as part of a long-term project being run by the National Biodiversity Data Centre. 'If you see it on your farm, you can learn more about it and send your records in. We're always very keen to get records in to know the species is there,' Wilson said. Further details on the festival and the various events can be found on the National Biodiversity Data Centre website.
Irish Times
24-04-2025
- Science
- Irish Times
Pollination: How to bringing the buzz back into our countryside, towns and cities
Taking action to reverse the degradation of nature is no longer a 'nice to have'; it is mandated in the Nature Restoration Law , which came into effect in 2024. The law includes the need to tackle biodiversity loss across all of our land and sea systems, but one particular group of animals, the pollinators, is called out explicitly. Ireland, as a member state of the EU, must improve pollinator diversity and reverse the decline of pollinator populations by 2030. We have just five years to reverse serious and ongoing declines in the tiny beasts that keep nature ticking over. One-third of our 99 wild bee species are at risk of extinction. Pollination is one of the most fascinating, colourful and economically important interactions between plants and animals. The 'birds and the bees' elegantly aid reproduction of 90 per cent of plant species on Earth. Hundreds of pollinator-dependent crops provide us with healthy diets and not so healthy treats. Strawberries, apples and cocoa are all highly dependent on animals to move pollen around to stimulate the production of fruit. In addition to the crops, hundreds of thousands of wild plants are critically dependent on pollinators. READ MORE Pollinators are animals that visit flowers, usually attracted by the promise of sugar-rich nectar and protein-rich pollen. When the pollinator visits another flower, some of the pollen gets deposited on a sticky stigma within the flower. If the pollen is the right species, and even the right kind of individual, the pollen grain germinates and burrows its way to meet the ovule of the recipient, fusing to create an embryo, the seed of a new plant. Worldwide, many different kinds of animals act as pollinators, including beetles, bees, butterflies, birds and bats. In Ireland, we lack the exotic hummingbirds and sugar gliders of the tropics and subtropics, but we have a diverse range of bees, hoverflies, butterflies and moths that quietly go about their essential work servicing the flowers. In 2015, Ireland led the world in developing the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, a blueprint for actions to help reverse the decline in pollinators. Ecologists Úna Fitzpatrick from the National Biodiversity Data Centre and Jane Stout from Trinity College Dublin recognised something needed to be done to stem the loss of insects from our landscapes, farms and wild places. They created a plan with more than 80 actions that individual people, communities, local authorities and businesses could put in place to help reverse pollinator declines. Over the past 10 years, two All-Ireland Pollinator Plans have been produced and have become the go-to example of pollinator habitat and species restoration planning in Europe, inspiring pollinator plans in several other countries. All local authorities in Ireland have signed up to the plan. Areas left wild and unmown for pollinators have become a common sight in parks, along roadsides and in gardens. Action for pollinators is well embedded in our communities, with the Tidy Towns competition having a special award for pollinator-friendly measures. Over the years, we have learned to appreciate lawns studded with golden dandelions and muted lemon-yellow cowslips. 'Weeds' became 'pollinator friendly plants' and lawnmowers were parked up for months at a time. Wild orchids popped up on roadside verges outside suburban houses and bumble bees found new places to nest in wildlife-friendly gardens. Our aesthetic senses have been retrained to better appreciate the wild and messy. Ireland has a 10-year head-start to the kind of action we need to restore pollinators, but it is clear that increased efforts are needed as pollinators continue to be threatened by pesticides, habitat destruction and climate change. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan is due for renewal for 2026-2030 and this is the perfect time to increase ambition. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan has grown from grass-roots involvement and people are being asked to contribute ideas for the next version of the plan. See the consultation page on the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan website to contribute your ideas to bring back the buzz into our countryside, towns and cities. Pollinators need bigger, better and more joined up areas in which to thrive. Prof Yvonne Buckley is co-director of Co-Centre for Climate + Biodiversity + Water, Trinity College Dublin, and board member of the National Biodiversity Data Centre
