Tramore Backstrand walk

Waterford IWT continued its programme of summer evening walks with a ramble along the Backstrand in Tramore. Thanks to Denis for the picture.

Coastwatch walk to Remediated wetlands at the Backstrand, Tramore

Karen Dubsky joined with local Coastwatch to walk from the Saleens to the new wetlands put aside/flooded to offset wetland loss elsewhere. For a full report click here.

Saleens walk

Thanks to Dennis for the two pictures from the walk today from the Saleens to Brownstown Head.

September/October walks

Hi everyone,

What a great summer this was for us humans as well as the plants, butterflies and bats (less so for the 5-in-a-row hurlers perhaps, but we can't all be happy!).

Here are a few outings in the wild - or close to it - for the autumn season that might interest you.

Saturday, Sept 18th; IWT National AGM in Cork (members only) . 11am - 1 pm / Forest Walk after lunch)

Sunday Sept. 26th: 2pm Tramore : Seaweed workshop. Free event, no need to book.2pm.... a free Seaweed Workshop hosted by Marie Power, Regional Chairperson of the Irish Wildlife Trust, Field Ecologist Grace O’Sullivan and Hilary Killops on the front deck at Oceanics Surf School & Marine Education Centre. The Seaweed workshop will focus on the health benefits of seaweed and its uses, from tasting to cooking with it, and the identification of seaweed will be included. (anyone got a more recent picture...this one from 2004)
Check the archive on this blog for uses of seaweed.

Saturday October 2nd: 2-4.30pm: Mushroom Hunt in Lismore. More details and booking arrangements on the IWT website

Sunday October 24th: Seaweed Wokshop, Clonea Strand, Dungarvan. Booking neccessary. Details on the local website, part of the Return to the Deise weekend.

Everyone is welcome to IWT outings and feel free to pass this on to anyone you think would like to join an informal walk / talk in nature and some sharing of knowledge about plants, animals, birds, habitats etc. We would love to hear your suggestions / proposals for walks, events, practical conservation work in Waterford and the South East.

Heritage week walk

Celebrate Heritage Week with the Waterford Branch of the Irish Wildlife Trust on Sunday August 29th at Tramore Backstrand and Sand-dunes.

There will be a walk to the dunes observing and identifying bird and plant life as you go with walk leader, Denis Cullen.The walk starts at 2 pm from carpark beyond public toilets and lasts approx 1.5 hours., As this is part of IWT's nationwide Wildwatch Walks, you will receive an identification sheet, which you can complete on the walk and which will be entered into a draw for a prize (for most species identified). This adds to interest, especially for children. There is no need to book, just wear appropriate clothing and if you can, car pool, or travel by bicycle on foot, or by public transport. Binoculars would be helpful, and a pen for completing the Wildwatch form.

Contact Marie for more information: 0868124275

Other events coming up.......If you are interested in the heritage of the Comeragh Mountains; Waterford County Council are running an 8 week course in Rathgormack, starting on Sept 15th, covering flora, fauna, geology, archaeology, genealogy and discussion on developing tourism potential of the Comeraghs.

Contact Bernadette Guest for more more details. 058 22000.

Great news for Waterford Coastline

An Bord Pleanála finally released its decision on the hotel, golf and housing complex at Garrarus and Kilfarrasy proposed by Islandikane Developments Ltd. The decision is a complete refusal to grant planning permission and one which overturns Waterford County Council’s decision to grant permission in Feb 2009.

This refusal by An Bord Pleanála is the decision that the Garrarus group have worked so hard to create a case for and the Bord has recognised and reiterated the compelling reasons to preserve the site as one that is characterised by its open landscape, rural style settlement and special habitats. To read a copy of the Bord’s decision click here.

This is a landmark decision by the Bord which should provide a test case which can set a precedent to prevent similar style developments on other areas of special protection in Ireland. The positive response by the Bord to the appeals it received arguing against this development is one that substantiates the effort, expertise and dedication of all those involved in making these appeals.

This result is the culmination of each and every submission that was lodged with Waterford County Council Planning Authority as all of these were part of the file that was submitted to An Bord Pleanála and so there are many, many people who have contributed to this outcome. The GDCR would like to thank everyone for the support, advice and work that they have undertaken in order to contribute and participate in the campaign of opposition to the proposed development. Their website is here.

We have preserved, for now, the landscape, character and unspoilt beauty of the place in which we live and relax and this is no small victory.

Sand-lubbers at Work

Photos from IWT/AOL Volunteer day on May 7th at Tramore Sand Dunes.

25 conservation enthusiasts took to the dunes at 9 am yesterday morning to try to stabilise the dunes, which are under threat from weather, ocean, trampling, quadbiking etc. They came fromn Waterford-based company, AOL and along with Irish Wildlife Trust members and Education Officer Andrew, and Andy from Conservation Services (contractor working for Waterford County Council on this project) to transplant marram grass, lay protective mesh and clear up litter.

Blow-outs (areas without any grass or plants) are part of the process of erosion in which the exposed sand is vulnerable to the effects of wind etc, which can simply blow the dunes away, wiping out the homes of a large variety of insects, birds, mammals and plants which inhabit the area. And destroying a valuable amenity in this case. Marram Grass plays a key role in dune stabilisation, by "binding" the sand grains together, and by causing more sand to accumulate, leading to conditions which support other plant life and consequently, a stable dune. Mesh reduces the blow-off in exposed areas of sand. Tramore Dunes are part of an SAC (Special Area of Conservation # 000671. see www.npws.ie for more information) and need intervention if they are to survive in the present form. The area has been fenced off to allow the grass to regenerate.

You can see that it was a sunny bluesky day and really great fun - what you can't see in the photos was the million grains of sand that got into hair, ears, noses, the kelley-kettle.... The wind was almost overpowering - litterpickers almost turned into kitesurfers over the Baldy Man when wind got into sacks!

But this was a determined and hardy group of people who stuck at the task till 4pm and great progress could be seen when we finally loaded up the tools and headed for home.

Bernie Guest, Waterford County Heritage Officer afterwards expressed her appreciation for the work to all involved.

We wouldn't like to see all the work wasted, so we're calling for everyone who goes there to respect the dunes, the fencing, avoid walking and report quadbiking (which is illegal) to Gardai (051 391620), Waterford County Council (051 39555) or The Wildlife Ranger (087 8541961).

This was the 3rd collaboration between AOL and IWT Waterford Branch, which has seen some useful voluntary work completed and there are plans to do more in July. We are also looking at the possiblity of setting up a regular conservation group to keep up the work on the dunes and other areas. For information, email Marie - marpower@eircom.net

If you are interested in doing some practical conservation further afield, and perhaps taking an active summer holiday, 2 volunteering options are:

In Killarney Woods, clearing Rhodedendron - 1 week June, July or August (www.groundwork.ie or www.iwt.ie) or on Clare Island, clearing Gunnera - 2 weeks - last week August and 1st week September.

Thanks to Sandra, from Dublin's Volunteer Group - the Grubby Gang - for these photos.

Garrarus Resort Clears First Hurdle!

Waterford News and Star devotes page 3 not to skimpily clad girls but to the news that:

€150 million golf resort clears first planning hurdle

. On the same page,

Residents believe plan is screen for housing

.
P12 of the Munster Express also leads with

Council grants permission for Garrarus resort

.

For more information check out the website of Garrarus & District Concerned Residents (GDCR).

An Bord Pleanala comes in for criticism

Tramore planning decision criticised (p16, WN+S); Planning Watchdog pulls plug on local development (p13, WN + S); Strong Criticim levelled at An Bord Pleanala (p2, ME). This just a sample in the newspapers for the week of the 9th December.

Ferrybank Residents complain over Unfinished Boundaries (p3, ME)...now that sounds familiar. How can be developers be forced to do what they said they would do?

The Kings Channel Habitat is well explained by Joe in his Views from the Brasscock (p7 ME). This is the second of two parts. Click on this link. For the first part, click here.

Kilkenny County Council have developed their mapping systems. Click on their Homepage and then go to maps. The layers include: OS mapping of different scales, administrative boundaries, planning applications, environment data, groundwater protection scheme, sanitary data, heritage, roads and infrastructure.