I live in Killarney town and have a very small back garden, about three metres by five. For years we did little with it other than the obligatory mowing of the lawn. Inspired by Mary Reynolds, a couple of years ago we decided to let it go wild instead.
This morning, while sitting at my kitchen table, I spotted a flash of red. A gorgeous male bullfinch, with his bright red breast, landed delicately on a dandelion stem. He gripped the long green stem while it slowly lowered to the ground, allowing him to feed on the seeds. Nearby, peeping through the long grass, I spotted what was likely his mate, softer and more rust-coloured, contentedly chomping away, her beak full of white daisy petals. I called my husband over quietly and he managed to capture a lovely photograph of her.
Up until now, he had been a little sceptical about our “wild garden” experiment. After all, he’s the one who has to endure the side eye glances from visitors and neighbours wondering why he is too “lazy” to mow the lawn. Last year, one visitor surveying our wild front garden joked, “Anne, the council will be putting a dereliction notice on the house next!”
Such a tiny patch of land, and yet nature responded almost immediately once we simply stepped back and allowed space for life to return.
If this can happen in one small-town garden, imagine what could happen if our government truly embraced the ambition of the Nature Restoration Law, not only on land but in our rivers and oceans, too. Nature asks remarkably little of us sometimes: simply to get out of the way and allow her the chance to heal.
And despite the many challenges facing
our ecosystems, what gives me enormous hope is the community around the Irish Wildlife Trust. During Biodiversity Week especially, it’s a joy to be surrounded by people who care so deeply about the natural world and who willingly give their time, energy and passion to protect it. Our staff, branches and volunteers have once again put together an inspiring programme of events across the country, and I hope many of you had the opportunity to take part. Thank you also to everyone who joined the recent Fair Seas protest outside the Dáil. Collective action matters, and it is heartening to see so many committed voices calling for stronger protection for our seas.
In April, I attended a walk led by our Kerry branch leader, Ger Scollard, through Ballyseedy Woods, a beautiful Special Area of Conservation. We were treated to the wonderful sight of an abundance of red squirrels, an absolute delight and a reminder of what thriving habitats can support when protected.
We are sad to say goodbye to Fabiola, who has been part of our team since 2021. Fabiola has done tremendous work behind the scenes on the essential administrative side of the organisation. We sincerely thank her for her dedication, hard work, and commitment over the years, and we wish her every success in her new role. Thankfully, this is not a complete goodbye, as Fabiola will remain involved as a member and volunteer.
Wishing you all a great summer, and I look forward to catching up again in the autumn.
Warm regards,
Anne Hannan Chair, Irish Wildlife Trust
Pass it on. If you’re finished with your Irish Wildlife don’t throw it in the bin. Pass it on to someone who you think may enjoy it – or ask your local library or doctor’s office to leave it in the reception. You’ll help the environment and the IWT while you’re at it. Irish Wildlife is 100% recyclable, so if you do choose to throw it out, please put it in the green bin.
IWT
Trawling for Answers documentary, Rally for Ireland’s Seas, and the Fair Seas Ocean Week conference
Collin Ennis reveals worlds within and without the garden pond
A look back at our Biodiversity Week events covering seven counties
How to build homes while supporting biodiversity
PeacePlus Nature in Ireland; the path to a new Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area in Northern Manitoba
Mosquitos: Understanding the Ecological Importance of a Misunderstood Species
of the Fertile Rock at Slieve Carran
“Pests” and other unloved creatures in European cities
Hedgehogs and the new Ulster Wildlife Survey
to the Irish Hare
A selection from our photo competition
Competition Your chance to win a book
Have comments?
Editorial Team: Kieran Flood, Marion Jammet & Charlotte Salter-Townshend
Social media: facebook.com/IrishWildlifeTrust twitter.com/Irishwildlife instagram.com/irishwildlifetrust/
Registered Charity Number: 20010966
About Us
The Irish Wildlife Trust was founded in 1979. Our mission is to protect and restore biodiversity in Ireland by motivating and supporting people to take action for nature.
The IWT is dedicated to creating a better future for Ireland’s wildlife through: Motivating and supporting people to take action for wildlife.
Education and raising awareness of all aspects of Irish wildlife and conservation issues.
Research of the natural environment. Acquiring and managing nature reserves to safeguard species and habitats.
Lobbying decision-makers at all levels to promote policy in Ireland that provides a sustainable future for wildlife and people. Working in partnership with other organisations to achieve results that matter for conservation.
Irish Wildlife is published quarterly by the IWT.
How can you help?
You, our members, make the IWT what it is. Through your subscriptions and support we can undertake the projects that are benefiting Ireland’s wildlife. If you would like to help more, here’s what you can do:
• Make a one-off donation to the IWT.
• Give IWT membership as a gift.
• Volunteer – we are always looking for people to help out. There are lots of ways to get involved, from helping with important admin work in our office to helping us increase membership by volunteering at public events. See our website www.iwt.ie for details or contact the office directly.
The IWT encourages action at a local level and has a number of branches around the country:
Dublin: dublinbranch@iwt.ie
Facebook @ DublinBranchIrishWildlifeTrust
Kerry: iwtkerry@gmail.com
Facebook @ KerryIWT
Limerick: limerickbranch@iwt.ie
Facebook @ IWTLimerickBranch
Monaghan: monaghanbranch@iwt.ie
Facebook @ iwtmonaghan
Waterford: waterfordbranch@iwt.ie
Facebook @ Irish Wildlife Trust
- Waterford Branch
• Do you have land that you would like used for conservation? We are always on the lookout to establish new sites to enhance wildlife or provide education opportunities.
• Remember us in your will. Why not leave a lasting legacy towards conserving Ireland’s natural heritage? The IWT uses all funds towards our campaigns, managing reserves and our education programmes. Please visit www.mylegacy.ie.
• Set up a branch. Are you passionate about wildlife and are in a county that does not have an IWT branch? Contact the office and we can give you the support you need to get up and running.
5 The Beech Marten (Martes foina) in Poland. Photo: DamianKuzdak, iStockphoto
6 Female Emperor Dragonfly. Photo: John Hudon
Kieran Flood, IWT Chief Executive Officer
IWT STRATEGY UPDATE
Daoine le dúlraPeople with nature
The Irish Wildlife Trust’s vision is an Ireland where wild nature thrives, and we enjoy the benefits of coexisting with diverse, functioning ecosystems. How do we get to this utopian sounding state of being? This will be no easy feat but it is a vision worth striving towards. At the IWT we use the following three principles to guide us on our way: Connection With Nature; Hope Through Action; and Systemic Change
While this all sounds very well, what does it look like in practice?
This May, on the eve of National Biodiversity Week, I was delighted to attend the launch event of the Seeds of Inspiration project, developed and delivered by the IWT Monaghan Branch and Monaghan County Council Biodiversity Office. One of the fruits of this project is a documentary film about the work of John McKeon. The film follows John’s experience of moving from an agricultural advisor propagating the prevalent model of agricultural intensification (along with hedgerow removal) to becoming a nature advocate propagating local provenance trees, replanting hedgerows on his own land and supporting local landowners to regenerate their hedgerows and farm biodiversity. The film is a moving account of one person's empowerment by taking local actions to create change. Other fruits of this project are a beautiful booklet on native tree propagation, published as Gaeilge and in English, as well as a series of informative and accessible short videos on how to grow native trees from seed to sapling. All these resources are available on our website here https://iwt.ie/seeds_ of_inspiration/
role of trees and hedgerows within our ecosystem. It clearly documents an example of one person's actions to change from an extractive and destructive system to a far more resilient, ecologically grounded system and it shows the hope that can be created by taking action for nature. The proof was in the packed room of people inspired by John’s work. But the real connection on display was the connection of people. The project came about due to the dedicated work of multiple IWT branch volunteers, the Monaghan Biodiversity Officer, videographers and editors, and not least John himself. Just as fungal networks and connection within the soil lead to healthy resilient ecosystems, so too the human network of individuals working for nature within County Monaghan made this fantastic project possible. This is just one example of the fantastic work of the IWT network of branches and members across Ireland.
People working together with nature has the power to lead us to our vision of a future where we enjoy the benefits of coexisting within diverse, functioning ecosystems. With that in mind I’d like to thank our colleague Fabiola Vieira for all her work over the years supporting the IWT membership and branch network and for bringing a kindness and positivity to our community. We wish Fabiola the best of luck in her future endeavours. While one team member moved on this spring we also welcomed our new Nature Advocacy Officer Oisín O’Néill to the staff team. Oisín joins us with experience working in law and community conservation initiatives and is already increasing our capacity to act as a voice for nature across terrestrial issues, complementing our strong marine advocacy work.
I had the honour of being asked to say a few words at the launch on behalf of the IWT. While standing on the podium addressing the packed 300 seater Íontas Theatre in Castleblaney, it occurred to me that the Seeds of Inspiration project encompasses all our guiding principles. Undoubtedly it connects people with nature and improves understanding of the
To our members, I thank you for being a part of our community and for supporting this network of dedicated people taking action for nature.
The IWT staff team outside Dáil Éireann
PROTECTION MARINE
Grace Carr, IWT Marine Advocacy Officer
Rally for Ireland’s Seas
THERE’S NO STRENGTH WITHOUT UNITY
We’re halfway through 2026 and it’s been a busy year so far advocating for the marine environment. From rallying outside the gates of Leinster House with Fair Seas to screening our new film ‘Trawling for Answers’, where we speak to fishing communities, scientists and divers about destructive fishing methods and marine conservation, we are tackling marine issues from the ground up to the political level.
Trawling for Answers
Last year we travelled around Ireland speaking with fish producer organisations, scientific researchers, charter skippers, ex commercial bottom trawlers, eNGOs and underwater videographers to find out more about bottom trawling and the impacts it has on the marine environment. We ended up finding out a lot more about how fisheries are managed in Irish waters and that the solutions to some of the issues around fisheries and marine protection will not be black and white. Bottom trawling is a damaging form of fishing, there is no denying this. We put in an Access to Information on the Environment request on how much bycatch is caught in bottom trawled fisheries. We were told that due to GDPR, they could not disclose how much of each species was caught. It is shown globally that bottom trawling has the highest level of bycatch, so the fact the Irish
"Last
government will not disclose this information is concerning.
One big issue with fisheries management is that smaller fishing boats in Ireland do not get a fair share of the national pelagic fisheries quota meaning they rely on certain fishing methods and non quota species to make a living. If bottom trawling was banned, many would have to move into other gears such as potting. While potting is a lower impact gear, used for catching different species of crustacean, even a low impact gear will still become unsustainable if it is not managed. There are currently no pot limits in Irish waters and the number of pots is increasing. Management plans for crustaceans are also missing even though the fishing industry themselves are asking the Irish government to rectify this. How fisheries management and quotas are currently governed in Ireland means that it will be difficult to transition towards more environmentally sustainable fisheries.
We held the first screening of our documentary film Trawling for Answers in Dublin in March and another in Kenmare during Biodiversity Week. We hope to hold more around the country and online throughout the year. After the screenings we asked people to write down their thoughts on the topics raised in the film and received some very insightful comments. We believe it’s important to have these conversations with everyone so that new thoughts and insights can be taken into consideration. If we are to
effectively protect the marine environment we must ensure that all stakeholder voices are heard.
Rally for Ireland’s Seas
On 21st May, Fair Seas held a ‘Rally for Ireland’s Seas’. As a founding member of Fair Seas we helped to organise the rally and attended on the day. There was a great turnout with people arriving in costumes and waving signs calling for better marine protections. TDs Jennifer Whitmore and Roderick O’Gorman were in attendance as well as Senator Malcolm Noonan. Minister for fisheries Timmy Dooley came out to speak to us and we were happy for the opportunity to show him how many people truly care about the ocean and want to see it protected. This included everyone in attendance at the rally but also the nearly 26,000 people who have signed our petition calling for new MPA legislation to be released. Ireland is truly a laggard when it comes to designating and managing protected areas at sea. So much so that this May the European Commission initiated legal proceedings against Ireland over their failure to designate MPAs. The national MPA Bill was promised in the 2020 programme for Government and yet we are still waiting to see a draft of the Bill. Ireland will begin its presidency of the European Council in July and we intend to use this opportunity to continue highlighting that Ireland is failing when it comes to effectively protecting its seas and the people that rely on them.
year we travelled around Ireland speaking with fish producer organisations, scientific researchers, charter skippers, ex commercial bottom trawlers, eNGOs and underwater videographers to find out more about bottom trawling and the impacts it has on the marine environment"
From the Dáil to the European Commission
This year we have spoken to the Oireachtas Committee for Fisheries and Maritime affairs twice, regarding marine protected areas and damaging fishing methods. We have also continued engaging with TDs, Ministers and party leaders on these issues through in person meetings and by submitting Parliamentary Questions. We met with the European Commission during their visit to Ireland in April where we took the opportunity to speak on marine protected areas and our worries around the implementation of the Nature Restoration Law and the simplification of nature laws.
Fair Seas World Ocean Week Conference
Fair Seas held their second World Ocean Week conference on the 3rd of June. This was an opportunity to get all stakeholders under one roof to speak about how vital it is that we protect the marine environment and more importantly, how exactly we are going to do that while bringing everyone along in the process. There were four key sessions exploring different topics. A session focused on international best practice highlighted the practical approaches to marine protection. This was designed to help identify the common
principles, conditions and governance that we can translate into the Irish context.
We spoke during a session focussing on the situation in Ireland and what needs to be done to support the effective designation and management of MPAs. We were joined by John Lynch from the Irish South East Fish Producer Organisation; Oliver O’Cadhla from the Department of Climate, Environment and Energy; and Robert Walsh form the Northern Ireland Marine Task Force. Oliver spoke about the €25 million MPA life project and the work that is occurring in the background as we await the publication of the MPA legislation. We stressed the point that we need to have site specific management plans released alongside new MPA designations which he agreed wholeheartedly with. We highlighted the various policy mechanisms which need to be used if we are to effectively protect and restore Ireland’s marine ecosystems. Robert spoke about the situation in the North of Ireland and highlighted actions that were successful for them which we can learn from. John spoke about MPAs from the fishing industry perspective. It’s clear that they want to be involved in the process and that they know the value of having properly managed MPAs. They have worries about mismanagement and how
some activities may be impacted but this is the reason why early and ongoing stakeholder engagement is so important for the entire process. We heard several times throughout the day that co-creation and co-management of MPAs are the only way to ensure their success.
All in all the conference was a great success and we were very happy to see several fishermen and representatives from different fish producer organisations in the audience. We hope this engagement will continue into the future as we work towards protecting Ireland’s seas.
Building connections
This year has been fantastic for building connections with other NGOs, researchers and fishing communities. We have spoken at events held by An Taisce, SeaSearch and Dive Ireland. We have hosted panel discussions with researchers focussing on shark conservation and have continued to speak with members of the fishing community on issues concerning them and marine conservation. We want to continue building these relationships and hope that better trust will be garnered and we will be able to work together towards a more sustainable future for Ireland’s seas. We believe that there’s no strength without unity - Ní neart go cúr le cheile.
The Fair Seas Rally For Our Seas outside the Dáil. The Irish Wildlife Trust is a founding member of the Fair Seas coalition
BUILDING COMMUNITIES
Charlotte Salter-Townshend, IWT Communications & Network Officer
FOR NATURE
National Biodiversity Week
CONNECTING WITH NATURE ACROSS IRELAND
A10-day celebration of Irish wildlife, National Biodiversity Week is an annual highlight in the IWT event calendar.
From bats and bees to hedgerows and loughs, the IWT staff and Branches organised a diverse series of Biodiversity Week events across seven counties. It was great to get out and meet many of our members and supporters as well as make new connections with local groups and advocates.
IWT Limerick Branch hosted two events in Curraghchase Forest Park, in association with Kilcornan Tidy Towns. Attendees got up close to a few species of dragonfly and damselfly, learning about their fascinating life cycles. Despite the cool and showery weather, we found Large Red Damselfly, Azure Blue Damselfly, a Variable Blue Damselfly, and a Hairy Hawker.
This was followed by a tour of the Arboretum, spotting wildflowers amongst the extensive collections of trees from around the world.
On the south-east coast, IWT Waterford led a walk along the cliffs at Arthurstown and up to Dunbrody house gardens in Co. Wexford, traversing coastal and woodland habitats along Waterford Harbour.
At the National Botanic Gardens, Glasnevin, IWT CEO Kieran Flood led the People for Bees workshop, where despite the drizzle, we found five species of bumblebees. Kieran explained the life cycle of Irish bumblebees, honey bees, and solitary bees. About one-third of the 101 bee
Female Azure Blue Damselfly at Curraghchase Park. Photo: IWT Limerick
Waterford Branch Biodiversity Week Walk
species found in Ireland are threatened with extinction. Participants learned how to identify bumblebees and actions you can take following the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, of which IWT is an official partner. The IWT Dublin Branch joined Kieran for another bumblebee walk the same afternoon at the Botanics, exploring bumblebee ecology and their importance in the landscape.
For World Bee Day, we joined the NPWS Wicklow team to meet the bees at the Bog Meadow in Enniskerry. It was great to see how a small patch of naturally regenerating wildflowers in the car park was full of bees and other insects. We found bumblebee queens, workers, and males, allowing us to show the differences within a species.
Ger Scollard and Dr Deborah McCormick of the IWT Kerry Branch led a Bat Walk through
From bats and bees to hedgerows and loughs, the IWT staff and Branches organised a diverse series of Biodiversity Week events across seven counties. It was great to get out and meet many of our members and supporters as well as make new connections with local groups and advocates
Ballyseedy Woods, after convening at Tralee Bay Wetlands Centre. The Kerry Branch also collaborated with the Maharees Conservation Association for their annual Natterjack Toad Walk at Castlegregory Golf Club. The toads were in full voice and we spotted plenty of wildflowers including Cuckoo Flower, Marsh Orchids, and Bird's Foot Trefoil.
Trawling for Answers screening in Kenmare
Bee Day at the Bog Meadow
IWT Kerry and Maharees Conservation Assoication Natterjack Toads walk
People for Bees at Botanic Gardens
Also in Kerry, Kenmare Tidy Towns hosted us for a special screening of IWT documentary film Trawling for Answers, as part of the Celebration of Our Bay festival. This film explores issues around bottom trawling and marine protection in Ireland. IWT Marine Advocacy Officer Grace Carr speaks with fish producer organisations, environmental researchers, ex commercial bottom trawlers, conservationists, and more in a trip around Ireland seeking to find out how well our waters are protected and what else needs to be done. We followed the screening with a Q&A and an informal discussion of the film’s themes. The trailer is available to watch on our YouTube channel and we will be organising more screenings later this year.
A big thank you to all the organisers and hosts of these events, to the local communities we collaborated with, and those who joined us for events this Biodiversity Week. We look forward to meeting you again soon
Bird walk at Muckno with IWT Monaghan
Biodiversity and Irish in Monaghan
Hedgerows, a biodiversity lifeline at Myross Woods
IWT Monaghan's guided bird walk offered an immersive stroll through lovely Lough Muckno nature park, led by local ecologist Billy Flynn, who helped us spot and identify various bird species. Armed with binoculars, we had the opportunity to tune our eyes and ears to recognise distinct behaviours, bird songs, and calls, making it a perfect blend of peaceful mindfulness, learning, and connection to nature.
IWT Nature Advocacy Officer Oisín Ó Néill explored the interconnections between biodiversity and the Irish language at the Pearse Centre in Dublin and again at An Nead in Monaghan town with the Monaghan Branch. Through examining place names, species names, seanfhocail, and folklore, Oisín revealed how deeply connected the Irish language is to nature, framing deeper discussion on biodiversity loss and the restoration of nature in Ireland today.
Down in West Cork, Communications & Network Officer Charlotte Salter-Townshend led a walk at Myross Woods with CECAS (Centre of Excellence for Climate Action and Sustainability) and Green Skibbereen CLG. The 30-acre Myross Woods site is a Special Area of Conservation, featuring a rare fragment of temperate rainforest alongside a coastal estuary. We explored plants, insects, and birds that inhabit the spaces where these habitats meet, highlighting hedgerow plants. We also took a look at the work of the Friends of Myross Woods in their efforts to protect the woodland from aggressive invasive plants including Rhododendron ponticum and Cherry Laurel.
A big thank you to all the organisers and hosts of these events, to the local communities we collaborated with, and those who joined us for events this Biodiversity Week. We look forward to meeting you again soon.
National Biodiversity Week is coordinated by the Irish Environmental Network (IEN), of which we are a proud member, and funded by the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).
BY CHARLOTTE SALTER-TOWNSHEND, IWT COMMUNICATIONS & NETWORK OFFICER
Biodiversity without
Borders
PEACEPLUS NATURE AND CHANGE
Wildlife is oblivious to political borders. Crossborder collaboration is crucial in addressing the biodiversity crisis on our shared island.
A new initiative, PeacePlus Nature (PPN), is investing €20.8 million to help restore habitats, protect species and deliver nature-based solutions across Northern Ireland and the bordering counties of Ireland.
PPN brings together nine environmental and local organisations: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Northern Ireland (RSPB NI), BirdWatch Ireland, Butterfly Conservation, Monaghan County Council, River Blackwater Catchment Trust, Truagh Development Association, Lough Neagh Partnership, NI Water and An Taisce. Led by RSPB NI, PPN aims to restore key habitats including upland blanket bog, lowland wet grassland and limestone grassland and species including the Curlew, Lapwing, Redshank, Snipe, Hen Harrier, Corncrake, Marsh Fritillary Butterfly and White-clawed Crayfish at approximately 22 sites.
In late May, the RSPB NI secured a farmland site at Inishcreenry, on the shores of Upper Lough Erne. Working alongside local farmers and decision-makers, they will explore how land can deliver for both agriculture and wildlife.
BirdWatch Ireland’s main focus in PPN will be the protection and conservation of breeding waders, particularly at sites in Co. Donegal. This work builds on gains from previous projects, whilst also taking on some new challenges. As well as undertaking surveys and monitoring, BirdWatch Ireland supports small-scale habitat restoration and works with farmers to increase awareness of the issues facing breeding waders. A significant undertaking has been the ongoing installment and management of a network of predator exclusion fences across Donegal. The exclusion fences utilise a multi-layered, physical and electric design to stop predators such as Foxes, Badgers and Stoats from climbing over or digging under. This has proven particularly successful with the breeding Lapwing population. BirdWatch will also employ a Warden for Tory Island, who will work with visitors and the island community to reduce the impacts of recreation and disturbance on breeding waders such as the Dunlin (fewer than 30 pairs breed in Ireland north and republic).
PPN is part of the wider EU PeacePlus programme, a €1.14 billion cross-border funding programme designed to support peace, reconciliation and economic prosperity. Peaceplus is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and
represents a funding partnership between the European Union, the Irish and British governments and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Time for CHANGE
In May, the Northern Ireland Environment Link (NIEL) and the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) came together to announce the launch of the CHANGE (Collaborative Horizons for All-Island Nature and Governance Enhancement) project, another major cross-border initiative supported by PeacePlus. NIEL and IEN are both umbrella networks that support environmental NGOs through access to funding and services. The Irish Wildlife Trust is a proud member of the IEN.
IEN CEO Karen Ciesielski stated: “By working together, sharing expertise, and engaging stakeholders across both jurisdictions, we can strengthen environmental governance, improve outcomes, and support sustainable, evidence-based decisionmaking across the island.”
Lapwing on the shore. Photo: EstuaryPig, iStockphoto
Seal the Deal
THE PATH TO AN INDIGENOUS PROTECTED AND CONSERVED AREA IN NORTHERN MANITOBA
Located in the heart of Manitoba, the Seal River is one of the last truly wild, un-dammed rivers left in the world.
Flowing 260km into Hudson Bay, its 50,000-square-kilometre watershed represents a massive carbon sink, storing 1.7 billion tonnes of carbon (equivalent to 8 years of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada). The watershed includes pristine lakes and wetlands and vast boreal forest, supporting 22 million migratory birds (hundreds of species) and sustaining over 30 species at risk, including Barren-ground Caribou, Wolverines, Polar Bears, Grizzly Bears and Olive-sided Flycatchers. Harbour Seals can be found as far as 200 kilometres inland from the mouth of the Seal River, giving the river its name. Given this ecological significance, the watershed is of immense cultural and economic value.
Currently, about 14% of the Seal River Watershed is designated as protected areas. In 2020, four Indigenous Nations—Sayisi Dene, Northlands Denesuline, Barren Lands and O-Pipon-Na-Piwin Cree— launched the Seal River Watershed Alliance to protect the entire area through the establishment of an Indigenous Protected and Conserved Area (IPCA). Several IPCAs have been established in partnership with Crown governments, including Thaidene Nëné in the Northwest Territories, which uses a similar mosaic of protections. IPCAs are places that Indigenous governments identify for conservation and they can take many forms. IPCAs generally include three essential elements: (1) they are Indigenousled; (2) they represent a long-term commitment to conservation; and (3) they elevate Indigenous rights and responsibilities. The Seal River Watershed Alliance wants to ensure the area
The Seal River Watershed Alliance wants to ensure the area remains a space where people and wildlife are healthy, Indigenous languages and culture thrive and there is hope for future generations
remains a space where people and wildlife are healthy, Indigenous languages and culture thrive and there is hope for future generations.
In early 2024, the Governments of Manitoba, Canada and the Alliance entered into an agreement to study the natural, economic, social and cultural impacts of creating a protected area in the watershed. Based on this review, they are proposing a ‘mosaic’ of protected areas that would establish the entire watershed as an IPCA, as well as creating provincial parks and a national park reserve within the IPCA. The proposal includes establishing a Joint Management Board appointed by the elected leadership of Indigenous governments, Canada and Manitoba. One of the responsibilities of the Joint Management Board will be to create a management plan for the IPCA rooted in science and Indigenous Knowledge, with a long-term environmental and cultural vision including protecting land and waters, managing visitors and supporting the way of life of the Indigenous Peoples.
Protecting the Seal River Watershed will support long-term conservation while maintaining public access and supporting sustainable tourism, through creating stewardship jobs and attracting investment in the regional economy. Industrial development such as mining and forestry will not be allowed and non-indigenous big-game hunting will be phased out in the proposed new national park (one third of the proposed IPCA). The official public engagement period closed on 2 June and feedback gathered during this period will be used to inform plans.
SOURCES: www.sealriverwatershed.ca/
Fleeting
BY CLIONA DOYLE
Flora
ETCHINGS FROM THE BURREN
Mountain Avens with Speckled Wood Butterfly
Whenever possible, I work outdoors and directly from nature. I bring prepared etching plates with me and start with a line drawing which I can then etch in the studio. Working directly in situ preserves an immediacy and energy that cannot easily be recreated
Blackthorn Dogwood
Early Purple Orchid
Meadowsweet
This series of works was created in the Burren, Co. Clare, as part of a commission. My mother grew up in nearby Gort and spent her summers as a girl cycling around the Burren. She knew the names of every plant, bird and butterfly and together we walked many of the green roads and limestone trails in North Clare. This perhaps is what instilled in me a love of and respect for nature and the environment.
The flora of the Burren is unique, with 24 of Ireland’s 28 native orchids to be found here. A mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean species converge in the Burren alongside wild herbs and orchids. The Burren’s limestone pavement
regulates temperature and provides natural shelter, creating an ecosystem unlike any other in Ireland. Hawthorn, Blackthorn, Hazel, Spindle and Dogwood trees all thrive here, often shaped by the weather and many have particular significance in Irish folklore. Some of these can also be found in bonsai form due to the extreme weather and sometimes inhospitable landscape. In the upland pastures one can find a wealth of orchids, the delicate Mountain Avens, Bloody Cranesbill, Spring Gentian, Guelder Rose, Harebells, Lesser Celandine and Devil’s-bit Scabious.
My practice is to make drawings directly onto etching plates or paint with carborundum directly onto large aluminium plates. Whenever possible, I work outdoors and directly from nature. I bring prepared etching plates with me and start with a line drawing which I can then etch in the studio. Working directly in situ preserves an immediacy and energy that cannot easily be recreated. Etching en plein air is a deeply immersive, multi-sensory experience. The permanence of the process demands concentration, as marks cannot easily be erased. I am also interested in trying to capture the surrounding environment, and atmosphere. The symbiotic nature between plants and pollinators is also a focus of my work.
Through this work, I hope to convey not only the remarkable biodiversity of the Burren, but also a sense of attentiveness, an invitation to look more closely at the fragile and transient beauty of nature.
The flora of the Burren is unique, with 24 of Ireland’s 28 native orchids to be found here. A mixture of Alpine and Mediterranean species converge in the Burren alongside wild herbs and orchids
Wild Rose and Honeysuckle
Spindle
Primrose and Cowslip
Spending time outdoors in nature can benefit your wellbeing and develop your understanding of your local environment. In this series of articles, we share recommendations of nature reserves and wild areas where you can go to encounter biodiverse ecosystems. At the IWT we want to support our community to connect with nature and we hope this series of articles will inspire you to get out and explore.
In this issue Mark O’Callaghan shares the story of his connection with Slieve Carran, Co. Clare. Mark is the Head Guide for the NPWS Wicklow/North Wexford Region and is based at Knocksink Wood Nature Reserve in Co. Wicklow.
Secrets of the Fertile Rock
A scarp wall rises like a green wave from the floor of a limestone plain, covered in a dark foam of trees. Mounds of meadow and pasture nestle below cliffs, repeated at smaller scale as anthills erupting amongst the rocks, rare plants scattered in their midst.
A Red Squirrel drey hangs from an Ash tree deep in the woods. And in a hazel hollow, an ancient site of pilgrimage bears witness to the long and complex relationship between people and nature on this island. Such are some of the wonders of Slieve Carran, on the eastern edge of the Burren uplands.
I first encountered Slieve Carran some 15 years or more ago, in spring sunshine on a college fieldtrip. I knew the Burren to some degree - or thought I did, having wandered its more maritime edges and the trails of the Burren National Park many times, gaining some appreciation of how plants, place and people interact to form a landscape. I'd spent the past year on a Masters course whose primary aim was the understanding of ecosystems, with particular emphasis on the role of plants and vegetation in forming a habitat.
Slieve Carran helped show how the pieces all fell into place.
We came to Slieve Carran to map vegetation at the landscape scale - or at least, to practice doing so in a complex environment where a mosaic of woodland, grassland and limestone pavement presented a puzzle to beginner botanists. For several days that spring we explored the reserve, becoming familiar not only with its contours and corners but with the rhythm of the Burren year, as plants both iconic and mundane arose, unfurled and blossomed.
The site is incredibly varied. There are areas of flat and stark limestone pavement, rent deep with grikes or scailps; these have their own stable microclimate and host rarities such as Maidenhair Fern. Contrasting sharply are areas of rubbly broken stone, interspersed with patches of heath and splashes of Mountain Avens, Bloody Cranesbill and Spring Gentian; among these familiar Burren faces are local surprises like the vanilla-scented Dark-Red Helleborine and the rare and elegant Dropwort. A Yew of unknown age clings to the cliffs, a dark sentinel over the landscape; below it, the usual Burren hazel scrub grades into true ash-hazel woodland, a haven for rare lichens such as Lungwort. Elsewhere, springs rise to the surface, creating little wetlands of sedges, rushes and mosses.
As well as plants, animal wildlife abounds here. Slieve Carran was one of the last strongholds of the Pine Marten during its twentiethcentury steep decline, and at this time of year, the Cuckoo calls.
Peregrine Falcons nest on the cliffs, and the placename Eagles Rock reminds us of the much larger raptor which once haunted these crags; last year, we saw two White-Tailed Eagles not far from here, and maybe soon they will return. The grasslands are abundant with insects and other invertebrates; a long-term project has studied the snails of these habitats, showing how crucial the level of grazing is to maintaining grassland biodiversity.
The human hand here is also written in stone; in the heart of the woods is an ancient stone church, cave and holy well, sacred to the local Naomh Cólmán, and still a place of pilgrimage. Though like many early Christians a hermit in his lifetime, Cólmán left behind a rich folklore linking his story to the people of the Burren and the management of landscape - see if you can find Bóthar na Mias“The Road of the Dishes” - and the marks left by the king’s horses! Older monuments along the hilltops tell an earlier tale, of complex societies which gathered en masse in huts and hillforts; their story remains outside of history and even folklore, beyond the range of the nature reserve.
Slieve Carran Nature Reserve is owned and managed on behalf of the State by the National Parks and Wildlife Service; it is served by two short walking trails which showcase the site’s diversity, as well as a small parking area. The Reserve is approximately 9km from the village of Kinvara and the same distance from the village of Carran. From Kinvara, take the L8587 1km west of the village, keep left along this road until the crossroads with the R4507, go straight through and continue up the hill, turning right for the last 1km to the site. Please note that the roads to the Reserve are very narrow, so care is needed.
RESOURCES
If you have a recommendation of a favourite place to connect with nature, please let us know. We do not want to put pressure on sensitive habitats, so we ask that you share suggestions of places that have an existing path network. Please send your suggestions to editor@iwt.ie with the subject: Connecting with Nature.
3Poll Cholmain
Arching Dropwort
Slieve Carran Pilgrimage
Photos: by Mark O’Callaghan
Living on the wild side
“PESTS”
AND OTHER UNLOVED CREATURES IN EUROPEAN CITIES
The script is familiar: when wild animals become too numerous, too visible, or too comfortable around humans, headlines harden and tolerance runs thin
3Juvenile Herring Gull in Dublin. Photo: Wirestock, Inc. / Alamy Stock Photo
BY MARION JAMMET
Every summer, the same stories return. Newsrooms fill with complaints about “seagulls stealing chips,” swiftly followed by calls from (often populist) politicians for their culling. When I moved to Dublin twenty years ago, this struck me as odd. I was delighted to see seabirds thriving so close to the city. But Ireland is far from unique. Across Europe, the script is familiar: when wild animals become too numerous, too visible, or too comfortable around humans, headlines harden and tolerance runs thin.
Only this week, Spanish headlines reported public outrage over an Iberian Lynx (Lynx pardinus) killing domestic cats in Andalusia. The gull circling your café and the lynx on the urban fringe of a Spanish town seem worlds apart, yet the parallels are striking. Both Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Iberian Lynx are protected species. Both are adapting to human‑altered environments — gulls to easy food, lynx to perceived ecological competitors. And in both cases, the animals are framed as the problem. This raises deeper questions. Where do ideas like “pests” and “vermin” come from, and what do those words reveal about our relationship with nature — particularly in our towns and cities? This article explores these questions, and considers alternative ways of living alongside wild birds and mammals in European towns and cities.
Understanding wild fauna in European cities
While for much of European history, cities were lived‑in by humans and animals (including wild animals) alike, that co‑existence was sharply curtailed by the Industrial Revolution. Habitat loss, air and water pollution, and increased persecution — among other pressures — drove local extinctions, steep population declines, and ultimately a profound simplification of urban ecosystems. In today's Europe, cities are dominated by a limited set of adaptable, generalist species, with specialists absent or confined to green fragments. Those wild animals that have adapted well to the challenges of urban living sometimes exist in large numbers, and are the ones that are often perceived or described as “vermins” or “pests”.
Although these terms have been removed as legal categories in most European countries’ modern wildlife law (including Ireland), similar terminology persists in some national or regional legislation. For instance, regional legislation and guidance in Italy and Spain still use words such as
Enhancing biodiversity within cities can support full trophic webs, enabling natural population regulation
“nocivi” (noxious/harmful) “plagas” (pests), and it was only in 2016 that the word “nuisibles” (harmful pests) was replaced in French law by “espèces susceptibles d’occasionner des dégâts” (“species likely to cause damage”). Unfortunately, a classification this broad — defining species likely to cause damage to health, public safety, or the protection of flora, fauna, agriculture, forestry, and aquaculture — allows many species to fall under these categories. As a result, even native species such as the Beech Marten (Martes foina), Carrion Crow (Corvus corone), and Rook (Corvus frugilegus) may still be legally trapped or shot in certain parts of France. But, even where these terms are no longer used in legislation, negative perceptions of these species often persist, raising important questions about how we can learn to coexist with them more harmoniously.
Rethinking our relationship with wild fauna
Wildlife management has shifted significantly across European cities over the past 50 years, yet a wide spectrum of approaches is still used. These range from culling and removal to non‑lethal deterrents and fertility‑control methods, as well as more structural strategies that focus on removing attractants (such as waste), ecosystem restorations and public awareness initiatives, and often, a combination of them.
While removal or culling, including of native species, was the typical response to wildlife in urban areas during the 1970s and 1980s, these measures can be costly, controversial (1) and are increasingly viewed as ineffective when the underlying causes are not addressed. Such interventions may create ecological voids, with available resources such as food and shelter attracting younger animals or dispersing animals from surrounding areas, or they may trigger reproductive compensation. In Barcelona, culling and live capture alone have proven insufficient to manage the city’s growing Wild Boar population. Studies suggest that the most effective strategy combines these methods with a reduction of anthropogenic food sources and public awareness campaigns to reduce human–wild boar conflict (2). Wild Boars typically enter the city through natural corridors such as streams, likely in search for anthropogenic food resources. This movement occurs mainly during periods of natural food scarcity—particularly the warmer, drier months—when urban areas offer more abundant resources than their natural habitats (3).
In recent years, several cities have begun exploring wildlife contraception as a safe and humane management tool (4). In Brussels, for example, contraceptive corn is used to control an
More integrated strategies are needed —ones that combine population management with the removal of attractants, sustained public awareness, and habitat protection and restoration
overabundant Rock Pigeon population. Automatic feeders are placed at sites where pigeons gather and dispense enough kernels for only the dominant 15% of birds—those responsible for roughly 90% of reproduction. Because feeding lasts barely a minute, other species have little opportunity to access the food. Early results are encouraging: pigeon numbers in Square Clémentine fell by more than half between 2019 and early 2022 (5). Earlier this year, Kraków—Poland’s second‑largest city— launched a similar programme in its historic centre (6), showing growing interest in non‑lethal population control across Europe.
While these approaches are valuable, they largely address symptoms rather than causes. More integrated strategies are needed—ones that combine population management with the removal of attractants, sustained public awareness, and habitat protection and restoration. In Barcelona, for example, the city has introduced underground waste‑container systems to eliminate accessible, overflowing surface bins and reduce access to food waste. It
also invests in raising awareness about the impacts of intentional and unintentional feeding of wild animals, such as discarding food scraps or leaving takeaway containers in parks. No matter how effective these local measures are in easing the relationship between humans and wild animals, they cannot obscure a broader reality: many species interact more frequently with humans because their natural habitats are shrinking and food resources are declining due to factors such as urbanisation, overfishing, and climate change. This makes ecosystem protection and restoration essential. Enhancing biodiversity within cities can support full trophic webs, enabling natural population regulation. Furthermore, when urban areas provide large, rich, and interconnected natural habitats, wildlife is more likely to remain in these spaces rather than venturing into neighbourhoods in search of food. More importantly, in a world facing a biodiversity crisis—where wild mammals now represent only about 5% of global mammal biomass—isn’t it time we begin relearning how to coexist with them?
RESOURCES
1. Alagona, P. S. (2022). The accidental ecosystem: People and wildlife in American cities. University of California Press.
2. Escobar-González, M. et al (2024). Evaluating hunting and capture methods for urban wild boar population management, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 940, 2024, 173463, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173463.
3. Castillo-Contreras, R. et al (2018). Urban wild boars prefer fragmented areas with food resources near natural corridors, Science of The Total Environment, Volume 615, 2018, Pages 282-288, ISSN 0048-9697, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.09.277.
4. Massei, G.; Cowan, D. Fertility control to mitigate human–wildlife conflicts: A review. Wildl. Res. 2014, 41, 1–21.
5. Pigeon pill: How Brussels is controlling unruly populations with contraceptives
6. Polish city launches pigeon contraception programme to curb growing numbers | Notes From Poland
The Beech Marten (Martes foina) in Poland. Photo: DamianKuzdak, iStockphoto
THE SECRET LIFE OF IRISH PONDS
BY COLLIE ENNIS
About the Author: Collie Ennis is Trinity College Dublin’s Biodiversity Officer and a Zoology research associate specialising in invertebrates, reptiles and amphibians. He has spent the last 15 years working in frontline conservation in Ireland and abroad, and is a regular nature commentator on Irish TV and radio.
Iam obsessed with ponds. Long before I knew the meaning of words like “ecosystem” or “biodiversity,” I was obsessed with ponds. As a kid I would spend hours stomping around the old Dog Pond in the Phoenix Park armed with a jam jar and a net, completely absorbed in the hidden world beneath the water surface. While other kids were playing football, I was turning over stones looking for beetles, scooping up tadpoles, and trying to catch dragonfly nymphs that looked more like underwater aliens than insects. Back home in Crumlin, my father eventually built me a small garden pond using little more than soil, stones and heavy black bin bags for a liner. To me it was the greatest thing ever! I filled it with sticklebacks, watched dragonfly larvae stalk prey
through the weeds and spent entire summers fascinated by the sheer amount of life that appeared in what was essentially a muddy hole in the garden. Looking back now, I realise those early ponds fundamentally shaped the way I still see nature today, not as something distant and untouchable, but as something alive and waiting to be discovered…. Especially anywhere water is allowed to gather.
Ponds are not static places. They are constantly shifting worlds, balanced delicately between water, soil, sunlight, plants, insects and the countless species that depend upon them
Spend a few quiet minutes beside a pond in summer and the illusion of stillness begins to disappear. Something dimples the water surface. A dragonfly patrols overhead like a tiny helicopter. Beetles rise briefly for air before vanishing back into the dark water below. Tadpoles graze through submerged plants while water boatmen dart through shafts of sunlight.
Ponds are not static places. They are constantly shifting worlds, balanced delicately between water, soil, sunlight, plants, insects and the countless species that depend upon them.
One of the more remarkable things about ponds is how quickly life arrives to a new one. Create a pond almost anywhere in Ireland and within days insects begin to discover it. Within weeks it may already contain predators, larvae, eggs and microscopic animals invisible to the naked eye. Nature wastes very little time in setting up shop.
Female Emperor Dragonfly.
Photo: John Hudson
The Monsters Beneath the Surface
One of the great joys of pond dipping is watching children realise that ponds are not peaceful little puddles filled with harmless wrigglers. Beneath the surface lives an entire cast of aquatic predators that would look perfectly at home in an alien horror movie. Among the most impressive are the diving beetles, particularly species like the Great Diving Beetle. These glossy black-and-gold beetles are among the top predators in many Irish ponds. Adult diving beetles carry a bubble of air beneath their wing cases and periodically rise to the surface to replenish it, almost like tiny scuba divers. Using powerful hind legs fringed with hairs, they swim with remarkable speed and agility. But it is the larvae that truly deserve respect.
Known sometimes as “water tigers,” diving beetle larvae are elongated aquatic hunters armed with enormous curved jaws capable of seizing tadpoles, insect larvae, and other aquatic prey. They inject digestive enzymes into victims before effectively drinking the liquefied remains. Nature, as always, can be gloriously brutal. Despite their fearsome appearance, these beetles are vital parts of healthy pond ecosystems. Predators help maintain balance, preventing any one species from dominating completely.
And ponds are full of predators. Dragonfly larvae lurk among submerged vegetation waiting to ambush prey. Water scorpions stalk slowly through the shallows. Pond skaters patrol the surface film hunting insects trapped by surface tension. A pond is less a peaceful pool and more an underwater evolutionary battle arena. Definitely part of the attraction to a curious young Collie…. And a much older Collie to this day.
The Long Childhood of a Dragonfly Dragonflies are among Ireland’s most spectacular insects. Stop and wait for a while beside your local pond, canal or slow moving river and look out for metallic Blue Emperors, Scarlet Darters and Broad-bodied Chasers flash over the water during warm summer days, often seeming more like tiny drones than living animals.
Yet the graceful adults people admire for a few weeks each summer spend most of their lives hidden underwater.
The dragonfly lifecycle is one of the most extraordinary transformations in Irish wildlife. Adults mate around ponds and females deposit eggs directly into water or aquatic plants. Once hatched, the larvae, known as nymphs, descend into a completely different world beneath the surface. There they remain for months or even years depending on the species.
Dragonfly nymphs are formidable aquatic predators. Equipped with extendable lower jaws that shoot outward to snatch prey, they hunt mosquito larvae, tadpoles, small fish, and other
aquatic insects with deadly efficiency. They breathe underwater using internal gills and move by expelling water from the rear of the body in sudden bursts of jet propulsion. For years these alien-looking hunters creep through pond vegetation unnoticed. Then, one summer evening, everything changes.
The mature nymph climbs from the water onto a reed or stem. Its skin splits open and the adult dragonfly slowly pulls itself free in one of the most remarkable spectacles in nature. Wings inflate. Colours brighten. By morning a completely transformed aerial predator takes flight.
Many people never realise that the dazzling dragonflies dancing over ponds began life as underwater ambush predators living hidden in mud and weed.
Healthy ponds are essential for dragonflies, and Ireland supports an impressive range of species. But many depend on clean water, good aquatic vegetation, and undisturbed breeding sites. The usual suspects, the destruction of ponds, wetland drainage, pollution, and overly manicured landscapes continue to threaten aquatic biodiversity across the country.
The Invisible Drifters
Not all pond life is obvious. Beneath every scoop of pond water exists a hidden microscopic universe. Tiny crustaceans, algae, bacteria, rotifers, and plankton drift through the water column performing essential
Many people never realise that the dazzling dragonflies dancing over ponds began life as underwater ambush predators living hidden in mud and weed
Daphnia, a genus of small planktonic crustaceans.
Photo: Martin Almqvist, Alamy
Nature is built on relationships, many of them invisible until they are disrupted
ecological roles. Among the most important are water fleas, tiny freshwater crustaceans belonging largely to the genus Daphnia. Though barely visible to the naked eye, Daphnia are among the great unsung heroes of freshwater ecosystems. These transparent little animals feed by filtering algae and organic particles from the water, helping maintain water quality while converting microscopic plant material into food for larger animals.
Fish, insect larvae, tadpoles, and countless other aquatic species rely on them for food. (As a young boy I got into trouble for using my granny’s tights to make a fine mesh net to catch daphnia to feed my sticklebacks!) Under magnification, Daphnia are astonishing creatures. Their bodies pulse rhythmically as they swim through the water, and in some individuals it is even possible to observe beating hearts through their transparent shells.
Ponds often appear still and empty to us because we are simply too large to perceive most of the life within them. In reality, every litre of pond water may contain thousands of organisms interacting in ways that shape the entire ecosystem.
It is a reminder that healthy ecosystems are built not only on charismatic animals like frogs and dragonflies, but also on armies of tiny organisms quietly doing the work of keeping everything functioning.
In Defence of Mosquitoes
Few animals are as universally disliked as mosquitoes. Their whining flight and itchy bites have earned them a terrible reputation worldwide. Yet in Ireland, mosquitoes play an ecological role far more important than most people realise. Only female mosquitoes bite, and even then many species feed primarily on birds or
mammals other than humans. Males feed harmlessly on nectar and can even contribute to pollination. More importantly, mosquitoes form a critical food source for countless Irish animals.
Mosquito larvae wriggling through ponds provide food for dragonfly nymphs, diving beetles, newts, fish, and other aquatic predators. Adult mosquitoes become prey for bats, swallows, martins, swifts, spiders and insecteating birds. On warm summer evenings, bats feeding over ponds may consume thousands of insects in a single night, including huge numbers of mosquitoes and midges. Birds like Swallows and House Martins rely heavily on emerging aquatic insects during the breeding season when feeding hungry chicks.
Even ‘annoying’ animals have value.
Modern society often divides wildlife into simplistic categories of “good” and “bad,” yet ecosystems do not function that way. Remove mosquitoes entirely and the consequences would ripple outward through food webs affecting predators that depend upon them.
Nature is built on relationships, many of them invisible until they are disrupted.
The Return of Amphibians
As much as I tell people otherwise… no pond in Ireland feels truly complete until amphibians arrive. A valuable mini ecosystem, yes! But without amphibians it does feel less than.
The appearance of frogspawn remains one of the most hopeful signs of spring. Overnight, ponds that seemed lifeless suddenly contain floating masses of spawn that soon erupt into clouds of tadpoles.
The Common Frog is Ireland’s only native frog species and one of our most familiar amphibians. Yet even Common Frogs depend heavily on suitable ponds for breeding. Adults may spend much of the year hidden in gardens, woodland, or damp grassland, but they return faithfully to water each spring to reproduce. Male frogs gather first, calling and wrestling noisily while waiting for females to arrive. For a few frantic weeks ponds become centres of amphibian drama before the adults disperse once more. Ireland’s Smooth Newt lives a more secretive life. During the breeding season, male newts develop striking orange bellies and wavy crests while performing elegant underwater courtship displays for females. Newts are superb indicators of healthy ponds because they require clean water, abundant vegetation, and undisturbed habitat. They are also voracious predators, feeding on insect larvae, small invertebrates, and tadpoles.
3Great Diving Beetle (Dytiscus marginalis) larva, sometimes known as a “water tiger” feeding. Photo: slowmotiongli, iStockphoto
Unfortunately, amphibians worldwide are under enormous pressure from habitat destruction, pollution, disease, road mortality, and climate change. In Ireland, the loss of ponds and wetlands has undoubtedly reduced breeding opportunities in many areas.
Yet ponds remain one of the easiest and most effective conservation tools available to ordinary people. Build a wildlife pond, even a small one, and nature often responds with astonishing speed. Within months insects arrive. Frogs colonise (hopefully). Birds visit to drink and bathe. Life gathers around water almost instinctively.
Building Space for Wildness
One of the great tragedies of modern landscapes is how sterile they have become. Ponds are filled in. Wet corners are drained. Gardens are paved over. Dead wood is removed. Every patch of “mess” is tidied away.
But wildlife thrives in complexity.
A good pond does not need fountains, ornamental fish, or perfectly clean water. In fact, the most wildlife-friendly ponds are often the scruffier ones: shallow edges, native plants, submerged vegetation, fallen leaves, muddy margins, and plenty of shelter. Fish should generally be avoided in small wildlife ponds, as
Nature is built on relationships, many of them invisible until they are disrupted
they consume amphibian eggs and aquatic invertebrates. Even tiny ponds can become biodiversity hotspots if left relatively undisturbed.
Children especially seem drawn instinctively to ponds. Perhaps it is because ponds reveal wildlife so directly. They were certainly the gateway into a love of nature for me and many of my colleagues and peers.
In an increasingly indoor world, ponds reconnect people with the idea that nature is not distant or abstract. It can be incredibly accessible, right in your garden, and incredibly easy to create.
And sometimes the greatest wildlife spectacles in Ireland are not found on remote mountains or windswept coasts, but can be quietly waiting in a small garden pond no bigger than a dining room table made from extra thick bin bags, that 40-odd years later, with occasional renovations and upgrades, still provides a home to the frogs, newts and dragonflies in my parents garden in Crumlin.
Male Smooth Newt (Lissotriton vulgaris) coming up for air.
Photo: David Sewell, Alamy
Neighbourhoods for NATURE
BUILDING HOMES WHILE SUPPORTING BIODIVERSITY
BY FIONA NULTY
About the author:
Fiona is a researcher with Trinity College Dublin on the BIO-NEIGHBOUR project (1) , and the co-founder of BioSense: a multidisciplinary environmental consultancy working across ecology, land management and biodiversity enhancement. Her research examines urban wild spaces and how biodiversity is addressed in the development process in Ireland. She previously worked as a registered architect, and has extensive first-hand experience of the design, planning, and construction process.
Few would argue against protecting mature trees, conserving rivers, retaining hedgerows, or creating neighbourhoods where people can access high-quality green space and live with the benefits of birdsong, shade, and clean air (2). In principle, almost everyone agrees that nature should be an integral part of our built environment. Yet it is still too often lost through the normal process of development. This loss is not always dramatic or deliberate. Instead, project by project, decisions that may seem minor in isolation contribute to a gradual erosion of biodiversity from our neighbourhoods and landscapes.
This gap between what we value in principle and what our systems deliver in practice was one of the central issues explored in the BIO-NEIGHBOUR project. Through the lens of residential developments, the research examined how to scale up efforts for biodiversity, and deliver better outcomes for nature. Professionals across ecology, planning, architecture, landscape architecture, development, engineering and construction within both the public and private sector were engaged to share their experience and identify possible solutions. The findings show that the issue is not a lack of
willingness. Across disciplines, there was broad support for protecting and enhancing biodiversity, and for integrating nature earlier and more consistently into the development process and projects. Actions are already being implemented on some projects and by some local authorities. However, this is not currently happening routinely or at scale. The key question is, why is this shared intention not translating into regular outcomes on the ground, and what needs to change so that biodiversity protection and enhancement becomes a normal part of how residential development is designed, built and managed?
The research identified that gradual losses can occur at many project stages. Ecological expertise may be brought in after the site layout is designed; a hedgerow may be removed before its value is identified; a wet area may be drained to simplify the site plan or reduce costs. Furthermore, biodiversity measures may be included in a design or planning application but not fully delivered during construction or not properly managed in the long term. E.g., a meadow shown on a planning drawing may later be managed as short-mown amenity grass, or native tree planting may be
delivered on site but not maintained long enough to establish as the intended habitat. These systemic barriers such as the late-stage integration of ecology, inconsistent policy requirements, knowledge gaps across the sector, limited ecological capacity in local authorities, financial constraints, weak enforcement and uncertainty around long-term management were identified repeatedly by the research participants across all disciplines. They noted that the current process is largely reactive and mitigationfocused, rather than a proactive approach centred on the holistic integration of nature. It means that biodiversity is often only considered after key decisions have already been made, rather than shaping those decisions from the outset. Participants also highlighted the issue of sites being cleared prior to ecological surveys or planning applications. When habitats are removed before they are recorded, their value may never be properly understood or protected. Planning legislation often requires ecological assessment only where Environmental Impact Assessment or Appropriate Assessment is triggered and participants noted that many
Neighbourhood Park & SuDS (sustainable drainage system) Basin in Seven Mills development by Cairn Homes
developments “slip through this net”. This leaves biodiversity under-addressed in many smaller projects, despite their cumulative impact. Another key factor is that responsibility for biodiversity can become lost between disciplines, contracts, planning conditions, construction teams and long-term maintenance arrangements. As a result, biodiversity is often lost because the process does not clearly require, resource, or follow through on its protection.
We now have an opportunity to do things differently. Ireland is at a critical point for both development and nature restoration. The National Development Plan commits to the largest investment in infrastructure in the history of the state (3) , much of which is targeted to unlock the delivery of 300,000 additional homes by 2030 (4). These are essential objectives, however, development at this scale will have a considerable impact on land use, habitats, species, water and ecological connectivity. At the same time, biodiversity is in poor condition. The most recent Habitats Directive Article 17 reporting shows that 90% of protected habitats in Ireland are assessed as having unfavourable conservation status, with 51% of these showing deteriorating trends (5). The recent EU Nature Restoration Regulation sets a high bar for landscape scale action, and has introduced legally binding targets for 2030, 2040 and 2050 (6). What is needed is a “whole of government, whole of society approach” to protecting biodiversity, and that is the commitment set out in Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan (7) Development and restoration objectives cannot be treated separately. We must deliver development to meet the needs of a growing society while protecting existing ecological value, restoring degraded habitats and creating resilient landscapes that are healthier for people as well as wildlife.
The recommendations from the BIONEIGHBOUR project promote a coordinated approach to biodiversity and development, centred on the ecological mitigation hierarchy: avoid, minimise, restore and, as a last resort, offset. This order is important: avoiding damage is much better for nature than trying to repair it afterwards, and it is also typically more cost effective (8). Mature trees, species-rich grasslands, and longestablished hedgerows can represent decades or centuries of ecological development and complexity. Retaining an old hedgerow or protecting an existing wetland is far more effective than installing new measures after a site has been developed. For the mitigation hierarchy to work, nature must also be considered early enough to influence zoning, site selection, layout, drainage, open space, construction management and long-term maintenance. Participants repeatedly emphasised the need to consider a more coordinated and landscape scale approach to integrating nature into development processes.
The recommendations span national, local and stakeholder levels. Nationally, the objective is to implement a coordinated countrywide strategy, underpinned by the mitigation hierarchy. At the local level, the recommendations promote stronger planning standards, evidence-based ecological mapping and more consistent
requirements across all local authorities. At stakeholder level, they emphasise training, knowledge-sharing and capacity-building across the built environment sector for all project disciplines from designers to planners, engineers and site contractors. Across all levels, one requirement is central: responsibility for nature needs to be clearly assigned at all project stages. If responsibility is unclear, nature can become everyone’s concern in principle but no one’s responsibility in practice.
Retaining an old hedgerow or protecting an existing wetland is far more effective than installing new measures after a site has been developed
1. The BIO-NEIGHBOUR Project is a collaboration between the Irish Green Building Council (IGBC) and Trinity College Dublin (TCD); funded by the Housing Agency. The project engaged with built environment practitioners across both public and private sectors to develop recommendations for accelerating nature-led solutions in residential developments and supporting sustainable communities across Ireland. The final project report with detailed recommendations can be accessed at www.igbc.ie.
2. World Health Organisation, (2026) One Health
Biodiversity is sometimes presented as a constraint for development, but the findings from BIO-NEIGHBOUR suggest that early and coordinated action can support better outcomes for all sides. It reduces planning risk, avoids costly redesign, improves certainty, supports climate resilience and creates higher-quality neighbourhoods. Nature-based solutions such as urban greening, constructed wetlands or tree planting, can help to manage stormwater, reduce heat, improve air quality and support health and wellbeing. While Ireland has shortcomings in how nature is currently integrated into development, there is a real opportunity to address this and to lead by example. If we are to deliver the homes and infrastructure we need while also restoring biodiversity, nature cannot remain a late-stage check or a specialist concern at the edge of the process. We need a system that makes it easier to protect existing ecological value, restore what has been degraded, and maintain biodiversity measures over the long term. Fundamentally, sensitive ecological planning means considering nature as a central stakeholder from the project outset and throughout the lifetime and management of a development. Nature needs to be given a consistent voice in policy, at meetings, on drawings, on construction sites, and in the long-term management of the neighbourhoods we build, because they are not separate from nature; they are part of it.
3. National Development Plan (2025)
4. DHLGH (2025); Delivering Homes, Building Communities 2025-2030.
5. NPWS (2025); The Status of Protected Habitats and Species in Ireland, 2025: Summary Report
6. Regulation (EU) 2024/1991 on nature restoration
7. DHLGH; (2023); Ireland’s 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030
8. UKGBC (2024); The Mitigation Hierarchy Factsheet.
Mosquitoes
UNDERSTANDING
THE ECOLOGICAL IMPORTANCE OF A MISUNDERSTOOD SPECIES
BY TIM CLABON
Mosquitoes, nobody likes mosquitoes. Despite their probably deservedly poor reputation, they do play a role in supporting biodiversity, particularly as larvae when they provide food for many species of fish and invertebrates.
Mosquitoes belong to the family Culicidae, in the order Diptera. They are divided into three sub-families, two of which are in Ireland: Anophelinae (Anopheles) and Culicinae (Aedes, Culex, Culiseta and Orthopodomyia). Of the 3,500 species of mosquito, 18 species can be found in Ireland. Culex pipiens is the most common species. Biting Midges (Culicoides) (affectionately known as “No-see-ums”) are in a completely different family.
Nobody really knows how mosquitoes evolved their blood sucking habit. They appear in the Lower Cretaceous period (145 -100 million years ago), though the evolutionary origin of them dates back to the Jurassic period (201-145 million years ago). Anyone familiar with the Jurassic Park movies will be familiar with the insects trapped and preserved in amber (fossilised tree sap).
Mosquito breeding sites are usually by any body of still freshwater. Around dusk, males swarm, looking for females. Eggs are laid either singularly on the water's surface (Anophelines), or as rafts or large clusters (Culicines). The eggs hatch as soon as the embryo has developed and environmental
conditions are adequate. In as little as six days, the lifecycle from egg to adult is complete. Mosquitoes survive over winter as eggs. Though occasionally adults can be encountered in winter, some species such as Winter Gnats (Trichoceridae) can be mistaken for mosquitoes.
The larvae of Culicines hang onto the surface of the water, gaining oxygen from a siphon at their tail, using bristles to create a current to draw in food including algae and bacteria. Anophelines larvae lie more or less
horizontal at the water's surface and breathe and feed in a similar manner. When disturbed they can swim in a jerky movement to safety. The pupae that follow look like a ‘comma’ and are active, using their tail to move. Adults of the two families can be identified using a ‘rule of thumb’. If they sit with their abdomen raised they belong to the Anophelines. If they sit with their abdomen flat to the surface they belong to the Culicines. To properly identify them, a closer examination is usually required.
How does a mosquito bite work?
The female mosquitoes are not exclusive and will feed on the blood of any mammal, bird or amphibian
It is only the female which feeds on blood (to supply nutrients for egg development). She pierces skin with a mouth part called a proboscis. This is divided into six parts called stylets, which are protected by a sheath covering the proboscis.
Two stylets (maxillae) have tiny, serrated teeth that saw through skin tissue to enable
Close up of a male Common House Mosquito (Culex pipiens) on a Fennel flower. The male antennae are larger and bushy, used to detect female mosquitoes by picking up vibrations caused by their flight. Photo: Dave Harrison-Ward, iStockphoto.
At
the
larva stage they are an important food source for fish and other aquatic species and as adults they are preyed upon by many species of bats and birds
penetration. Two mandibles hold the skin apart during feeding. The hypopharynx injects saliva containing anti-coagulants to prevent blood from clotting plus anaesthetics to numb the area. The labrum locks in with the hypopharynx to form a feeding tube to suck up blood.
The female mosquitoes are not exclusive and will feed on the blood of any mammal, bird or amphibian, although some species such as Culex pipiens have a preference for feeding on species of birds. Male mosquitoes have a shorter proboscis and lack the ability to penetrate skin. Both the male and female mosquito feed on nectar and honeydew secretions.
Causes for Concern
Mosquitoes act as a vector of diseases including malaria and dengue. Globally an estimated 500,000 to 1 million deaths and over 700 million infections are caused by mosquitoes, making them one of the deadliest species on the planet. Climate change, globalisation and urbanisation have increased the prevalence.
While these mosquito-borne diseases were once present in Ireland (Cromwell is said to have caught malaria here) improvements to sanitation and health led to their eradication. Nowadays, all diseases caused by mosquitoes are caught abroad and reported by returning travellers. But with climate change, degradation of habitats and more international travel, the risk increases, and it is possible we may see these diseases return to our shores.
Usutu virus is a mosquito-borne virus carried by C. pipiens and has resulted in a 40% mortality of Blackbirds since first occurring in London in 2020. Whilst it has not been detected (yet) in Ireland or Wales, its detection in Scotland indicates a northward expansion. Symptoms are similar to bird flu and birds taken in by regional Department of Agriculture veterinary labs are tested for this virus. Whilst Ireland has no active wildlife health surveillance in place (1), we are reliant on reports from members of the public regarding sick wildlife.
Due to mosquitoes’ ability to tolerate poor or even polluted habitats, they can become the dominant species in areas where there are fewer species to control or compete with them. That is not to say that all habitats with stagnant water should be removed. What is needed is a balanced approach to creating healthy ecosystems.
Are mosquitoes of benefit given the nuisance and risk they pose?
The answer is yes. At the larva stage they are an important food source for fish and other aquatic species and as adults they are preyed upon by many species of bats and birds (though not significantly) and predatory insects such as dragonflies. Additionally, while they are not the best pollinators, they are important in areas where more traditional pollinators are scarce, such as Arctic habitats.
How to avoid being bitten (Or why do they always bite me)
Studies suggest that people with ‘O’ type blood are most commonly bitten by a mosquito, but neglect to point out this is the most common blood type. Scent and the emission of CO 2 from exercise is thought to be a factor. Wearing loose, light-coloured long-sleeved tops or long-legged trousers and avoiding sweet flowery smells in soap or perfume may reduce your attractiveness to mosquitoes, as does showering using a fragrance-free soap. I personally found studying them led to a reduction in bites.
Conclusion
A healthy wildlife pond poses minimal risk of encouraging mosquitoes in high numbers, but mosquitoes can be controlled in your garden by reducing stagnant water such as that found in unused plant pots or dishes, or anywhere where water can collect and stagnate. Clearing litter helps, as a discarded crisp pack or container can collect sufficient water to enable mosquitoes to breed.
What we can conclude is that mosquitoes are an interesting species and provide some benefit to the ecosystem. However, in a changing environment there is concern that mosquitoes may create problems for both us and other animals in future, underlining the importance of vigilance and the role a balanced ecosystem plays.
RESOURCES
1. Priority mosquito species are checked for in Ireland at points of entry, and an Irish network for biting midges and mosquitoes has been established.
2023 Azar D, Nel A, Huang D, Engel, M.S. The earliest fossil mosquito, in Current Biology, Volume 33, Issue 23, pp. 5240-5246.e2
2026 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Global Health: Fighting the World's Deadliest Animal (webpage)
2026 Ireland's UN SDGs - Goal 3 Good Health and Well-Being: Communicable Diseases (webpage)
2022 Zintl A. et al. ‘Irish network for biting midges and mosquitoes’ Veterinary Ireland Journal, Volume 12 Number 3, pp. 143-145
1990 Snow K. ‘Mosquitoes Naturalists Handbooks 14’, Richmond Publishing Co. Ltd., Slough, UK
A female Common House Mosquito (Culex pipiens) preparing to bite. The antenna on the female is slender and less hairy. It is used to find food by detecting heat, CO² and other chemical traces. Photo: Saccobent, iStockphoto
BY BILLY FLYNN
HEDGEHOG SURVEY
Rolled Out in Northern Ireland
LEARNING MORE ABOUT ONE OF OUR MOST BELOVED GARDEN VISITORS
Hedgehog by night. Photo: Peter Clayton Photography, iStockPhoto
Among the many things I have to thank my father for is my first close encounter with a hedgehog. It was 1978 and someone had foisted a kitten upon us. Being extremely adept at battering a ping-pong ball around the backyard at lightning speed, the young cat was named Nastâse after the infamous tennis player of the same name (1). A year later it became clear that this was a bit of misgendering when Nastâse produced a large litter of kittens. Despite declaring loudly to all who might listen that he didn’t like cats, Daddy built Nastâse and her brood a nursery kennel from an old tea-crate, complete with a dogresistant entrance and insulated with polystyrene sheets leftover from our first ever dishwasher. We were told to leave Nastâse and her kittens alone for a few hours and as predicted, we watched from the study window as Nastâse discovered the kennel and then one by one brought her offspring into their new home.
A few days later, when Nastâse was out, I put my hand into the kennel to extract a kitten to play with. I was shocked when my hand met something hard and very, very sharp. At first I thought someone had put a scrubbing brush in with the new kittens but peering in through the narrow opening I could see that it was a round object that was definitely breathing and like the little cats all around it, fast asleep. Fascinated, through the same window we watched as the hedgehog emerged from the kennel to share Nastâse’s food and milk. She never seemed in the least bothered by this prickly bedfellow who made itself at home until one day it just waddled off, never to return. I’ve been very fond of hedgehogs ever since.
Surveying hedgehogs is difficult. They belong to a shadowy group of animals that is often referred to as ‘cryptic.’ When surveying for mammals, often the only mammals recorded are the larger ones that leave more obvious field signs. Badgers, Foxes and Pine Marten are among these. When it comes to impact assessment of (say) the removal of a section of hedgerow or woodland, ecologists often simply state that cryptic mammals such as hedgehogs and shrews are ‘likely to be present’ and basically assume that there are going to be some of these animals there.
On rare occasions, as part of professional work we have been required to go further than that and definitively assess hedgehog presence, absence and sometimes even numbers. This can be tricky work and in the early days we made hedgehog ‘traps.’ Not traps at all, these are simply little white corri-board tunnels that we encouraged hedgehogs to pass through. On one end of the floor of these tunnels sits an ink pad. The idea is that in order to get to the ‘bait’ at the other end, the hedgehog will leave little inky footprints on the tunnel floor. Analysing the results isn't simple – lots of other little mammals are often keen on exploring the tunnel and finding out where that delicious smell is coming from (2)– a mish mash of prints and smudges can be hard to unpick. We got our first piece of night-vision kit in the early oughts. This was a Russian-made, Soviet era (3) infra-red monocular that resembled a Star Wars rebel blaster. It was large, heavy and ridiculously expensive but it worked. When my colleague loaded it up with the (many) batteries it required to work and pointed it out his front window – he saw a Hedgehog amble past, the first he had ever seen in his garden.
Technology in this field has really moved on. Now there are thermal monoculars that fit into the palm of your hand, motion-sensor ‘trail’ cameras that can send videos to your phone and acoustic recorders that can tell you exactly what has passed by.
Ulster Wildlife has harnessed such
When it comes to impact assessment of (say) the removal of a section of hedgerow or woodland, ecologists often simply state that cryptic mammals such as hedgehogs and shrews are ‘likely to be present’
technology in Northern Ireland’s first-ever GPS tracking project (4) for Hedgehogs to help uncover the nocturnal activities of these mysterious mammals and to help safeguard their future. The tiny tracking devices can be attached in seconds and aren’t even noticed by the Hedgehogs which have been very temporarily captured before being released back exactly where they were found. “They don’t seem to mind this, they are very docile” said Katy Bell, Project Lead and Senior Conservation Officer with Ulster Wildlife. “After long nights patiently staking out gardens and waiting for hedgehogs to appear, the initial results have been absolutely fascinating. We’re seeing Hedgehogs travel through multiple gardens in a single night and cross busy roads – a heart-in-the-mouth moment that shows the reality of the challenges these at-risk mammals face. We know from studies elsewhere in the UK that Hedgehogs can travel up to 3km a night. That means they rely on whole neighbourhoods –not just one garden – to survive. What we don’t yet know is how that plays out in Northern Ireland, but, even at this early stage, we are seeing just how important connected green spaces are. We are really excited to see what the rest of the project reveals.”
This author has never once encountered a householder that objected to sharing their garden with Hedgehogs. In fact, one unforgettable encounter with a visitor to the IWT stand at St Anne’s Park started with a lady asking if we sold Hedgehogs because she’d really like one for the garden (my colleague Barbara barely held it together). A large-scale housing development in the midlands that the author is currently working on has a notable feature. The houses are sold with no garden walls and the only fences are raised above ground level. While this is a design feature that saves costs and time, it just so happens that this will suit the spiky little commuters as well. By providing highly detailed information on Hedgehog travel patterns and preferences, the work by Ulster Wildlife will shine a light on how we can best design for nature as well as people, adapt existing features (like fitting hedgehog-flaps in fences) and also see what kind of garden, park or verge offers most sustenance and shelter for this most beloved of our garden visitors.
(1) Dubbed by some media as ‘Nasty Nastâse’ for his on-court antics. Ilie Nastâse was a Romanian army officer who was one of the most successful tennis players of his era. He never won the Wimbledon title but was twice runner-up. The tennis world was very relieved that he lost to the far more wholesome and blond Björn Borg. This was the Cold War, don’t forget.
(2) The bait is usually some type of meat. Hedgehogs are carnivorous. Funnily enough, in our experience we have found that cat food is their favourite.
(3) The Cold War had ended by then but even during it Russian and Czech optics were as good as or better than their western counterparts.
(4) The project is supported by Power NI, a Northern Ireland electricity supplier, and the Northern Ireland Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs through the Carrier Bag Levy. The UK eventually got there with the bag thing.
GORDON D'ARCY
Homage to the
IRISH HARE
FROM THE ICE AGE TUNDRA TO MODERN IRELAND
GORDON D’ARCY
Apowerful expression of Irishness arose with the new currency Act of the Free State (1926), with the launch of a series of eight coins depicting Irish fauna. Significantly, however, only one, represented on the threepenny coin, was a truly wild mammal: the Irish Hare (Lepus timidus hibernicus).
In heritage terms, the Hare was a perfect choice: it is only one of two mammals, (the Stoat being the other), to have come down to us from the Ice Age. Its antecedents would have run about the tundra in the company of Giant Deer and Mammoths. Its intrinsic Irishness, a race of the Arctic or Mountain Haredistinct and separate from its counterpart, the European Hare, on our neighbouring island - may also have had a bearing on its choice.
There were other obvious reasons for the choice: the Hare was (and still is) familiar and widespread; unlike other possible candidates, (such as the Fox), it was regarded as benign; it featured in rural folklore; but perhaps most significantly, it has long been seen as a quarry animal for coursing.
it has long been seen as a gentle, fairy creature, associated with Celtic fertility and magic
Chasing hares with hounds has an ancient precedent. Not only did Cú Chullain hunt them, he demonstrated his extraordinary athleticism by outrunning them, in preparation for the hunt. A Hare, chased by a hound, decorates a page in the Book of Kells. Indeed, there are many references to harehunting in medieval literature. Despite the growing opposition, on the grounds of perceived cruelty, a number of rural communities continue to support the activity today. Currently, more than forty coursing clubs remain active in the Republic. Mitigating measures, such as muzzling the greyhounds and releasing the (traumatised?) hares after the event, have failed to quell widespread opposition. Historically-based traditions die hard in the country. Paradoxically, country legends and folklore are remarkably protective of the Hare. In the west of Ireland, at any rate, it has long been seen as a gentle, fairy creature, associated with Celtic fertility and magic. There is also a strong affinity to the concept of the ‘changeling’- certain old women having the power to change people (for one reason or another) into hares. Literary luminaries such as Lady Gregory and W.B. Yeats integrated the concept of the changeling into their work. Indeed, Yeats, as chair of the coinage
committee, was responsible for the choice of the Hare as one of the animals for the coinage. A measure of the after-life significance of the Hare is to be found in prehistoric burials in parts of Europe. An intriguing example was recently uncovered in a cave excavation in the Burren. A Bronze-Age child burial, accompanied by the remains of young animals, including those of young hares, suggested an emotional connection to the after-world. Even today, killing Hares for food is still taboo in many country regions.
Our Hare, originally an inhabitant of upland and tundra, has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to adapt. Nowadays it is found in a wide variety of habitats, from mountain, to open agricultural land, bogland and callows, sand dunes and saltmarsh. It is even able to cope with the ongoing disturbance of human infrastructure. At Dublin airport they can sometimes be seen lolloping around, apparently relaxed, among parked aircraft.
The Hare’s Corner project, initiated by Burren Beo, exemplifies adaptability. The project encourages landowners to set aside a small area or corner of the farm for nature - not only the Hare. The ‘corner’ may be a part of a field set aside as a wildflower meadow, a mini-woodland, an orchard, a portion of a bog, even a pond. Beginning in County Clare in 2021, the project initially delivered 100 sites: by 2025 the number had risen to 1,600 in six counties. The fast uptake taps into widespread latent empathy for nature and its familiar representative, the Hare, with our farmers and augurs well for the future expansion of the project. A ‘selling point’ has been scale. Most of the set-asides are small, often less than an acre.
An unexpected observation, earlier this year, brought home to me an unlikely Hare’s Corner. Illaunacrusha, an acre of a grassy island in inner Galway Bay, separated from the mainland, is, due to its relative inaccessibility, largely untouched by the landowner. On my visit, the island had been taken over by a company of seven Hares which, attracted to the free grazing, must have accessed it at low tide. Four of the Hares dashed about erratically doing exactly what
pre-nuptial, ‘mad-cap’ Hares would be expected to do in the circumstances. Three others foraged amid the tidal wrack for Sea Lettuce, a favourite food. The spectacle was engaging, since, for the past two years, (probably as a consequence of lagomorph viral disease), Hares have been sadly absent in the entire region. Now they were back – heart-warmingly so.
The past century has seen many radical changes –not least in currency. The original series of coins remained in circulation until 1971 and since 2002, minted coins have been gradually replaced with plastic cards – symptomatic of our culture of expediency. Thankfully, we still have the irreplaceable currency of our native Hare, a fitting symbol of our wild corners.
Our Hare, originally an inhabitant of upland and tundra, has demonstrated a remarkable capacity to adapt
Irish Hare, Stone Art by Gordon D’Arcy
Hare Control, Dublin Airport. Photo: Paul Doherty
6Irish Hare. Photo: Shane Oakley
IWT PHOTOS OF THE MONTH
1. Starling murmuration by Shane Oakley, Co. Westmeath
2. Candy-striped Flatworm by Amelie de Buyl Pisco, Co. Cork
3. Fox by Anna Latos, Co. Dublin
4. Pine Marten by Sonja Brigette Hughes, Westmeath
5. Rock Pippit by Jordan Denning, Co. Galway
6. Ladybirds by Chris Bolton, Co. Wicklow
COMPETITION
For this season’s members-only competition, you have a chance to win a copy of Insects of Ireland: A field guide, by Stephen McCormack & Dr. Eugenie Regan, with Illustrations by Chris Shields.
Insects of Ireland: A Field Guide
So far, over one million species of insects have been discovered and described but it is estimated that there may be as many as 10 million species on Earth. Here in Ireland, we have over 11,400 species of insects. As they form the foundation of so many food webs and provide invaluable ecosystem services, the more people appreciating them and recording them (including the common ones) the better. Most insects are very small and escape notice, so identifying them accurately is often challenging. This guide by Dr. Eugenie Regan and Dr. Stephen McCormack is an inviting, beginner-friendly guide to Irish insects. Published by The Collins Press, it focuses on the 120 most commonly encountered species and groups found across the island.
This colourful and compact guide includes all Irish species of butterflies, bumblebees, dragonflies, ladybirds, grasshoppers, and shield bugs. The book opens with an alphabetical list of all the species covered, followed by a general overview of Ireland’s insects, an introduction to the main insect groups, and advice on how to find insects and provide habitats for them in your garden.
The pages for each species include a concise and accessible description and a useful distribution map, all beautifully complemented with exquisitely reproduced illustrations by renowned natural history illustrator Chris Shields.
Entry Instructions
To enter the competition just answer this question: ‘Water Tigers’ are the voracious larvae of which pond-dwelling beetle?
This is an IWT members only competition. To enter the draw send your answer, name and address to magazinecomp@iwt.ie by 1st August 2026.
