Environment

The environment has been one of the 4 pillars of IRD Duhallow strategic plan since our inception under the stewardship of Chair Michael Doyle, the working group has made great strides in developing a range of projects across Duhallow focusing on the Environment. We are the only Local Development Company to have secured two major EU Life programmes. We continue to promote smaller projects that positively impact the environment we live in. One of the key objectives of the Environment Working Group is to raise awareness about environmental issues with an emphasis on safeguarding endangered species and habitats

Swift Towers Swift Towers were erected in The working group applied for LEADER funding to install six innovative nesting communities across Duhallow including Kiskeam. structures in six towns across Duhallow for Swifts. Once in place, the nesting structures are monitored to measure the impact of the intervention. Information panels have been drawn up and will be installed at each site detailing the ecology of the swift and purpose of the project. Leaflets will also be distributed to community groups as a supporting awareness raising exercise. We also created a series of short videos which present a ‘birds-eye’ view of the local area as would be seen by a swift. These videos also compliment the webcam footage when the species occupies the new nesting structure.

Supported by our Tús Schemes, the swift towers were erected in conjunction with the local Community and over seen by Brin McDonnell of our Bird Watch Group and Stefan De Beer of Genesis Net Boxes, who manufactured the boxes.

Working with Water & Biodiversity IRD Duhallow through ILDN, the National Local Development Network and LAWPRO supported the development of a guidance book for communities in environmental projects that can be funded through the LEADER Programme 2014-2020.The guide examines training analysis and development and capital projects including tree planting, riparian management, river restoration, fish passage, Invasive species control, silt trapping and citizen science.

IRD Duhallow through ILDN supported the publication of the “Working with Water and Biodiversity” Guide in conjunction with LAWPRO. A selection of some of the flora in Barna Bog: A. Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccus) producing abundant berries amongst Sphagnum. B. Single bush of the non-native sea rosemary on cutover bog cropped C. Spotted Orchid

Bog Feasibility Upland and lowland blanket bog are under serious threat and have disappeared over much of Ireland, especially in the last 50 years due to large-scale afforestation on peatlands, commercial peat extraction and latterly, increased fragmentation due to industrial scale windfarms. The Environment Working Group secured LEADER funding to undertake a feasibility study to explore the baseline data of flora, fauna and bats in Duhallow Bogs and to put together an action plan for best practice bog conservation. This action plan will develop a previous feasibility study and other sources to establish an action plan for conservation actions for a number of key bog land sites in Duhallow including Mount Eagle and Barna Bog. EPA Conference Each year, the EPA hosts an annual water conference in June and this year because of the COVID pandemic, an online version was held on the mornings of June 17th and 18th. Our CEO Maura Walsh spoke at the virtual conference under the theme of Communities in Action examining how as a Local Development Company we involved communities on the ground in the protection and improvement of water quality through our work in LEADER and our two EU Life project’s and EIP Project. Biodiversity Training Through the LEADER programme, the working group is running workshops on introductions to biodiversity, asset mapping and draft community plans. Each community will be offered specific training in areas of need identified in phase 1 at a central training location for the purposes of efficiency and lack of duplication. This training is intended for all communities in Duhallow with an interest in Biodiversity and specifically aimed at Tidy Towns Groups and Community Councils who may lack an in-depth understanding of the issues and possible actions. Phase 2 topics include practical and classroom based instruction on topics such as Pollinator Planting, Hedge laying, Edible Biodiversity, Wildflower Meadows, Rainwater Harvesting, Best Practice Tidy Towns guidelines etc. Barn Owl Conservation The Barn Owl was once a much more common sight in the Irish countryside. Due A Barn Owl Chick. IRD to extensive declines in their breeding population and Duhallow is currently range over recent decades they are categorised as a undertaking a Barn Owl Red-listed Bird of Conservation Concern in Ireland. Project in conjunction Our working group have secured LEADER funding to with Birdwatch Ireland. develop resources on Barn Owls in Duhallow to include a children’s book, online resources and a video which will use the Barn Owl to explore the local environment and a range of important environmental topics such as food chains, adaptations, predators and prey, habitats, poisons, pollution and climate change. The design and content of the resources will be appealing to children while promoting active learning. We will also host a series of events to showcase the wonders of Barn Owls and other wildlife in Duhallow to local children and families. Through this project we will also assess the threats to the local Barn Owl population to inform conservation plans to ensure the future health of the population in this important stronghold.

RaptorLIFE

Male Hen harrier in flight over a conifer plantation. IRD Duhallow secured its second EU LIFE project, RaptorLIFE, which commenced in 2015. This €3m LIFE+ project was a 4.5 year project, which aimed to work with the local community to achieve a better environment for everyone in Duhallow: “Connecting and restoring habitats for Hen harrier, Merlin, Atlantic salmon and Brook lamprey in Duhallow, Ireland”. The programme finished in December with the final reports submitted to the European Commission earlier this year.

Farmers and anglers enjoy a cuppa, after the project’s ‘LIFE in the river’ day.

We are very pleased with the achievements of this LIFE project. We knew at the outset that we were taking on a big challenge. The success of this project is again due in no small part to the fact that IRD Duhallow has a well-earned reputation as a local community based, bottom up organisation that is respected and trusted by the people we serve. Our work through this LIFE project with landowners and communities will ensure that the hen harrier, merlin, Atlantic salmon and brook lamprey will not only survive but thrive into the future.

Coillte and National Parks and Wildlife Services came on board strongly with this project. The former taking on the creation of a feeding corridor by clear felling the banks of the Blackwater which saved our budget, that was then used to enhance additional One of the five project information signs produced as part of the land to improve prey project and placed in various locations across the project area. supply. The latter, NPWS, partnered with us in satellite tagging and monitoring of the birds, which brought additional expertise and broadened the impact of Raptor LIFE learnings to a National Level.

Focus of the project HABITAT RESTORATION - TERRESTRIAL HABITATS: Restoration works on project farms involved habitat management to optimize the amount of prey for raptors as well as an increase of overall biodiversity. The number of small birds such as skylarks or meadow pipits as well as small rodents are critical factors in the survival of birds of prey. Improvement of the quality of farm habitats was attained through cutting and mulching of rush and heather, strategic fencing, improvement of hedgerows, removal of invasive species and provision of nest sites for raptors such as Merlin.

Himalayan balsam is the tallest annual plant in Ireland and can grow up to 3m.

FRESHWATER HABITATS: Measures to improve water quality and instream habitats included planting eroding river banks with willow and alder trees. Fencing of vulnerable riverbanks was carried out and cattle excluded from the river. To help farmers, alternative drinking water sources were provided by the project. Large scale removal of Himalayan balsam and Japanese knotweed was carried out aiming to remove these invasive plants from river and road networks.

ECOLOGICAL MONITORING On land: Apart from monitoring birds of prey in Duhallow, the project team attached satellite transmitters on a number of hen harriers in collaboration with NPWS. We also monitored their prey species, small birds and rodents, to detect changes in populations. We also monitored habitats on project farms. By observing changes in plant communities over time we can say that habitat restoration works carried out by the project are having positive impacts on habitat and the species on which they depend.

A collaborative river day for farmers. RaptorLIFE joined up with LAWPRO, Teagasc and North Cork Co-op to inform landowners about the importance of river habitat.

In water: Annual fish stock surveys allowed us to not only quantify fish numbers, but also to learn how these populations change over time. We observed how they react to pollution and how they recover from such events. Over time this monitoring will allow us to see if the effort invested in the enhancement of the riverine ecosystem was worth it!

PROJECT DISSEMINATION – RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS AND KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER In the era of constant pressure on wildlife resources, it is vital that communities and rural dwellers are familiar with these issues. Ultimately, it is the collective voice of people that influences the policymakers. Acknowledging this fact, the RaptorLIFE project paid particular attention to reach out to children and add to their opinion forming process. As a part of our mission, in the last five years we visited all the primary and secondary schools in our region. During the lifetime of the project we were privileged to raise awareness and learn from many people, from children to farmers, about wildlife and issues causing the decline of the species in the local area and across Ireland. Being practitioners of habitat management, we were happy to share the knowledge gained during the implementation of the project with all people and groups seeking advice in this area.

RaptorLIFE

Landowners Landowners and farmers, both in the SAC and the SPA, have been an integral part of the RaptorLIFE project. Their ‘buy in’ varied from farmers participating in a range of specific actions as Project farms, to farmers having their lands fenced back from the river and restricting the cattle from entering the river, to farmers allowing access across their lands to treat invasives, manage heather and rushes or for monitoring target species, fish stock surveys, sediment monitoring, and prey surveys. Over 40 landowners also partook in the ‘farming on designated lands’ survey, which was undertaken to document farmers’ attitudes to SPA designation and potential changes over time as a result of greater awareness of the declining status and conservation needs of species like Hen harrier. IRD Duhallow’s integral part in the local community has been paramount in bringing about this ‘buy in’ to the Colaiste Treasa students, Nojus Perminas, project and this in turn has heightened Noah Walsh & Patrick Buckley, out with the the awareness of the project and the LIFE team for their Young scientist project “Investigating the Ecological Conditions imperative to act now on conservation Controlling Lamprey Populations in the and enhance biodiversity. Blackwater SAC”. They won Third Prize, Biological & Ecological Intermediate Group Category. Volunteers The RaptorLIFE project has had numerous volunteers, from experts to students to landowners, including the general public from the Duhallow area, all of whom have been important in the successful integration of citizen science into project monitoring actions. These volunteers have provided support in a variety of project actions from data recording, Himalayan balsam removal, Hen harrier and Merlin monitoring. Volunteers have assisted in the project to gain valuable experience or quite simply because of the value and importance they have placed on the work they were carrying out because of its conservation benefits.

End of Project Conference The End of Project conference was held in At the BT Young Scientist in the RDS Colaiste Treasa November last year with students, Hannah Walsh & Johannah Pigott with Dr Darren Reidy of the RaptorLIFE who helped mentor them with diverse attendance on the their project: “Banking on the Willow”. They won first Prize, day. Speakers included the Biological & Ecological Junior Group Category Assistant Secretary of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Niall O’Donnchú, the LIFE national contact point in Ireland, Errol Close, nationally recognised experts on the themes of farming and biodiversity -Dr. Brendan Dunford, Dr. Eileen O’Rourke, Dr. Jodie Asselin and Donal Sheehan, raptor conservation and research Blanaid Denman and John Lusby and our own project team on RaptorLIFE. Input from project farmer Seán Fitzgerald and other farmers during the ‘Farming in SPA’ discussion was an important element of the conference, providing feedback on the issues relating to farming and the importance of working with farmers to maintain critical habitat for key species in the SPA. Our CEO Maura Walsh closed the conference. The book Duhallow: A Living Landscape for Farming & Wildlife, an additional output of the project was launched by the Conference chairperson, Journalist Paddy Woodworth. The book was very well received by all present and is available to purchase from IRD Duhallow.

Fionn O’Hanlon from Boherbue Comprehensive with his BT Young Scientist project: ‘Not just any Owl place’. First Prize, Biological & Ecological Intermediate Category and Rev Dr Tom Burke Bursary for Science Communication. Pictured here with his mother Orla, his sister Muireann, some of the LIFE team who helped mentor him, Maura Walsh CEO of IRD Duhallow . After Life As part of the overall project, IRD Duhallow is required to develop an afterlife plan which ensures that the actions undertaken during the life of the project are continued. IRD Duhallow has the necessary levels of experience and expertise to ensure that the AfterLIFE measures will be achieved as we manage the RSS and Tús schemes and our participants were heavily involved in the implementation of the project and we will be able to deploy teams on the various actions. IRD Duhallow staff will be assisted by students and volunteers, to implement some ‘Duhallow – A Living of the measures. In addition, The Hen Harrier Landscape for Farming European Innovation Partnership (EIP) was launched and Wildlife’ a collaborative study by since we undertook RaptorLIFE. This is a multiDr Jodie Asselin of the million-euro programme which pays farmers for University of Lethbridge and Dr Allan Mee of IRD achieving various positive results in conservation of Duhallow RaptorLIFE. the Hen Harrier. All the farmers that we worked with have been encouraged to join that scheme so that the conservation work can continue into the future.

Speakers at the end of RaptorLIFE project conference: John Breen, Eileen Linehan Project Manager, Maura Walsh CEO, Niall Ó’Donnchú, Dr Sineád Cummins, Paddy Woodworth, IRD Duhallow Chair, Breeda Moynihan Cronin & Michael Doyle.