Woodland census sits nature in spotlight

Thursday, July 19, 2012

You are lucky enough to live in an exceptionally beautiful place, somewhere that may be a holiday destination, but sooner or later you find yourself taking its many charms for granted.

Then something happens to reawaken your sense of appreciation.

Glengarriff’s ancient woodlands are on my doorstep, and the dogs and I enjoy their leafy splendour every day. But sometimes, the dismal summer or other mundane preoccupations can dim even their charms.

But a timely reminder to me of the significance of this special place are the signs advertising Ireland’s 2012 BioBlitz event in the woods.

Over the 24-hour BioBlitz, 1,020 species were recorded, a figure only just short of the number of species recorded by last year’s winners, Killarney National Park, a much larger and more varied site. Despite miserably cold temperatures and wet conditions, BioBlitz was a remarkable success here both in terms of achieving the massive recording tally and mobilising a huge voluntary effort.

There was a Creatures of the Night event, which monitored moths, beetles and other small mammals, with a bat walk, a dawn chorus, guided nature walks and an exploration of life in the river.

The overall figure averaged out at an extraordinary 1.4 species for every minute of the competition. As any farmer or gardener knows, maintaining diversity is vitally important, not only to ensure healthy crops and plants for our own use but also for the good of the planet.

Glengarriff Wood was praised by a Victorian traveller for its “peeps and glances of the bay and thickets of stunted oak and birch watered by countless little shy brooks, delicious, varied and enchanting where painters might study nature in every shade and form”.

In the first half of the 18th century, timber was coppiced to produce charcoal for the local iron smelter. The White family, owners of Bantry House, built a thatched hunting lodge, established a deer park and hired a gamekeeper.

They are also credited with introducing the invasive and triffid-like rhododendron.

The State acquired 380 hectares (950 acres) of the woodlands in 1955, when extensive conifer planting occurred, and many of the oldest oaks were either felled or ring-barked.

An elderly neighbour of mine often used to mention these ring-barked giants “turning white then crashing to the ground”, as he put it. Encroaching rhododendrons and uncertainty threatened the future of this unique habitat over its future ownership until Glengarriff Woods were finally designated as a protected nature reserve in 1991.

Today, the National Parks and Wildlife Service manage the majority of its 300 hectares (700 acres) in conjunction with Coillte, who have recently replanted former conifer sites with native species, and who still retain a small portion of the reserve, which they manage in accordance with the careful nature reserve policies.

The woodlands are dominated by ancient oak and young woodland, which is now regenerating in areas cleared of conifers. And apart from being seriously beautiful, these woodlands form one of the best examples of oceanic, sessile oak in Ireland, and are a part of the much larger woodlands special area of conservation.

The Reserve is also home to the pearl mussel which can live for an impressive 130 years, bats, a wide range of dragonflies — including the rare downy emerald — the legendary and reclusive Kerry slug, otters, pine martens, badgers and much more.

The recent Bio-blitz award reflects the careful conservation practices over the last decade. Caring for this wealth of heritage is no easy task, particularly in a time of diminishing public budgets. The day-to-day management is undertaken by a team of three frontline workers (Denis Downey, Jim O’Sullivan and Michael O’Sullivan), along with Declan O’Donnell of the National Parks and Wildlife Services (NPWS), and the busy Glengarriff Woodlands conservation ranger, Clare Heardman — who also somehow manages to find the time to volunteer with Action Lesotho.

* How long have you been working here now, Clare?

>>“It’s ten years and there have been some big changes during that time. Walks have been opened and improved, a new lake has been dug, habitats and species recorded and, of course, rhododendrons cleared. That’s ongoing work.

* Do you have any idea of the number of visitors annually?

>>“Well, we don’t have a counter system as some other parks do, but we’re thinking of initiating that idea. At the moment, we estimate that some 100,000 people visit the woods every year. That number also includes local people.

* How difficult is it to keep on top of everything — particularly the rhododendrons. You’ve made terrific inroads with them over the last few years.

>>“Thanks. It’s an ongoing battle and the only way we’ve managed it is because we have such fantastic forestry workers. Dennis Downey, Jim O Sullivan and Michael O’Sullivan are all from the area, and have worked here for many years. They know the place like the backs of their hands They take a great pride in these woodlands and the work they do here, and it shows. Much of the credit for what we’ve achieved must go to their phenomenal efforts.”

* How important was it for you to win the Bio-Blitz award for diversity?

>>“I think it was hugely significant for the Glengarriff Nature Reserve and the area in general. It proves that our policies are working, and it’s an acknowledgement of the unique nature and diversity of this place. We were all really pleased, particularly with the support we got from locals and volunteers.”

* Busy as all this must keep you, I believe that you are also very active with Action Lesotho, and that you were recently invited to Dublin to meet Lesotho’s King Letsie III?

>>“Yes, and it was a fantastic experience. King Letsie and Queen Seeiso both praised the work of Action Lesotho and said that passing on skills to help the underprivileged in Lesotho become more self-reliant was important work.

* How did you first become involved?

>>“It was on a fundraising basis with the Bantry Friends of Lesotho group. In 2009, my husband Guy Dalton and I travelled to Lesotho as part of a group of 10 people from Bantry and Tralee who spent three weeks helping to build a community centre in the village of Ha Maqele”.

* That must have been a fantastic experience.

>>“It was. Activities at the centre include a food programme, a youth development programme, enterprise advice and training and classes in computing and English. My husband is a carpenter, and he’s spent three weeks each year since 2009 teaching woodwork skills to a group at the centre. I’m on the Board of Action Lesotho Ireland now, so over the last few years, I have been focused on observing, monitoring and evaluating projects out there. It’s vitally important to make sure that we keep reviewing what we are doing, to make sure that we really are making a difference.”