4th July Green Drinks - Gardening for Wildlife

This month Dublin Green Drinks heard Ricky Whelan of the IWT Laois Offaly Branch give a talk on Gardening With Wildlife In Mind - in other words how to develop any space to be more friendly and inviting to wildlife and wild plants. This could involve habitat creation like having a pond in your garden, or a wild space for the nettles, or it could involve planting pollinator friendly plants, native species.

Ricky gave a very informative talk, full of amusing anecdotes, and stressed how easy it was for even the person with the least knowledge of gardening or tiniest space to contribute to wildlife. Even a window box can be a help! Hopefully  those attending were inspired to go home with a fresh enthusiasm for gardening with wildlife in mind!

Ricky Whelan also works as a Project Officer for BirdWatch Ireland and is heavily involved in the Abbeyleix Bog project in south Laois. 

Ricky showing us a bat box

2nd May Green Drinks - Raised Bog Conservation

On Tuesday 2nd May 2017 Green Drinks Dublin heard Dr Maurice Eakin, Senior Wetland Ecologist from the NPWS, talk about the ongoing efforts to maintain and restore raised bogs in Ireland. Finding a compromise between the obligations of the Habitats Directive and the rights of domestic turf-cutters was always going to be difficult, but considerable progress has been made in recent years.

Maurice is also working with Bord na Mona who are engaged in a programme of restoring some of their cutaway bogs to their previous state. This involves first and foremost blocking the drains and allowing the bogland to rewet itself, and then primarily allowing nature to take its course. Further details can be found on Bord na Mona's website:

http://www.bordnamona.ie/company/bord-na-mona-story/biodiversity/archive/