Green Drinks 3rd May - Food Waste

Green Drinks
Time and Date:Tuesday May 3rd, doors open 18:00, talk at 19.00 (and first Tuesday of every month)
Meeting Point: Top floor of Messrs Maguire, 2 Burgh Quay 

This month the Dublin Branch and Leafliving heard Mindy O'Brien from Voice Ireland speak about the establishment of an National Food Bank to eliminate food waste and provide relief for those in need. Food waste has a major impact on the environment through lost energy, CO2 and Methane emissions and water consumption, with tonnes of good edible food discarded by food shops, supermarkets and catering establishments daily. Internationally, there are 1 billion people starving and over 1 billion tonnes of food wasted annually.VOICE are looking to link both the environmental objective of reducing methane-releasing food waste from landfills and the humanitarian objective of feeding the hungry.


Mindy also spoke about how we can all reduce our food waste. The average household throws away about one third of all the food it buys - a huge waste. Some tips are to think about special offers that give two for one and avoid them if we know that the extra food just won't be eaten. Another tip is to get creative with leftovers that are still good to eat rather than just throw them out - there are plenty of cookbooks out there with suitable recipes. For families a good idea is to put the food on the table in bowls and let people help themselves, rather than dishing out individual portions onto each plate. This approach is proven to cut down on the amount of food that gets left on the plate. Also of course households should do their best to buy local and organic wherever possible, and avoid food with too many air miles!

28th April River Dodder Clean Up

River Dodder Clean Up 

Date:Saturday 28th April, meeting point at The Dropping Well Pub Car Park at 10am.

The IWT Dublin Branch Conservation Team got their feet wet to celebrate National Spring Clean Month this April by putting our words into action and taking to the bankside to clean up a section of Dublin's River Dodder, making it a friendlier place for man and wildlife alike. Many sections of this river have been dramatically affected by the floods last year, so this effort was well needed and sorely overdue. As the picture shows some unusual helpers also came along to join the IWT volunteers!

21st April Booterstown Marsh

Time and date: Saturday 21st April, 11:00
Meeting point: Outside Booterstown DART station

A goodly number of IWT members turned up for this event led by Conn Flynn, our Conservation Officer, who was ably assisted by birding enthusiast Arthur Doyle. Before walking around the sanctuary Conn talked about the importance of the marsh for birdlife and he also gave us a brief account of its interesting, somewhat chequered, history. The site which is protected under EU environmental legislation is described by some as a unique patch of wilderness within the confines of the city of Dublin.

Beside different species of waders (among them Redshank, Greenshank, Godwit) and ducks (teal, mallard) we spotted a pair of swans, some Brent Geese, a number of Grey Herons, two Little Egrets, a moorhen as well as some common urban species (Wren, Tit, Finch). We even noticed a swallow busily collecting mud for its nest. Altogether a most pleasant outing.   

Heron

15th April Bird Watching on Bull Island

On Sunday 15th of April about twenty IWT members turned out on the Causeway road on Bull Island for an event led by Sean Hogan, an experienced birdwatcher. The North Bull Island is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, RAMSAR site and a Special Area of Conservation. Sean had some telescopes on standby and those present got to see and identify Bar and Black-tailed Godwits in their reddish-brown summer plumage, Shelduck, Mallard, Little Egret, Teal, Curlew, Heron and Brent Geese among others.

Sean was a mine of information, and even those who thought they knew a thing or two about birds learned a lot that they did not know before. For example, unlike other ducks, Shelduck lay their eggs in burrows and later each year leave their chicks a hundred at a time in a 'creche' with one of the adults while the others head off to a safe offshore sandbank to moult their feathers. Sean also talked about the Little Egret which is a recent arrival to our shores, only having started to breed in Cork in 1997. Since then it has spread north through Ireland and can be seen regularly around Dublin Bay. The Bull Island and other tidal estuaries like it are a huge source of protein for seabirds, especially in winter. In fact each square metre of mudflat contains more protein than the equivalent size of rainforest! (Photos courtesy of Niall)



Sean in the blue wooly cap shows us the shelduck 

Sean also had some advice about binoculars and telecopes. The rule of thumb for binoculars is that when you divide lens size by magnification the result should be more than 5 e.g. lens size of 42 and magnification of 8. The crucial factor is the amount of light that the lens let in. A decent pair of binoculars can be got for about €100 - 150 and it is important to take the time to try out different kinds to find the one that suits, as each person's preference is different. Regarding telescopes good options are zooms lens with magnification of 20 to 60 or alternatively a wide angle fixed lens of about 32 magnification. A good one won't be got for less than € 200 and the sky is the limit for the more expensive ones.

The best guide books are 'Complete Guide to Irish Birds' or 'Pocket Guide to the Common Birds of Ireland' , both by Eric Dempsey, or the 'Collins Bird Guide to birds of Britain and Europe'

After seeing the birds of Bull Island the group crossed over to St. Anne's Park to hear some birdsong. Coal tits, wrens, robins and blackbirds were heard, and for a few moments there was great excitement when it was thought that woodpeckers had arrived in the park! Alas it turned out to be Grey Crows pecking at the branches of a nearby tree to get building material for a nest. Despite that minor disappointment the group went away very happy with what they had seen and heard, and a lot more knowledgable.

6th March Green Drinks - Green Roofs

Tuesday 6th March saw the monthly Green Drinks talk in Messrs Maguire, 2 Burgh Quay, Dublin 2. The topic this month "Green Roofs and living walls and their potential to reduce rainfall runoff and attenuate stormwater flood events". The presentation was given by Sadhbh Ní Hógáin, who is a Structural Engineer with an MSc in Architecture. Her past work ranges from design engineering to academic research to domestic refurbishments, and she has recently studied how to construct green roofs, and their benefits to society, industry and the environment.

Green roofs have many benefits. Their major benefit is to reduce the rapid runoff of rainwater from roofs by storing the water in the soil or gravel, and releasing it slowly. This helps to prevent flooding in urban areas, which is becoming a greater concern due to global warming. As well as reducing rainfall runoff, they help to improve air quality by bringing plants into the city areas and they also have a major biodiversity benefit by providing habitats for wildlife such as insects and birds. Green roofs also improve energy efficiency by providing insulation to the building beneath them. All these benefits are shared by green walls, but there is generally less of an effect with them, due to the limitations of a vertical surface.

Green roofs come in various forms. They can be simply a low maintenance thin layer of gravel which will support low growing plants such as sedum, and which only need an annual weeding to keep them working; or they can be a more ambitious affair with shrubs and even small trees, which can act as a rooftop garden or green haven in the 'urban jungle'. Provided the proper support has been built into the roof by a qualified engineer, there is no danger of roofs collapsing under the weight of soil or other material.

Green roofs originated in Iceland, where the inhabitants simply covered their roofs in green turf to provide insulation in the harsh environment. Since those humble beginnings, green roofs are rapidly being adopted in their various modern forms around the world as an essential part of the move to a more sustainable lifestyle.
(Images from Sadhbh)



Green Roof from Iceland where the concept began



Cross Section of green roof



Cross Section of Green roof

3rd April Green Drinks Lifeline Project

This month in our collaboration with leafliving.com a group of about thirty people heard Kaethe Burt O'Dea speak about the Lifeline Project and the influence of environment and behaviour on health in  the urban context. The LifeLine project is a site specific proposal for a multifunctional access route to the future Dublin Institute of Technology and HSE site at Grangegorman from the north. The LifeLine is a linear park that would begin at Broadstone, follow the disused link to the Midland Great Western Railway that travels north through Cabra to meet the canal at Phibsborough and continue to follow the canal to the west of the city into the countryside west of Dublin. As a multipurpose landscape the LifeLine would provide a surface for mixed activity (cycling, walking, running, games, casual play) and facilitate movement in, out, and around the city, as the amenity could ultimately link into a circcular greenway around Dublin. LifeLine has been actively working with the Railway Procurement Agency on the project. 

Lifeline is also a community led campaign exploring wasted resources (people, places, materials, systems) in Dublin, Ireland. The project covers areas such as the intensification of local food production, urban biodiversity, eco tourism, green transport and innovative models of healthcare, recreation and waste management.

10th March Tree Week

On Saturday 10th March, Dublin Branch IWT celebrated trees by inviting the citizens of Dublin to learn about, enjoy and value trees in two of Dublin’s well known outdoor parks. Sarah Rubalcava led the walk up 
Killiney Hill and Niall Mac Coitir led the walk in St Anne’s Park, Raheny.

Niall and Sarah hugging a native oak

Both walks were well attended. On Niall's walk among the trees shown were the yew, one of Ireland's native trees which can live to a thousand years. The oldest known tree in Ireland is believed to be 700 years old and is in the grounds of Maynooth College. It is called Silken Thomas' yew, as the famous Irish rebel is said to have rested there the day before he was taken prisoner by the English. Another tree seen was the beech, which gets its name from the Anglo-Saxon word for book - buch  - as the old English were said to carve their runic letters into it. St. Anne's also features many unusual trees, like the Hollyoak in the picture below, clinging on to the side of a cliff!



Yew tree

Beech tree

Hollyoak hanging on for dear life