October 7th National Trails Day Cliff Walk

On Sunday October 7th the Dublin Branch celebrated National Trails Day  with a scenic cliff walk from the Waterside Hotel, Donabate to Portrane. It was a gloriously sunny morning with a great turnout of about eighty people, to walk along what is considered one of Dublin’s most scenic walks, with a great view of Lambay Island, Howth and the rugged coastline itself. 

The first birds we saw were oyster catchers and turnstones running along the rocks, and as the tide was in, waders like curlews and godwits feeding in the fields to our left. A lone heron also was hunting in the field - perhaps looking for mice! We were also joined by a solitary grey seal who observed us at various points as we walked along.  A nice variety of seashore wildflowers was also visible on the path as we walked along, like the sea spurrey in the picture blow. 

The best birdwatching was found when the group reached the shoreline under the Martello Tower in Portrane. Along with a few cormorants sunning themselves with outstretched wings on the rocks, we also saw a guillemot in its winter plumage. This confused some of us initially as the chocolate brown summer head colouring is replaced with much more white in the winter. With the aid of a telescope the group also identified a red throated diver out in the water. Various species of gulls and terns were also spotted overhead, and visible in the distance was the island of Rockabill near Skerries, where most of northern Europe's population of roseate terns go to breed. A stonechat with its orange breast was also glimpsed on the rocks around the group, which was a good thing to see as their population has crashed due to the two very bad winters we had recently. 

As the group headed back to Donabate the sky clouded over, but the rain held off and overall, everyone was happy to have seen some of the amazing birdlife that Dublin's coastline has to offer!

Photo courtesy of Joy

Sea Spurrey - courtesy of Joy

The shore below Portrane Martello Tower - courtesy of Joy

2nd October Green Drinks - GM Foods

IWT Dublin continued with our monthly Green Drinks on the first Tuesday of the month where we tackled the controversial issue of Genetically Modified foods. Conor McGee, postgraduate researcher at UCD bravely took on the task of talking about GMO's and handling the debate that ensued. Conor, although not currently working with GMO crops is very familiar with the issue, and was speaking from a pro-GMO stance. Conor explained the difference between trans and cis modification - transgenesis is where genes are inserted from a non related species, and cisgenesis is where genes are inserted from a closely related species (i.e. one with which it could be conventionally bred). Conor further explained his point of view by highlighting that the GM potato trials being undertaken by Teagasc at the moment would take about 17 years to do using conventional methods - whereas using GM methods, it will take only a couple of years. Furthermore, if this trial is successful it will reduce the need for the current 15 pesticide sprays a year to avoid blight, to just two!! 

Conor also highlighted to us that using radiation to cause mutation in food organisms has been ongoing for years and is accepted as a standard practice. However anti-GMO groups do not seem to complain about this method, even though it is far more uncontrolled and we don't know how many genes are affected at a time. Conor concluded by saying that he believed the future lies in taking the best practices from GM crops, conventional breeding and organic farmers and blending them to find the best way forward. 

At this stage some of our Green Drinkers joined the conversation to point out that organic farmers manage to produce crops without any pesticide application at all and a lively debate ensued!!! Some visiting American students gave their opinion that the debate between organic vs GM crops is somewhat redundant as it is a debate for the first world - this is not a realistic issue, nor is it a choice for the areas where food is shortest and where these techniques can really be of benefit - they need more resistant crops with higher yields, and they need them yesterday. 

Overall, it was a lively Green Drinks with over 50 attendees - which served to entertain and inform, as many differing opinions came together to open an important discussion. IWT's Green Drinks organiser, Debbi Pedreschi rounded off the evening by asking the attendees to raise their hands to show if they were pro, anti, or undecided when it came to GMO's. Although the majority were still undecided, we were surprised to learn that the next largest category were pro-GMO!!! It was generally agreed by the audience that research into topics such as GM crops needs to be tightly regulated and should be carried out through public funding, rather than large multinational companies that will use the data for profit, instead of tackling rising issues such as climate change and the worsening global food crisis. 

The issues driving the GM debate

A humorous look at public fears of GM

GM foods have the potential to be more drought resistant

Sept 4th - Green Drinks Enda Reilly's Songs

On Tuesday Sept 4th IWT Dublin Branch assembled in Messrs Maguire pub for its monthly Green Drinks to hear singer songwriter, Enda Reilly perform some of his educational, informative and very witty songs about the environment and climate change. Enda normally sings these songs in schools as part of his Climate Change Songs Workshop Initiative, which brings fun educational songs in English and as Gaeilge into schools. Everyone present was greatly entertained by a medley of songs suitable for all ages. 

Highlights included 'Chewing the cud' about a cow digesting his meal to make milk - and lots of methane! -, and 'The Polar Bear Song' about a poor polar bear losing his home as the ice melts.  Also good was the 'Oxygen song' about how 21% of our atmosphere is oxygen, and it might be a good idea to keep it that way! We all sang along to the chorus of 'inhale, exhale' with appropriate deep breaths and heard about Enda's unique idea for renewable energy - harnessing all the people peddling 'in gyms around the world!' 

As if that wasn't enough excitement for one night, Green Drinks Dublin and the Irish Wildlife Trust also launched their new Logo!

19th August - Heritage Week Walk Carrick Gollaghan

Dublin Branch IWT Celebrates Heritage Week – 19^th August

A group of Dublin branch members and non-members arrived at Carrick Gollaghan Hill to explore the built heritage and natural heritage of the area. Thankfully the weather held for us most of the afternoon and we just had a few light showers. We headed first for the tunnels and chimney of the Ballycorus Leadmines where we explored a short length of the now protected Ballycorus Leadmines complex. The main purpose of the tunnels and chimney was to convey the fumes up to high ground and be expelled into the air at higher altitudes away from the smelting works below in the valley.

From these structures, we meandered through the neighbouring Coillte forest, walked along a short length of the Dublin Mountains Way. We took a small detour before climbing up the mount of Carrick Gollaghan by walking along a forest path that appears on the old 1830s Ordnance Survey map. Doing what thousands had done before for maybe 200 years seemed fitting for the occasion.

A few mushrooms were looked at but none tried. It was too early for blackberries and too late for fraochan. With bottles of water and snack eaten we gently climbed to the 927 feet altitude. Various mountains of north Wicklow, and Dublin were pointed out. In the heather vegetation, swallows darted in and out. After a much needed rest, we made the descent and returned to the car park.

Scots Pines

Entrance to leadmine tunnel

Leadmine chimney

Lichen showing the air is clean now

Carrick Golloghan mount

7th August - Green Drinks - Fracking

This month Dublin Branch Green Drinks heard Ineke Scholte of frackingfreeireland.org talk about the controversial issue of fracking. At the moment exploratory licences have been granted to companies in Ireland north and south of the border to look at possible sites for fracking. This has generated local opposition from those opposed on environmental grounds, but proponents of fracking say that it will reduce our reliance on fuel imports and generate much needed local employment.

So what is fracking? Fracking is short for hydraulic fracturing which involves pumping a mix of water, sand and chemical under huge pressure into gas bearing rocks. The first step in the process involves drilling a shaft to reach the shale layer, sometimes as deep as 2.5km. Small explosions are then set into the shale layer fracturing it. The water, sand and chemicals are then pumped in at high pressure to enlarge the cracks and release the gas. Supporters of fracking say that this can be done safely and has been done in many places before. Opponents of fracking say that it is an inherently risky process and can contaminate ground water and destabilise local geology, and that it has never been done in a country with a geology like Ireland's.

After Ineke's presentation, a lively and sometimes heated discussion followed between those in favour and those against fracking. The arguments for and against fracking involve very technical issues, and also the broader issue of whether fracking can act as a bridge to tide us over until renewable energies come on stream, or whether it is actually a distraction, helping to postpone action on renewables. The discussion ended without agreement except that people should inform themselves further on this very important issue.

12th August - Beach Safari and Snorkelling

On Sunday the 12th of August the Irish Wildlife Trust held a beach safari led by Kevin Delahunty at Portmarnock beach. The beach safari was based mainly around the rock pools and began at 10:30 as the tide was low, making the rocks pools easily accessible. There was a brilliant turn out with lots of parents bringing their children along to learn about the different species we have on our rocky shores.

We began by investigating what creates the small casts along the beach and discovered that they are created by lugworms. After digging one up and explaining their life cycle to the children, we were off to the rock pools in search of other species. And we were in no way disappointed!

We found lots of different species as the rock pools in Portmarnock contain a huge amount of wildlife. We very quickly found a number of common gobies and common prawns. One young wildlife enthusiast even caught a flounder in his net! We also collected many shore crabs from tiny to quite large.

Kevin talked about the different molluscs we had on our shores as we examined limpets, mussels, periwinkles and dog whelks. We were treated not only to beadlet anemones with full tentacle extension but also to some tube anemones as well. 

IWT was also to team up with CFT for the event in order to include a snorkel and discover what other species we have under the water as well as above. However do to bad weather conditions and a very rough sea the snorkel had to be cancelled. This will be rescheduled at a later date so keep checking the blog and our facebook page to find out when!

Many thanks to all who came out and made it a really great morning on the beach.

Anemones

Shore Crab

gone fishing

28th July - Bray Beach Clean-up

On 28th July the national SEA LIFE Centre and IWT Dublin Branch held a Beach Clean on Bray Beach to raise awareness of marine pollution and the detrimental effects it can have on marine animals and raise awareness for OCEAN 2012. There was a good turnout of least 40 people and a lot of good work was done cleaning the beach - at least judging by the many plastic sacks that were collected afterwards. Important work was done too in recording the type of material washed up on the beach, which will help conservationists to understand the problem of pollution better.   After the beach clean, volunteers were invited into SEA LIFE for a tour of the aquarium for a small donation to our conservation fund and then gathered on the beach to make another FISH SHAPE for OCEAN2012 Fish Weeks. A fun packed day was had by all!

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7th July - Trip to Ireland's Eye

Boat trip to Ireland’s Eye: Saturday, 7^th July

Wow, what a wonderful day we had on our second visit to the island this year:  the trip turned out to be just perfect. We were blessed with beautiful sunshine and were fortunate to see scores of gannets, kittiwakes, fulmars, guillemots and razorbills in all their splendour, but most importantly we were able to admire some puffins, Ireland’s most colourful seabirds.

We were lucky, too, to have Sean Hogan lead the walk because he drew our attention to many seabirds and their chicks which would otherwise have gone unnoticed. He shared with us his admirable knowledge of the importance of the island’s seabird colonies, their habitats, breeding sites and migration patterns and he taught us how to differentiate between the various gulls on the island.

We were fortunate also to have some enthusiastic photographers among the participants, who beautifully captured some of these spectacular birds. Thank you Ed Kealy for your stunning  photos.      

A Beautiful Day on Ireland's Eye

Fulmar

Gannet

Puffins or 'sea parrots'

Protective Parents

Juvenile Gull

3rd July Green Drinks Ocean 2012

IWT's summer of sustainable seas continued on 3rd July at its monthly meeting of Green Drinks with Mike Walker from OCEAN2012 (http://www.ocean2012.eu/) coming to speak about overfishing and the OCEAN2012 campaign. OCEAN2012 is an alliance of organisations dedicated to stopping overfishing, ending destructive fishing practices and and delivering fair and equitable use of healthy fish stocks.

Mike outlined to the meeting some of the shocking facts and figures associated with overfishing. Currently, 63% of fish stocks in the Atlantic are overfished, 82% in the Mediterranean, and four out of the six stocks for which scientific advice is available in the Baltic. Over 20% of fish stocks are being fished beyond safe biological limits, meaning their very future is threatened. North Sea fish catches have declined from 3.5 million tonnes a year in 1995 to 1.5 million tonnes in 2007, and the larger fish at the top of the food chain are dying out as we literally eat our way through them. For example, North Sea cod reach spawning age at four years old, while the average age of cod caught in the North Sea is 1.6 years, meaning that 93% of cod are caught before they can reproduce. This means that there are virtually no large mature cod left. The difference between the cod caught in the past and the cod caught today can be seen in the two images below

At present, not only is the EU fleet is estimated to have the capacity to fish two to three times the sustainable level, but much of the fishing fleet is sustained by subsidies, meaning we are paying twice for our fish. The EU's Common Fisheries Policy needs to be changed urgently to bring about a sustainable fishing industry. Review of the Policy is underway at present, but vested interests opposing change mean it is vital to keep the pressure on policy makers.

Cod in the past

Cod today

Fish Shape outside Messr Maguires

23rd June Visit to SEALIFE Bray and fish shape

The Dublin Branch went on a tour of the National SEA LIFE Centre in Bray on Saturday June 23rd. This special guided tour of the aquarium with a dedicated SEA LIFE expert brought the group face to face with a Giant Pacific Octopus, sharks and many other creatures. This year’s new feature of the aquarium is a trail of rays featuring Ireland's only Cownose Rays. The tour took about an hour and afterwards IWT members and members of BirdWatch Ireland gathered on the beach for an Oceans 2012 campaign fish-shape photograph!  

16th June Visit to Ireland's Eye

Last Saturday 16th June the Irish Wildlife Trust went on a boat trip to Ireland's Eye off Howth in north Co. Dublin. Ireland's Eye is a designated SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and SPA (Special Protection Area). You can learn more about those designations by following the link to the National Parks and Wildllife Service website:

http://www.npws.ie/search/ProtectedSites.jsp


 There was a good turnout for the trip and the weather was cloudy but it stayed dry (mostly). Ireland's Eye is a spectacular island with its own Martello Tower and ruined church, and of course it contains a huge amount of wildlife, especially seabirds. Among the birds we saw were kittiwakes, nesting herring gulls and shags, (unfortunately some of these were dead). IWT's Conn Flynn who was leading the trip also showed the group some of the wild things on the seashore, including little insects that live in the seaweed called sandhoppers and some of the varieties of seaweed.

Conn leads the way through the jungle

Climbing the tower (not for Rapunzel)

Looking at the sandhoppers

Conn talks seaweed

Dead Shag

12th June EU Fisheries Meeting a "failure"

The coalition Ocean 2012 consider last Tuesday's agreement reached by the Minister of Fisheries of the European Union (EU) was a "failure". The agreement delays the end of fishing discards and defers the goal of maximum sustainable yield (MSY) of resources beyond 2015. Below is a link for a live blogging update and webcast of the meeting:

http://polscieu.ideasoneurope.eu/2012/06/12/live-blogging-eu-council-meeting-on-fisheries-of-12-june-2012-morning-session/

http://video.consilium.europa.eu/

In the EC's own words: 'Europe’s fisheries policy is in urgent need of reform. Vessels are catching more fish than can be safely reproduced, thus exhausting individual fish stocks and threatening the marine ecosystem'. In many cases, fisheries rules, regulations and enforcement measures are not efficient; fishing capacity and efforts are not sufficiently limited or controlled and scientists’ recommendations for catch quotas that would allow fish stocks to recover are routinely ignored. There is a lack of transparency and traceability, and a lack of implementation/enforcement - the Common Fisheries Policy Reform aims to remedy this but the road ahead is long.

The OCEAN2012 coalition, including representatives from IWT, had formed this fish shape 4 days in advance of the meeting to highlight the need for change in fishing policy

You can see more photos and learn more about it from the following link: 

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150875144297734.408311.85850197733&type=1

Fish Weeks 2012 Video

OCEAN 2012 the Europe- wide coalition of conservation groups dedicated to ending overfishing and of which the IWT is a member has launched Fish Weeks 2012 with this nifty Video. it succinctly explains the problem we face.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6nwZUkBeas&feature=player_embedded 

9th June Killiney Beach Walk

Dublin Branch Ocean 2012 – Killiney Beach Walk – In Celebration of World Ocean’s Day 9^th June 2012

After 2 heavy rainy days in Dublin, the IWT Dublin Branch were spoilt by not only a mild dry and overcast day, but also by the leader, Tim Clabon, a marine and wetland expert and volunteer.

We explored the kelp beds and associated rock pools which were well exposed due to the very low tide, and learnt about the different seaweeds, including serrated wrack, sea lettuce, sugar kelp and oar kelp (see photo). A range of different crab species were temporarily caught and stored by Tim in a bucket (see photo).

Sadly litter was found including the plastic rings found on drinks cans and the remains of balloons (see photo). Both of these while looking harmless causes fatalities to wildlife either by ingestion as in the case of balloons and whales or plastic rings that can encircle diving birds.

Several South Dublin rivers enter the Irish Sea along Killiney Beach including the Deansgrange River and the Loughlinstown River. Tim came well prepared to demonstrate the abundant fresh water wildlife of the latter and took several samples of the water. In the net he pulled up a range of aquatic invertebrates, including eel and a very young flounder. 

On the return we explored the coastal vegetation and some brave souls even sampled the edible plants including sea radish and sea rocket (word of warning – only eat after an expert tells you its safe). After two stormy days it was not surprising to see a few fatalities including a female crab with her nest of eggs (see photo). Other wildlife seen today included, sand martins, cormorants a grey sea and some early attendees had even spotted some dolphins off shore.

Many thanks to Tim for a great celebration of World Ocean’s Day.

Rockpool seaweeds

Crabs

Litter which can kill

Female velvet swimming crab with eggs. Note the paddle shaped back claws which help the crab to 'swim' short distances 

3rd June Habitats of Howth

Time and date: Sunday 3rd June, 11:00
Meeting point: Howth DART station
Details: Declan Doogue, one of the country’s leading botanists and author of Wild Flowers of Ireland: The Habitat Guide, led a walk through selected areas of Howth Head. Howth has a rich flora and a number of plant species that are not common in Ireland. The focus was on some of the habitat types that are quite rare as well as more familiar habitats like shingle ridges, coastal cliffs and the sea shore. Despite bad weather which meant there was a small turnout, those on the walk found it very informative.

12th May Himalayan Balsam Bash

Time - 10.00 - 13.00

Site – Bushy Park

Dublin IWT Himalayan Balsam Bashing

The Dublin Branch of the IWT joined forces with Dublin City Council, Ireland’s Inland Fisheries, Dodder Angling Club and various members of the public to attempt to deal with one of Ireland’s most unwanted invasive plant species. Himalayan Balsam (Impatiens glandulifera) is also known as Indian balsam, and Policeman’s Helmet due to the shape of the flower.

We also were honoured by a visit from the Lord Mayor, Andrew Montague and Minister of State, Fergus O’Dowd TD. The EU is currently developing a new EU Directive aimed at invasive species. Himalayan Balsam is one of Ireland’s invasive plants threatening our river ecosystems. The plant can grow up to 1.5 – 2m. It is an annual and so completely dies down in the Winter. It is a prolific seeder and the seed can last up to two years in the ground. However, unlike many other invasive species, Himalayan Balsam, can be very easily removed by young and old alike. Its shallow root system ensures that anyone can gently but firmly pull the stem and remove the plant. Large areas can be cleared and a second visit to the area in the second year will remove the plants that germinate from the soil’s seed bank.

Due to its rapid growth it can take over riverbanks forcing native species out. After it dies in the Autumn the riverbanks are left exposed and vulnerable during heavy rains. Native species would have good root systems that bind the soil on riverbanks.

It is important to either remove the pulled plants to prevent them from quickly going to seed or the pile of plants can be effectively covered blocking out any sunlight. Himalayan balsam has a high water content and rots very quickly. At the end of the day we all cleaned and disinfected our boots to prevent the spread of any seeds or diseases.  Dublin City Council treated all volunteers to freshly made sandwiches and bottles of water which were eagerly consumed!

Lord Mayor Andrew Montague leads the way

Minister Fergus O'Dowd cleans up

Look how big our pile is!

Local help

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!