Since our midsummer newsletter the community biodiversity project has been a key focus with much work done, and more to do. Cork Nature Network hosted an online webinar during Heritage Week in August to replace the original in-person training session scheduled for the previous March. Attendance was good and participants were invited to contact us to get involved in the creation of the community biodiversity plan for Skibbereen. In the weeks that followed, the three sites (O’Donovan Rossa Memorial Park, Riverdale wildlife plot and Schull Road wildlife garden) were surveyed for suitable opportunities to support wildlife and biodiversity in the years ahead.
The first focus project was the O’Donovan Rossa Memorial Park. Earlier in the summer, once restrictions were lifted, an army of GAA volunteers from the club next door came to kickstart the maintenance effort. This was followed by a planting plan for biodiversity in the central memorial section of the park, planned and planted by the team at Deelish Garden Centre included in the photo collage below.
Weekly weeding, regular salting of the pathways and brushing the stone chips from the white birch beds followed thanks to a few new volunteers until the evenings grew shorter. Since the original white birch trees were planted in 2015, 15 had been damaged or had died. We were thrilled when our grant application for funding to replace the trees was successful. No sooner had the ink dried on the cheque from Save our Skibbereen (SOS) than the trees were planted by the team at Deelish.
Another successful grant application came from Cork County Council’s Community Enhancement Programme for 6 benches where visitors to the park can sit and enjoy the relaxing surroundings. These benches are scheduled for delivery and installation early in 2021. Once again, we appeal to everyone using the park to take your litter home and leave no trace behind you.
Also forthcoming, to encourage wildlife in the park, is a project that involves the planting of 250 native hedging species along the 50m wall from the main entrance to the adjacent GAA grounds. The hedging is kindly sponsored by Trees on the Land, one of two sites, the second being the Riverdale wildlife plot. As soon as public health restrictions allow for outdoor groups of more than 15 people to gather, we will be calling on our army of GAA volunteers to assist with the ground preparation and planting. Let’s hope this can happen before the end of the bareroot planting season later in the spring. If not, then plan B will involve smaller groups of socially distanced planting teams over a number of weekends, subject to public health guidelines in place at the time.
Readers could be forgiven for thinking that all our efforts this autumn were concerned with the Rossa Park, but enough about nature and biodiversity for now.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our supporters who have helped us continue our work in this most challenging of years. Whether you donated time, skills or money, whether individual, charitable, corporate or public service, however you helped, we very much appreciate it all.
On behalf of Jerome, our Chair, and the committee of Skibbereen Tidy Towns, may we wish you a peaceful and safe Christmas, and hopefully a brighter year ahead.
Featured image courtesy of Pixabay
Skibbereen Tidy Towns 