Page 51 - Council Journal Winter 2019

The report warned that one million animal and plant species face extinction, many within decades.
make continuously large fields for heavier plant machinery.
FEATURE Pollination Plan This is something that can be done
Ireland has 99 different types of bees, the majority of which are wild and live in the landscape. There is the honeybee, 21 different types of bumblebees and 77 different types of solitary bees.
"This removal of the hedgerows is very destructive not only to the bees, but to all the pollinators included and the birds.
at an individual level, too: when cutting your grass, a strip can be left to grow long where wildflowers can grow, allowing bees to do their work and more flowers to grow in your garden.
According to Dr Fitzpatrick, speaking in an RTE report, one third of the wild bees are threatened with extinction.
"A lot of beekeepers are in areas now where all of their surroundings is grass land, and they cannot keep bees anymore," Mr O’Brien said.
Waterford Council also said that it refrains from using pesticides where possible:
"That’s bad enough, and you would think that at least we have the common bees. But what we know is that those common ones are also not doing well.
We know that of our common bumblebees, the abundance of them
“It’s accepted that we need to use pesticides to control growth in certain areas but the use of pesticides is reduced to the absolute minimum required and is very specifically targeted.”
"We know that of our common bumblebees, the abundance of them have declined by 14% just since 2012. So bees are in huge difficulties."
have declined by 14% just since 2012. ”
It has also adopted “pollinator friendly practices” on the Waterford Greenway and Kilbarry Nature Park in Waterford City and has developed pollinator planting schemes in many landscaped areas, the council said in a statement.
The problem stems from a loss of habitat due to the intensification of agriculture, greater urbanisation and pesticides, which are resulting in a lack of food for Ireland’s bee population.
Galway City Council told TheJournal. ie that it has had a policy within its parks & recreation department for a number of years to manage a range of areas in locations across the city including Merlin Woods, Terryland Forest Park, Carn Ard Park, Ballyloughane Amenity Land, the open space between Grattan Road and Beach Court and other smaller areas “which would either be allow ‘wild’ growth or would receive a very limited number of cuts (ie, 1 or 2 at most) during the growing season”.
The decline is being noticed by beekeepers around the country.
President of the Federation of Irish Beekeepers' Associations Paul O'Brien told RTE that the organisation’s 3,500 members are observing a lack of habitat as the biggest threat for the bees.
“Reducing the frequency of grass cutting to 5 cuts (and lifts) per annum or allowing areas to become meadows where the grass is cut only once per annum allows wildflowers to flower providing very significant pollinator benefits, ” a spokesperson for the Council said earlier this year.
"This has occurred because of the removal of hedgerows between fields that used to be dividing fields in times gone by. Lately with the increase in the dairy industry and the farming tillage area, the grass margins within their own fields are being removed to
“This is balanced with our grass management and planting regime in more urban spaces including within estates, on sports fields, etc which would have a more frequent cutting.
Waterford City and County Council said that it has adopted a number of basic principles to adhere to the pollinator plan. Some areas undertake grass cutting operations within and on the approaches to the smaller towns and villages across the county. While there is a need to maintain regular grass cutting in the more ‘formal’ parts in order to preserve a clean and tidy presentation, we have reduced the frequency of grass cutting particularly along the wider grass verges on the approaches that are a feature in certain areas.
What some Councils are doing
This obviously facilitates the
Council Journal 51