This Saturday March 30th, Kilmeen/Kilbree GAA are doing something amazing to help bees and other pollinators. They are devoting some of their club’s lands to planting pollinator-friendly plants and 1,000 native trees, with help from children in Kilmeen National School and Kilmeen and Castleventry Community Development Association (KCCDA).
We received this project update from Orla Harrington, Kilmeen and Castleventry Community Development Association: ‘This is a win-win for our community, our club, our climate and our biodiversity. Kilmeen/Kilbree are the first GAA club in Ireland to partner with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.’
‘We’ve all been hearing that bees and other pollinators, so important to our natural heritage and our farmers, are under increasing pressure from drastically reduced food and safe nesting sites in our landscapes. It’s hard to believe, but one third of the 99 bee species in Ireland are now threatened with extinction.
‘Coillte kindly sponsored 1,000 native trees, including a mix of oak, birch, rowan, alder and hawthorn, and there’s a lot of Citizen Science too – with a little help from our friends, we have created a ‘where are we now’ paper, documenting over 60 species which have recently been observed in the Kilmeen/Kilbree GAA club land area. The project will survey and photograph, pinpointing areas for planting on the grounds. We’ll continue to track how bees, moths and lots of other wildlife adapt to their new habitat as it develops. These trees will contribute to reducing Ireland’s greenhouse gas emissions.’
These proposed changes to land management by Kilmeen/Kilbree GAA will hopefully lead the way for other clubs around the country to be inspired and to get involved themselves.
#AllIrelandPollinatorPlan