General Comment on peatland rehabilitation:
In Lullymore Heritage & Discovery Park, we have witnessed the success of peatland rehabilitation on former industrial cutaways on a small scale. In 2011, we undertook very simple and low cost rehabilitation on 46 acres of industrial peatlands by blocking drains with the assistance of Bord na Mona. The construction of 2 km of recycled plastic boardwalk has allowed us to celebrate Peatland biodiversity with hundreds of thousands of international and domestic visitors since 2011 and win Best Environmental Tourism Innovation Award at the Irish Tourism Industry Awards in 2017. The transformation of this area since then has been spectacular and it is now a favourite location for many visitors to the Park. A carpet of peatland flora and Birch, Willow and Scots Pine has covered the bare peat helping to store carbon (Carbon Flux research ongoing in Lullymore since 2016) and led to an explosion of biodiversity which has grown annually. Mammals including hare, red squirrel and pine marten are now resident, birds like skylark, lapwing, meadow pipit have nested and an abundance of insect life is thriving with Moth studies from Butterfly Conservation Ireland recorded annually and showing an increasing variety of species and even the discovery of a once thought extinct species "Suspected" in 2018 (please see Irish Examiner piece attached). Peatland rehabilitation will also improve water quality and assist in improving the health and biodiversity of our local rivers. With improved rehabilitation techniques, PCAS and community led initiatives can transform many of these former industrial areas which have the scale and potential to deliver on biodiversity and as a carbon store, Just Transition and tourism related employment. They will also be a place of valued amenity for peatland communities and a habitat of scale for native species to thrive.
New Biodiversity Action Plan needed
Insert : Publish a new County Kildare Biodiversity Action Plan by 2024
Reason; The County Biodiversity Plan is out of date and a central Kildare resource containing biodiversity aims, objectives and initiatives is essential. This document will illustrate the large reach, responsibility and accountability of the Council and partner organisations for biodiversity, healthy rivers, water quality and the protection of nature. This new enhanced objective to reach 27% of land for nature should provide the cornerstone of the Plan with milestones for the achievement of this target. A published document will help inform the public, ensure implementation and form a tool to keep track of progress.
BI A10 Work with Teagasc and landowners throughout the county in order to identify suitable ‘Hare’s Corner’ projects which would create pocket sized habitats in order to enhance biodiversity.
Insert new Action : Publish updated list of County Biodiversity Sites in the County Biodiversity Action Plan and identify areas including Harristown Common and the Allen-Lullymore Bog Group of sufficient scale as Special Amenity Areas under Ministerial Order.