National Biodiversity Week takes place this year May 18-26, with the UN International Day of Biodiversity being celebrated on 22nd May. This year the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has designated a theme of Water & Biodiversity for 2013.
This will be Ireland’s 7th annual celebration of National Biodiversity week and its aim is to create awareness of the importance of biodiversity and to better understand its value to the local, national and international community.
While you should look out for events happening in your area you might also get it out there and do it for yourself! Next time you bring the kids for a walk take binoculars and a notebook to record sightings of birds/butterflies. And, on your walk, take note of any of the “dirty dozen” invasive species you can spot.
There are other little things you can do such as letting a part of your lawn go wild (cut grass only in Spring and Autumn); putting a “bee inn” or “insect hotel” at the bottom of your garden.
Each July Wexford town bursts forth in floral celebration. This is all thanks to the voluntary efforts of the Wexford in Bloom organisation. They organise flower baskets and boxes for businesses wanting to bring a splash of natural colour to their store fronts. Householders can also get in on the act. The price to businesses for baskets/window boxes, including bracket, watering for 16 weeks, plus feeding the cost, is €64. For people who had baskets/boxes last year and want to have them again this year, it will cost them €53 per basket/box. Wexford in Bloom volunteers will be calling around to businesses taking orders in the weeks ahead. Please participate if you can – you will be helping to make Wexford look even more attractive and welcoming.
There was also the opening, earlier this week, of the attractive new biodiversity-friendly “pocket” park on 1798 Street, an initiative spearheaded by Wexford Tidy Towns in association with Wexford Borough Council. This is the most visible result to date of the new Biodiversity Committee.
A beautifully designed new landscaped “garden” on Wexford’s 1798 Street has its official opening on Thursday, April 25 at 11.30am. The project, a collaborative effort involving Wexford Tidy Towns and Wexford Borough Council, transforms what was a very unloved space into something altogether different. Two spaces, on either side of the road, have been transformed, in a simple but effective way, with meandering pathways, carefully stocked flower-beds, shrubs, trees and wall trellises. Attractive seating will be installed shortly. The designers have given a serious nod to biodiversity in the choice of plants and the decision to leave wild strips along walls. The birds, bees and butterflies will be happy here! Overall, this is a clever use of a relatively small area. The hope is that this oasis of calm will be embraced by the local community and become a place to meet, chat and simply relax.
