Council and Shamrocks praised for pollinator friendly work

Westmeath County Council and a Mullingar GAA club have been praised for the efforts to reverse the decline in the local pollinator population by one of the country’s foremost ecologists, writes Rodney Farry.

Dr Úna Fitzpatrick is the senior ecologists at the National Biodiversity Data Centre. She is also one of the architects of the All Ireland Pollinator Plan, an internationally acclaimed initiative that has successfully mobilised communities and organisations across the nation in a bid to reverse pollinator decline.

Bees and other pollinating insects such as lies, beetles, moths, butterflies, wasps, ants, birds, have been declining in Ireland and other countries for decades – as a result of mono-culture, pollution, climate change, and disease, and this decline comes at a huge cost to agriculture, to wildflowers and trees, and to many parts of the natural world that we take for granted.

The All Ireland Pollinator Plan (AIPP) was set up in 2015 in a bid to pollinator decline by engaging with Irish society, mobilising a citizen’s army of gardeners, farmers, community and sports groups, councils and other land owners to become pollinator friendly, protecting the environment and protecting the lives of future generations.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner ahead of World Bee Day next Thursday and the broadcast of the TG4 documentary Plean Bee (Plan Bee) that evening, Dr Fitzpatrick said that of the 98 species of wild bee in Ireland, a third are at threat of extinction.

“It’s a huge number and for me what is even more worrying is that the rare species are in real trouble. We also know from our work with the National Biodiversity Data Centre that the abundance of common bumble bees has been declining year on year since we started measuring it in 2020.

“So both the rare and common species are in decline because of how we are managing the whole landscape.”

Gardens, parks, hedgerows and farmland that are over-maintained, or are treated with pesticides, destroying natural habitats for pollinators that require shelter, and different food sources throughout the year. The delicate balance of nature – the pollination of fruits and crops, trees and wildflowers in exchange for food and shelter – is breaking down, and pollinators are struggling to survive.

The aim of the AIPP is to encourage as much of Irish society as possible to take action to protect or develop habitats and food sources.

In February 2020, Westmeath County Council signed up to be a partner in the plan and has introduced a range of pollinator friendly initiatives in the county.

Dr Fitzpatrick says that local authorities have a vital role to play in quest to reverse pollinator decline, including reducing the number of times they mow grass verges and other council land.

“Credit to councils like Westmeath – they have taken steps to do that. Sometimes it can be difficult because it is a different way of managing public lands than what the public are used to.

“I would definitely pay tribute to the councils that have done it and taking steps to make their land more biodiversity friendly.

Local schools, community groups and sporting organisations have also signed up to the plan.

One sporting club that Dr Fitzpatrick singled out for praise was Mullingar Shamrocks, who implemented an award-winning biodiversity initiative at their grounds in Springfield, spearheaded by Joan Crawford Ormsby.

“She has been doing amazing work for biodiversity and pollinators at the club. They have done incredible stuff. They have biodiversity walking trails. They have put up signs and lots of other actions to make the club pollinator and biodiversity friendly. They have also lined it back into the community by encouraging retirement groups and local schools to use the walking trail.”

Now it its second five-year phase, Dr Fitzpatrick says that the increasing number of pollinator friendly spaces should lead to an increase in Ireland’s bee numbers in the not too distant future.

When asked what individual households can do, she says that taking a “less is more approach is the way to go, especially at this time of year”.

“People say to me, ‘What’s the best thing I could do to help?’. I say that if bees could talk, there are a few things they’d ask you do: one is let hedgerows flower. Don’t cut hedges so often. They are so important at this time of year.

“The other is to stop cutting the grass so often. It’s really simple. Flowers like dandelions and clovers are so important for bees. We always have a campaign: ‘Let Dandelions Bee’ in April. ‘No Mow May’ is brilliant too because if you just don’t cut your grass, plants like clover will pop up and provide really important plants for bees.

“It’s less work and doesn’t cost anything. It’s not for everyone. There are other actions people can do, but it is a really important one,” she said.