Press Release
Come Celebrate Bog Woodlands and Construct a Hotel for Bugs
29th March 2019
As part of the Irish Peatland Conservation Council’s (IPCC) Féile and Dúlra you are invited to an open morning at the Bog of Allen Nature Centre to celebrate National Tree Week. The event will take place on Tuesday 2nd April 2019 from 10am to 1pm. You may ask why celebrate trees? Often forgotten are the many services trees offer our communities. They provide us with shade on sunny days and shelter when we get caught outside in a rain shower. They are a habitat to many different species of wildlife including, birds, squirrels,
mini-beasts, lichen and mosses. We harvest food from some tree species including apples, pears and plums. Their height, width and colour make our communities aesthetically pleasing and most important they filter our air supporting our communities in combating climate change.
Trees are a species not typically associated with the open wet bogland habitats of Ireland however Monica Mentle, a volunteer with the Irish Peatland Conservation Council explains ‘native species such as downy birch (Betula pubescens), silver brich (Betula pendula) and willow (Salix species) form a bog woodland habitat that has priority conservation status under the EU Habitats Directive. Getting involved in National Tree Week is a great opportunity to highlight these habitats and the services they provide’.
Joining the event you can expect to learn about bog woodlands and make your own leaf and fruit identification swatch to help you identify the variety of tree species found in your local community. Visitors can also get hands-on and learn how to construct a bug hotel from fallen branches, a feature that will enhance wildlife in gardens this Summer.
Editors Notes:
For interviews contact Nuala Madigan, Environmental Education Officer with the Irish Peatland Conservation Council on bogs@ipcc.ie or 045-860133
Féile an Dúlra is a festival of nature organised annually by the Irish Peatland Conservation Council with funding support from Kildare County Council.
Image: Lodge Bog Woodland by Michael Kenny