Laois County Council

Tag: gardening

  • Make a switch for nature this National Biodiversity Week, with ten ideas from Heritage Officers

    Make a switch for nature this National Biodiversity Week, with ten ideas from Heritage Officers

    This is National Biodiversity Week.  Every day we depend on biodiversity.        

    Biodiversity or nature is all about us.  Everything we rely on is provided by nature. Biodiversity is the variety of life on the planet, how it interacts with the natural water cycles and climate to create ecosystems that provide habitats, and ecosystem goods and services.  Goods like timber, healthy soil, raw materials for clothing, food, medicines – everything.  Services like carbon sequestration, water filtration, pollination.

    Catherine Casey, Heritage Officer with Laois County Council said “Take a first step and connect with the wonder of the nature this Biodiversity week.  Find a quiet spot and listen to the sounds of nature about you.  This is the sound of nature supporting your life”.

    International Biodiversity Day is Saturday 22nd May and the theme this year is “We are part of the solution for Nature”. There are some simple switches that can be made that will set us on that pathway.  Always the best place to start is where we can have the most influence, and for most of us that is our own homes and gardens.

    Here are ten SWITCHES you can make for nature right now:

    1. Switch peat moss or compost with peat for PEAT-FREE COMPOST. Ask your garden centre. Or make your own compost. This will help protect our valuable bogs, which are vital for carbon capture and nature.
    2. Switch your weekly mow to LET YOUR GRASS GROW. Leave an extra margin around the edge of your lawn and cut it every 3-6 weeks, to provide shelter and food for pollinators. #NoMowMay
    3. Switch tap water in your watering can to WATER FROM A WATER BUTT. Rainwater collected from your roof is a good way to re-use water and be more economical with treated water.
    4. Switch some of your lawn for a POND OR RAIN GARDEN – all our wildlife needs water and it’s amazing how much wildlife even a tiny pond can attract..
    5. Switch pesticides for NATURAL PEST CONTROL AND COMPANION PLANTING. (Carrot fly is distracted by the smell of rosemary and thyme, plant marigolds or lady’s mantle close to tomatoes, nasturtium beside broad beans). Encourage ladybirds to your garden to eat greenfly.
    6. Switch chemical fertiliser for NETTLE OR COMFREY FERTILISER. This is made by soaking the plants in water for a few weeks and then diluting the resultant liquid with water. Areas of nettles and comfrey are super for pollinators – bees and butterflies, so a patch has additional biodiversity benefits.
    7. Switch cutting hedges at waist height to LETTING HAWTHORN HEDGES GROW TALL AND BLOSSOM. This is vital for pollinators and will bring a wonderful sight and smell to your garden.
    8. Switch tidying up to BUILDING A LOG PILE. These are great spots for hedgehogs, bugs and beetles. The garden is not a place for Marie Kondo’s house tidying approach! Check out the Gardening for Biodiversity video series for tips
    9. Switch planting the same plants everywhere to PLANTING VARIETY. This will protect your garden from being overrun with any one pest or disease and bring more wildlife to your place.
    10. Switch social distance for HUGGING A TREE !

     

    The popular GARDENING FOR BIODIVERSITY booklet and colouring book are still available – click below to download, along with a Pledge your Garden for Pollinators leaflet.  These wonderful publications are full of fantastic ideas for your garden. The Garden Birds poster produced in association with BirdWatch Ireland shows you the huge wealth of birds you might attract to your garden.

    Click the images to download the publications

    Gardening For Biodiversity Cover                   

     

     

    The Local Authority Heritage Officer Network is the collection of heritage officers located nationwide, in most counties and local authorities.  The Heritage Office programme is supported by the local authorities and the Heritage Council.  Heritage Officers advocate for the conservation of natural and cultural heritage, through the implementation of biodiversity and heritage plans, working with communities through local government.

     

  • New video series on Gardening for Biodiversity launched

    New video series on Gardening for Biodiversity launched

    A new series of videos on Gardening for Biodiversity has been launched by Laois Heritage Office. Based on the popular book Gardening for Biodiversity published by Laois County Council earlier this year, the series aims to give practical tips and guidelines to anyone who is interested in helping wildlife in their garden.

     

    Following the book’s very practical approach, the videos – available for free on Youtube – show how to help biodiversity by creating a pond, building a log pile, planting a wildflower meadow, looking after birds and planting native trees and hedgerows.

     

    Speaking at the launch of the videos Cathaoirleach of Laois County Council Cllr Willie Aird said “It’s so fitting that we are launching these biodiversity guides here in the wonderful setting of People’s Park. The Park is like a garden for all the people of Portlaoise, and we are delighted that it is open again after the pandemic restrictions. I know that the ideas in this new book and the video guides will encourage people to take action to make their garden a haven for wildlife and I’d like to thank the Heritage Council and the Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht for their help in getting them made”.

    Author Juanita Browne said: “These videos are a wonderful online resource to help explain how anyone can help our wildlife. Thanks to Laois County Council for funding and making these freely available online and to John Lusby and Peter Cutler for making these beautiful videos. I think there is an exciting new interest among the public in helping our biodiversity and these videos make this process much more accessible.”

     

    Catherine Casey, Heritage Officer with Laois County Council said “During lockdown we have all become much more conscious of the importance of the natural world. We know from the enormous response to the original book that many people are taking a great interest in the birds, bees and bugs that are visiting their gardens. We are in the middle of a Biodiversity Crisis, and exposure to nature is also good for our mental health, so there is so much benefit to gardening for biodiversity. We have had so many requests for copies of the book from schools and families, so our next project is to create a Children’s version of the book, with colouring pages and kid-friendly information on biodiversity. We hope to have that ready for Heritage Week in August”.

     

    The new Gardening for Biodiversity films are available to view of the Laois Heritage Youtube channel

     

    The Gardening for Biodiversity videos are available now on the Laois Heritage Youtube Channel at https://www.youtube.com/user/laoisheritage. The book and films were supported by the Heritage Council and the Department for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht as part National Biodiversity Action Plan. The original book is available to download for free at www.laois.ie/heritage, and hard copies can be ordered from Laois County Council Heritage Office.

    Gardening For Biodiversity Cover

    Access the book and videos now

    Gardening for Biodiversity Book available at: https://laois.ie/gardening-for-biodiversity/

    Gardening for Biodiversity Videos available at: https://www.youtube.com/user/laoisheritage

     

    Acknowledgements

    The Gardening for Biodiverity Book and Videos have been supported by the Heritage Council and the Department for ulture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, as part of the National Biodiversity Action Plan. The book was written by Juanita Browne and illustrated by Barry Reynolds. The films were made by Peter Cutler of Crow Crag Films, presented by Jon Lusby and Juanita Browne was Scientific Advisor. We are grateful to all involved for their wonderful support.

     

      Department of Culture Heritage and the Gaeltacht logoHeritage Council Logo

  • Garden Biodiversity colouring book published

    Garden Biodiversity colouring book published

    A new colouring book for children has been published, based on the “Gardening for Biodiversity” booklet by Juanita Brown also released by Laois Heritage Office this week. The book, featuring beautiful illustrations of garden wildlife by artist Barry Reynolds, will be fun for any youngsters  interested in finding out more about the wildlife in their own local patch, now that we are all spending more time close to home.

    Fans of illustration will know Barry has previously worked on the Oscar-nominated animated movie “The Secret of Kells”, and Sony Pictures Animation’s “Arthur Christmas”. He also provided the beautiful illustrations for Juanita Browne’s “The Great big Book of Irish Wildlife”.

    Wildlife Art Workshop in Mountmellick Library as part of Heritage Week. Photograph: Alf Harvey.

     

    The full “Gardening for Biodiversity colouring book” is available to download below, or individual pages can be downloaded by clicking the thumbnails.

     

      Gardening for Biodiversity Colouring book

     

    Colouring Pages (click thumbnail for larger image)

    Childrens colouring sheet wildlife bird boxes
    Bird boxes

    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife blue tit

    Blue tit

    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife bumble bee
    Bumble bee
    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife Bat
    Bat
    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife Bird bath
    Bird bath
    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife Small tourtoiseshell butterfly life cycle
    Butterfly life cycle
    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife Butterfly
    Butterfly
    Childrens colouring sheet produced by Laois Heritage Office showing wildlife chaffinch
    Chaffinch
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office feeding the birds
    Feeding the birds
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Frog
    Frog
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Hedgehog
    Hedgehog
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Homes for bats
    Homes for bats
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Mini beasts
    Mini beasts
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Newt
    Newt
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Rabbit
    Rabbit
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Robin
    Robin
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Garden for Wildlife
    Garden for Wildlife
    Wildlife colouring sheets by Laois Heritage Office Wildlife Pond
    Wildlife pond

     

     

    The Gardening for Biodiversity Book was produced with the assistance of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht under the funding scheme for the National Biodiversity Action Plan, with additional support from the Heritage Council.

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