The National Heritage Plan
https://www.chg.gov.ie/heritage/heritageireland2030/
Heritage Ireland 2030 Consultation Document – download
Please note that the deadline for submissions on Heritage Ireland 2030 has been extended until 31 March 2019.Have your say
Have your say by email (heritageireland2030@chg.gov.ie)
Have your say online (survey monkey)
Have your say by post (Custom House, Dublin 1, D01 W6XO)
Attend a workshop
Please check out the link above and ensure your voice is heard in formulating policy to be in place until 2030.
Sample of some of the points made at Local Level in Co. Waterford in 2016 to encourage your ideas; feel free to copy and include in your observations!
The National Biodiversity Data Centre needs to be adequately funded to function and perform its role. Please add this sentence in your comment to The National Heritage Plan as requested by Una Fitzpatrick
The Co. Waterford Beekeepers’ Association, make these observations in conjunction with THE ALL IRELAND POLLINATORS PLAN, 2015 -2020. http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/All-Ireland%20Pollinator%20Plan%202015-2020.pdf
We Beekeepers have been aware for many years of the challenges facing honey bees and other pollinating insects, and the decline of these insects so vital for food production and crop pollination.
The observations we make are based on the five objectives of the aforementioned Plan.
One hundred crops provide 90% of the world’s food with seventy-one of these one hundred crops pollinated by bees. The report acknowledges that in Ireland, the honey bee is the most important managed pollinator and that the role of the honey bee as a pollinator in Ireland is of far greater economic importance than it’s role in producing honey.
The report confirms that both managed and wild pollinators are on the decrease in Ireland; honeybees since the arrival of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, in 1997, with bees imported from Britain in spite of the ban on all importations of bees into Ireland, that was in force at the time.
In Ireland, of 20 species of Bumblebees, 6 species are threatened with extinction with 3 species, near threatened. In Ireland, there are 77 species of solitary bees, there are 24 species threatened with extinction and a further 7 species near threatened. Hoverflies of which there are 180 species, 20% are threatened with extinction.
Making Co. Waterford Pollinator friendly.
Pages 16 and 17 of the report outlines the pressures contributing to the decline of our pollinators as follows:
“Maintaining pollination service requires providing a sufficient abundance and diversity of food plants across the landscape for our pollinators from early spring to late autumn.” (page 16). Co. WBKA applauds Waterford City and County Council in it’s recent moves on the Waterford Greenway Project and the planting of native and pollinator friendly plants along the Greenway etc. Indeed Bernadette Guest and Project Leader, Gerry Walsh, attended a tree planting ceremony with Co. WBKA, when a crab apple tree and Pollinator Friendly Trees were donated to the Greenway. This is the first of what is hoped to be an ongoing relationship between the Co. WBKA and the project, over the coming years.
(A very special thanks to the Tree Council of Ireland who donated the trees through the Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations, and Mike McKenna of Blackwater Garden Centre, for the donation of a Crab Apple Tree.) Initiatives such as this need to spread throughout the County.
Pests and disease – Sickness. “Vigilance and swift action from those working with managed pollinators and assessing potential future threats is essential.” Page 17. The report acknowledges that the importation of managed pollinators to Ireland can be responsible for the introduction of pests and diseases to existing resident pollinators. Emerging pests and diseases are considered to be one of the key risks to wild pollinators, particularly bee populations. Under it’s Heritage policy, Waterford City and County Council, could discourage the importation of pollinating bees and honey bees thus reducing possibility of disease and alien species.
The Co. WBKA acknowledges the Council’s recent leasing of publicly owned land to the Co. Waterford Beekeepers’ Association for the siting of it’s newly established Association Apiary on the outskirts of Dungarvan.
Page 18 of the Plan, “The most cost-effective option is to develop an Irish landscape where pollinators can survive and thrive. This will also have positive knock-on benefits for other biodiversity and ecosystem services, but it will require a series of actions that need to be implemented. A shortage of nesting sites and suitable food plants are among the main drivers of decline in wild pollinators. This could be reversed by large-scale restoration of pollinator habitat – essentially this means a collective effort to create a mosaic of nesting areas and flower -rich habitat across our landscape to support both wild pollinators and managed honeybees. This is the solution proposed by this Plan.”
We in Co. WBKA agree with the statement in the plan that the most cost-effective solution is to change management practices to increase the wildflowers that grow naturally within the landscape; and to retain or create natural nesting habitat for our pollinators.
We suggest further measures as outlined in the plan and below.
“The needs of managed honeybees are very different to those of wild pollinators. Beekeepers can move colonies to where forage sources are available, and can provide extra resources over the winter. Wild pollinators are much more dependent on their immediate environment. All bee larvae are fed exclusively on pollen, with nectar providing an important energy source for the adults. Wild bees need pockets of flower-rich habitat across the landscape (including grasslands, sand dunes, peat-lands, woodlands, parks, roadside verges, hedgerows and gardens) to provide them with nesting areas and a diverse diet. While common perennial wildflowers like clovers, vetches and knapweeds are excellent food sources, many bedding plants and annuals are not rich in pollen or nectar, and provide little support to our pollinators. Well-managed hedgerows can provide good food sources, safe places to nest, and linking corridors between different habitats. They are a vital resource for maintaining pollinator populations, particularly within intensively managed farmland. Road verges can also provide a refuge for wildflowers and if managed appropriately can be an important wildlife corridor. Hoverfly larvae are very varied in how they feed. Many species feed on insect crop pests like aphids, leaf hoppers and scale insects. Others feed on plants, or on dead or decaying organic matter. Many adult hoverflies feed on pollen/nectar during their very short life stage which generally lasts from a few days to a few weeks.” Page 13 of the Report. Waterford City and County Council can adopt the suggested measures outline above to help meet the needs of all pollinators and honey bees, across the County.
The Co. Waterford Beekeepers’ Association would be happy to clarify any of the aforementioned points and would be happy to work with the Council to raise the awareness of the people of Waterford and to work towards making all of Co. Waterford a pollinator friendly county. We would like to acknowledge the work of the ALL IRELAND POLLINATORS PLAN, 2015 -2020, and we advocate it’s full adoption as part of the Waterford City and Council Heritage Plan into the future, in addition to the suggestions made by the Co. WBKA in this document.
We also acknowledge that the Plan formed the structure around which our observation herein has been made.
Co. WBKA
Heritage Ireland 2030 Consultation Document – download
Please note that the deadline for submissions on Heritage Ireland 2030 has been extended until 31 March 2019.Have your say
Have your say by email (heritageireland2030@chg.gov.ie)
Have your say online (survey monkey)
Have your say by post (Custom House, Dublin 1, D01 W6XO)
Attend a workshop
Please check out the link above and ensure your voice is heard in formulating policy to be in place until 2030.
Sample of some of the points made at Local Level in Co. Waterford in 2016 to encourage your ideas; feel free to copy and include in your observations!
The National Biodiversity Data Centre needs to be adequately funded to function and perform its role. Please add this sentence in your comment to The National Heritage Plan as requested by Una Fitzpatrick
The Co. Waterford Beekeepers’ Association, make these observations in conjunction with THE ALL IRELAND POLLINATORS PLAN, 2015 -2020. http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/All-Ireland%20Pollinator%20Plan%202015-2020.pdf
We Beekeepers have been aware for many years of the challenges facing honey bees and other pollinating insects, and the decline of these insects so vital for food production and crop pollination.
The observations we make are based on the five objectives of the aforementioned Plan.
- Making Ireland Pollinator friendly; We suggest making Co. Waterford Pollinator friendly.
- Raising awareness of pollinators and how to protect them. That the Council raises awareness across Co. Waterford of pollinators and how to protect them.
- Managed pollinators – supporting beekeepers and growers; that the Council supports beekeepers and growers directly.
- Expanding our knowledge on pollinators and pollination service. That the Council campaign with the Bio-Diversity centre, and other stakeholders to expand the public’s knowledge of pollinators and pollination service.
- Collecting evidence to track change and measure success. That the Council works with beekeepers, the Bio-Diversity centre and other stakeholders, to collect evidence to track change and measure success.
One hundred crops provide 90% of the world’s food with seventy-one of these one hundred crops pollinated by bees. The report acknowledges that in Ireland, the honey bee is the most important managed pollinator and that the role of the honey bee as a pollinator in Ireland is of far greater economic importance than it’s role in producing honey.
The report confirms that both managed and wild pollinators are on the decrease in Ireland; honeybees since the arrival of the parasitic mite Varroa destructor, in 1997, with bees imported from Britain in spite of the ban on all importations of bees into Ireland, that was in force at the time.
In Ireland, of 20 species of Bumblebees, 6 species are threatened with extinction with 3 species, near threatened. In Ireland, there are 77 species of solitary bees, there are 24 species threatened with extinction and a further 7 species near threatened. Hoverflies of which there are 180 species, 20% are threatened with extinction.
Making Co. Waterford Pollinator friendly.
Pages 16 and 17 of the report outlines the pressures contributing to the decline of our pollinators as follows:
- Habitat loss, fragmentation and degradation – Homelessness. “Effective pollination by wild pollinators requires crop land to be interspersed with more natural areas requiring a landscape scale/farm wide approach.” (page 16). Waterford City and County Council is well placed to spear head an initiative to re-establish habitats for pollinators, and can lead other counties and regions by it’s example.
- General declines in wildflowers within the landscape – Hunger.
“Maintaining pollination service requires providing a sufficient abundance and diversity of food plants across the landscape for our pollinators from early spring to late autumn.” (page 16). Co. WBKA applauds Waterford City and County Council in it’s recent moves on the Waterford Greenway Project and the planting of native and pollinator friendly plants along the Greenway etc. Indeed Bernadette Guest and Project Leader, Gerry Walsh, attended a tree planting ceremony with Co. WBKA, when a crab apple tree and Pollinator Friendly Trees were donated to the Greenway. This is the first of what is hoped to be an ongoing relationship between the Co. WBKA and the project, over the coming years.
(A very special thanks to the Tree Council of Ireland who donated the trees through the Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations, and Mike McKenna of Blackwater Garden Centre, for the donation of a Crab Apple Tree.) Initiatives such as this need to spread throughout the County.
Pests and disease – Sickness. “Vigilance and swift action from those working with managed pollinators and assessing potential future threats is essential.” Page 17. The report acknowledges that the importation of managed pollinators to Ireland can be responsible for the introduction of pests and diseases to existing resident pollinators. Emerging pests and diseases are considered to be one of the key risks to wild pollinators, particularly bee populations. Under it’s Heritage policy, Waterford City and County Council, could discourage the importation of pollinating bees and honey bees thus reducing possibility of disease and alien species.
The Co. WBKA acknowledges the Council’s recent leasing of publicly owned land to the Co. Waterford Beekeepers’ Association for the siting of it’s newly established Association Apiary on the outskirts of Dungarvan.
- Pesticides – Poisoning. Waterford City and County Council, through it’s own landscape management can play a role and lead the county by example in avoiding where possible the use of herbicides, pesticides and insecticides, in particular neonicotinoids, which are detrimental to the well-being of pollinators and honeybees. The Heritage Plan, could raise public awareness on the effects of such chemicals, through publicity, schools, and a local media campaign.
- Climate change – Changing environment. Page 17 of the report, also advises that “ It is important to increase the connectivity and quality of pollinator friendly habitats so that pollinators can move in response to climate change and we retain as much resilience within our ecosystems as possible.” The use of locally sourced seeds etc when planting meadows and wild grass verges is advocated. Pollinator highways, around the county would allow for such connectivity and the easy movement of pollinators in response to climate change and sourcing of food etc.
Page 18 of the Plan, “The most cost-effective option is to develop an Irish landscape where pollinators can survive and thrive. This will also have positive knock-on benefits for other biodiversity and ecosystem services, but it will require a series of actions that need to be implemented. A shortage of nesting sites and suitable food plants are among the main drivers of decline in wild pollinators. This could be reversed by large-scale restoration of pollinator habitat – essentially this means a collective effort to create a mosaic of nesting areas and flower -rich habitat across our landscape to support both wild pollinators and managed honeybees. This is the solution proposed by this Plan.”
We in Co. WBKA agree with the statement in the plan that the most cost-effective solution is to change management practices to increase the wildflowers that grow naturally within the landscape; and to retain or create natural nesting habitat for our pollinators.
We suggest further measures as outlined in the plan and below.
- That the Council plant more patches of urban areas with wildflowers. Evidence from Scotland showed that patches planted with wildflower seed mix had x25 more flowers, x50 more bumblebees and x13 more hoverflies compared with plots where wildflower seed had not been sown.
- That the Council raise public awareness and encourage the incorporation of pollinator friendly plants into gardens. Nineteen of the 25 different plant species trialled in British gardens were found to be of particular value to insect pollinators.
- And that the council encourage the public to, and itself on public property, allow lawn weeds to flower. Evidence from the USA showed that Dandelions and White Clover on lawns supported 37 species of bee. White Clover was important for bumblebees and honeybees, whereas solitary bees, honeybees and hoverflies predominated on Dandelion. (Note that it is important to use the wild white clover that predominated the Irish countryside in the past as other types of clover are not as pollinator friendly as the smaller headed wild white clover.)
- That the Council encourage the incorporation of wildflower strips within cropped fields and on publicly owned lands/roadside verges etc. Evidence from the USA showed that wildflower strips sown within 3m of blueberry crops can, after three to four years, attract almost double the abundance of wild bees and hoverflies, and increase fruit set by 10% with an estimated net profit of US$8,750 per 0.8 ha of wildflower patches after 10 years.
- That the Council encourage the public to allow field margins to grow wild. Evidence from the UK showed that naturally regenerated field margins supported over 2.5 times the abundance of flowers and 3-16 times the abundance of bees, compared to field margins with reduced spraying regimes and no input of fertilizer59.
- That the Council encourage the incorporation of clovers into grass-dominated swards, parks etc. Evidence from the UK showed that permanent pasture sown annually with a mix of legumes, or grass and legumes, supported over 6.5 times the abundance of bumblebees compared to seven other grass management options.
- That the Council encourage the incorporation of artificial solitary bee nests on its lands and into urban gardens. Evidence from the UK and Ireland shows that nest boxes can be occupied by small numbers of cavity nesting solitary bees61,62. In Ireland, solitary bee nest boxes will only attract the very small number of species who are cavity nesters.
- That the Council prepare and allow suitable habitats, bare ground and south facing slopes of bare substrate, as described below for solitary bees for nesting across the county and within cities and towns in Co. Waterford. ( Over 80% (62 species) of Ireland’s solitary bees are mining bees, who simply require bare ground or stable south facing slopes of bare substrate (soil, sand, clay or peat) for nesting. )
- That the Council raise public awareness by having “pollinator friendly” roundabouts. (Examples of this from around the country as outlined in the Plan page 20, states “that local authorities are increasingly embracing pollinator friendly management plans, and transport authorities have adopted biodiversity initiatives along national road networks. Local schemes (e.g., Don’t Mow Let it Grow; Wexford County Council - Life Lives On The Edge) have encouraged pollinator friendly actions along roadside verges and in public spaces. Local initiatives in schools and communities (e.g., Limerick’s Buzzing) have also increased; and the public is becoming more aware of actions they can take in their own gardens to help Ireland’s pollinators.”
- Highlighting Pollinator friendly trees, plants and nesting sites with signs/plaques will assist in raising public awareness of pollinator friendly initiatives spearheaded by the Council throughout the County.
- That the Council organise an information conference/ special one day event to bring together stakeholders throughout the county to promote “The Pollinator Plan, 2015 – 2020”. This would serve to heighten public awareness also.
- That the Council, with stakeholders host special days with young people / schools to visit eco sites with pollinator habitats /nesting sites etc to raise awareness. A special eco park / meadow for this purpose within the county would allow this.
“The needs of managed honeybees are very different to those of wild pollinators. Beekeepers can move colonies to where forage sources are available, and can provide extra resources over the winter. Wild pollinators are much more dependent on their immediate environment. All bee larvae are fed exclusively on pollen, with nectar providing an important energy source for the adults. Wild bees need pockets of flower-rich habitat across the landscape (including grasslands, sand dunes, peat-lands, woodlands, parks, roadside verges, hedgerows and gardens) to provide them with nesting areas and a diverse diet. While common perennial wildflowers like clovers, vetches and knapweeds are excellent food sources, many bedding plants and annuals are not rich in pollen or nectar, and provide little support to our pollinators. Well-managed hedgerows can provide good food sources, safe places to nest, and linking corridors between different habitats. They are a vital resource for maintaining pollinator populations, particularly within intensively managed farmland. Road verges can also provide a refuge for wildflowers and if managed appropriately can be an important wildlife corridor. Hoverfly larvae are very varied in how they feed. Many species feed on insect crop pests like aphids, leaf hoppers and scale insects. Others feed on plants, or on dead or decaying organic matter. Many adult hoverflies feed on pollen/nectar during their very short life stage which generally lasts from a few days to a few weeks.” Page 13 of the Report. Waterford City and County Council can adopt the suggested measures outline above to help meet the needs of all pollinators and honey bees, across the County.
The Co. Waterford Beekeepers’ Association would be happy to clarify any of the aforementioned points and would be happy to work with the Council to raise the awareness of the people of Waterford and to work towards making all of Co. Waterford a pollinator friendly county. We would like to acknowledge the work of the ALL IRELAND POLLINATORS PLAN, 2015 -2020, and we advocate it’s full adoption as part of the Waterford City and Council Heritage Plan into the future, in addition to the suggestions made by the Co. WBKA in this document.
We also acknowledge that the Plan formed the structure around which our observation herein has been made.
Co. WBKA
