From butterflies to bees, and birds to bugs, the biodiversity of our hedgerows and gardens is so important for so many reasons.
The impact of the Covid pandemic means that we’re all that bit closer to home for more of the time. And one of the unanticipated benefits is being able to watch at first hand garden birds building their nests and busy bees gathering pollen.
During Biodiversity Week (22nd to 31st May), we’d love you to help us identify how rich the biodiversity is in your part of Leitrim. Thanks to funding from the Heritage Council, Leitrim County Council’s Heritage Office is calling on the whole community to get involved in the week long BioBlitz to discover as many species of plants, animals and fungi as possible in your garden and surrounding area.
This is an informal and fun way to create a snapshot of the variety of life around Leitrim and find out what species we live side by side with. All you need to do to play your part in this scientific survey managed by the National Biodiversity Data Centre is to log all your sightings at Ireland’s Citizen Science Portal. By downloading the app, you can log as you go on your daily walk.
There are no strings attached – no registrations or sign-ups are needed – just a few details about when and where you’ve spotted something interesting or even commonplace, and it will add to the bigger biodiversity picture. Leitrim is currently the second lowest county for sightings so we need your help now to show how diverse our county is!
To get you even more involved, everyone who records their sightings will receive a copy of Gardening for Biodiversity by Juanita Browne produced by Local Authority Heritage Officers across Ireland, with help from the National Parks and Wildlife Service and the Heritage Council. To get your free copy, just drop your local heritage officer a line at smalone@leitrimcoco.ie to let her know how many species you’ve recorded on the portal.
This is a great little project for children and adults to help get inspired by the land around us and raise awareness of how important biodiversity is for our habitat, our wildlife and our humans. And it might change your view of the hedgerow at the side of the road forever!
For more information visit www.leitrimcoco.ie/eng/Community-Culture/Heritage/Natural-Heritage/Leitrim-BioBlitz/ |
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