TU835 Natural Environment Project pilot fieldtrip to Ceide Coast, County Mayo
TU835 Environmental Management Years 2 and 3 undertook a pilot extended fieldtrip to Céide Coast Eco Campus, Ballycastle from Tuesday 3rd to Friday 6th May 2022.
The field trip focused on what is ‘wilderness’ and what do we mean by ‘rewilding’? Might these be relevant concepts in understanding and managing the countryside in the west of Ireland?
Students visited remote areas with conifer plantations and blanket bog at Wild Nephin, Ballycroy National Park, and met with Project Manager Sue Callaghan, National Parks and Wildlife Service, to find out about key considerations in conservation management planning: overgrazing and degradation of peat, invasive species and the legacy of conifer plantations. Biodiversity – native plants and animals.
To conserve our native species and understand and address biodiversity loss, we need to be able to identify plants and animals and assess their significance in the wild. Some species are easily identifiable in the field; others require closer examination and we collected samples of flowering plants and bryophytes (mosses and liverworts, such as Pellia neesiana, below) for examination in the Eco Campus lab.
On the edge of peatlands at Wild Nephin, we found Lousewort (Pedicularis sylvatica) and Marsh Violet (Viola palustris, above) in flower. At Downpatrick Head, cushions of Thrift (Armeria maritima) dominated the trampled headland. These plants are deep-rooted and have a low growth form so they can withstand drought and trampling. In the sand dunes at Kilcummin, Common Dog-violet (Viola riviniana), Primrose (Primula vulgaris) and Common Bird’s-foot-trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) were in flower, and we noticed an Oak Eggar moth caterpillar (above) feeding on Hawthorn.
The pilot field trip was led by Lecturers Dr Alan Gilmer and Dr Melinda Lyons, with support from Dr Ken Boyle and Dr Marian Coll.
The assistance of Ray Tighe and the Céide Coast Eco Campus, Ballycastle and Céide Coast Community CLG in hosting and facilitating the 2022 Natural Environment Project field trip is gratefully appreciated.
The Natural Environment Project field trip now forms part of the newly reviewed TU835 curriculum, which will be delivered from September 2022.