Habitat protection, restoration and creation

Sizzling Summer & Bumper Harvest

Update published on: September 30, 2018

We have had a very busy summer out and about in the tree nursery and wider Ring of Gullion. We ran a Gardening with Wildlife Course in the spare beds of the tree nursery, planting potatoes, squash, carrots, parsnip and onions. We also created a lovely wildflower garden, complete with pond in a former bull rush bed, area of the nursery. The wildflower area encourages lots of useful insects in, which helped control pests on the fruit, vegetables and trees.

May saw us out with a determined volunteer, tackling the Giant Hogweed growing in the Ring of Gullion; our efforts are finally starting to make a difference with the Giant Hogweed becoming less frequent in the areas that we can spray regularly.

July had everything absolutely baking. The combined effects of the drought and heat wave took it’s toll on our young trees, but most in the nursery seem to have survived, though sadly we can’t say the same for ones that had been planted out the previous winter.

Still the heat did wonders for the growing rates of the vegetables and the trees that could cope with drying weather. We had a bumper crop of potatoes, squash and tomatoes.

Once the trees go into hibernation, it’ll be time to start finding permanent homes for many of them.

Winter in the Ring of Gullion

Update published on: December 31, 2017

In the tree nursery we have been working hard to process this autumn’s bounty of seeds and nuts. We collected a good crop of hazel nuts and acorns, as well as sloes, crab apples, alder and hawthorn. Hopefully, we’ll have lots of young saplings come May.

We have also started the process of digging up our one and two year old saplings, to measure them to see if they are ready for planting out. If they aren’t big enough their roots are checked and trimmed if they are too long and then they are planted in the nursery for another growing season. Once we have all the trees dug up and counted, those ready for planting out will be freely available to good homes in the Ring of Gullion.

Glassdrummond Community Woodland and Wildlife Safari

Update published on: August 27, 2017

Standing next to St Brigid’s church in Glassdrummond, a little plantation woodland had become a dark dank and litter strewn eyesore, but even 10 years ago the local Parish Priest could see the potential of Glassdrummond wood as a community resource. Father King then worked doggedly to find funding and community buy-in to improve the forest. With the aid of the AONB officer, a successful application was made to the Challenge Fund to create a footpath and access into the wood in 2015.

Once access was improved the Landscape Partnership worked with the primary school and a number of local people to set up a properly constituted community group who were able to negotiate a Permissive Path Agreement with the church which enabled Outdoor Recreation NI to class the route as a quality short walk.

Work over the following year with the community volunteers consisted of improving the biodiversity of the woodland by removing invasive cherry laurel, clearing undergrowth and removing at least two skip fulls of rubbish.  Over the winter a training course in hedge-laying created a traditional beautifully laid hedge around part of the site. In February a tree surgeon removed a number of large spruce trees to open areas of the wood and let the light into the forest floor. We were delighted to find bluebells, wild violets and wild raspberries all sprouting where dark shade had previously prevented growth.

Plans were hatched at a series of workshops with the primary school for the features that the children wanted to see in the woodland and a fabulous “Day in the Woods” event led by Celia Spouncer and David Thompson also acted as a catalyst for ideas. David also wrote a 10-year Biodiversity Management Plan for the wood after consulting with the community.

In July the Youth Rangers created a dead hedge around an old quarry to keep safe the edges of what was to be the future outdoor classroom and started to build a “secret path” into the depths of the wood for the childrens’ games.

The next stage of work was carried out by The Conservation Volunteers (TCV) who created all the infrastructure of the outdoor classroom, built some 5-star insect hotels, cleared out some rain-fed ponds, and enlarged a series of ditches to create a pond- dipping zone. A picnic site and Den zone has also been created featuring a lovely willow sculpture teepee.

The woodland was formally opened on 27th August at a community picnic and over 80 people attended taking part in a huge range of wildlife activities and listening to a story teller.

Work to further improve the biodiversity of the wood will continue over the coming winter

Tree nursery woes and triumphs

Update published on: March 31, 2017

We’ve had an interesting quarter in the tree nursery, we finished off the last of the seed processing and planting and waited for the warmer weather to arrive to see what spring would bring us. The warmer weather came and went, came and went again, with wild temperature fluctuations which confused most of the plants in the tree nursery and caused havoc with our hazel and willow cuttings; killing off, all but a few.

Not to be deterred we waited to near the end of February, when the established trees started to bud, to redo our cuttings; so far, so good. During February we also took a trip to The Conservation Volunteer’s tree nursery in Clandeboye Estate to learn how an established tree nursery works. It was a very informative visit and has given us plenty of new techniques to try next autumn.

The crab apple saplings have gotten off to a good start in our polytunnel, where they were kept over winter to protect them from the worst of the weather. We should have a good crop come autumn. Outside however, the beds and seed trays remain disappointingly empty.

We have also continued the work of improving the biodiversity of Jonesborough forest by removing unwanted gorse as well as planting a few saplings in the cleared areas. We also planted a new hedge at St. Jude’s church, Camlough.

One Million Trees in a Day project

Update published on: February 13, 2017

The Ring of Gullion once again played it’s part in the reforestation of Ireland by acting as a distribution point for the One Million Trees in a Day project. With help from keen volunteers over 14,000 trees were bundled into orders and distributed at the weekend in a partnership between the Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership, the Woodland Trust and an All-Ireland initiative called One Million Trees in One Day.

The end of our first year in the tree nursery

Update published on: September 30, 2016

We’ve reached the end of our first growing season in the tree nursery.  The majority of the saplings which were transferred from Slieve Gullion have gone from strength to strength.  A few of them didn’t overly appreciate the move, but we are hoping they will perk up next spring.

We have 111 saplings, by far our most successful species has been the Alder, of which we have 68.  We also have Blackthorn, Hawthorn, Rowan and Elder.  The majority of our wildflowers have now left the nursery and been ‘plug planted’ out in Forkhill Plantin and St. Jude’s Church, Camlough.  With luck these will flower in the spring and add to the wildflowers already on the sites.

Since August we have been busy gathering seeds and berries, we have a good collection of Elder, Rowan, Hawthorn and Broom.  Some of the broom collected in August has already sprouted and we are hoping that the winter frosts won’t kill them.  We’re also experimenting with Plum and Damson seeds.  Last week we gathered the first of our oak, it’s looking like this year will be a good year for acorns, so hopefully next spring we’ll have a lot oak saplings to tend.  Oak can support over 280 different invertebrate species so it’s an excellent tree to grow if you want to increase an area’s biodiversity.

Fish in the Classroom

Update published on: May 27, 2016

Four schools in the Ring of Gullion area participated in our Fish in the Classroom project supported by the Ballinderry River Trust.  The schools received everything they needed to look after fish from the egg stage through to fry; when they are ready for release.

After the eggs hatch the small trout are called alevin and have a yolk sac attached, which nourishes them for the first few weeks of life.  Once the yolk sac is absorbed they are called fry and are ready for release into local rivers.

The pupils who had the young trout in their classrooms took a trip to local rivers to help release their fry and examine the river life that the fish would be sharing their home with.

The Fish in the Classroom project enables pupils to examine life cycles up close and gives them the opportunity to take a greater interest in their local rivers and wider environment.

The programme will be running every November so if you would like your school to take part, please get in touch through the Contact Us page.

Big tree giveaway 2016

Update published on: February 13, 2016

Over 14km (61,000 saplings) of hedgerows and 11,000 saplings were given away at Slieve Gullion on Saturday 20^thFebruary, to farmers, householders and community groups.  The crisp winter’s day saw the culmination of the Gullion’s Green Woodland Scheme, which is being run by Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership together with the One Million Trees in a Day project and the Woodland Trust. More than 20 volunteers helped run the mass tree give-away and loaded trees into everything from bicycle carriers to tractors. Click here for the full news article.

Gullion’s Green Woodlands and Hedgerows

Update published on: November 2, 2015

The Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership Scheme aims to increase woodland cover in south Armagh. We have partnered up with various organisations in order to achieve our aims. Click here to download this leaflet to find out more information about how to get free trees in 2015/2016 planting season.

School tree planting

Update published on: November 9, 2015

Despite the miserable weather this morning, our Volunteer and Outreach Officer visited Cloughoge and St. Laurence O’Toole’s Primary Schools to help them plant new trees in their grounds.  The pupils rose admirably to the challenge, wrapping up in waterproofs and wellies before braving the muddy ground outside.  On the plus side all the rain over the weekend had made the ground nice and soft so it was very easy to plant the trees.

Pupils at Cloughoge Primary School planted some Oak, Hazel, Rowan and Blackthorn, and pupils at St. Laurence O’Toole’s Primary School planted Rowan.  Working as a team, the adults dug the holes, the pupils planted the trees and placed a supporting stake and tree guard over them.  Given a few years of growth the trees will provide an excellent habitat for invertebrates as well as providing fruit and nuts in the autumn for birds and mammals.  Twenty trees were also delivered to St. Paul’s High School, Bessbrook.

The trees were provided through the Woodland Trust’s Community Tree Packs.  They have a selection of packs which community groups can apply for depending on their needs; tree packs are available each spring and autumn.  If you are interested in applying for a tree pack for your community you can find information on the Woodland Trust’s website.  We are also facilitating the provision of free trees through Gullion’s Green Woodlands & Hedgerows; the deadline is midnight on 25th November.

Invasive species survey training

Update published on: April 30, 2015

A number of volunteers successfully completed invasive species survey training.  The training provided volunteers with the key identification features of the most commonly encountered invasive species as well as guidance on survey techniques.  The volunteers’ new skills will be put to use over the summer months.

National Plant Monitoring Scheme Workshop

Update published on: April 28, 2016

The Ring of Gullion team are looking for volunteers to take part in the National Plant Monitoring Scheme. Designed by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI), the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Plantlife and the Join Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the scheme will help provide an annual indication of changes in plant abundance and biodiversity.

Newry Mourne and Down District Council through the Ring of Gullion AONB and Landscape Partnership Scheme provided training to volunteers to take part in this great scheme in the Pastoral Centre, Jonesborough in April 2016 and August 2015 in Crossmaglen Community Centre.

Plants are the foundations of habitats and ecosystems, but we are currently lacking valuable information about changes in plants across the country and especially the Ring of Gullion.

The survey will help to provide robust evidence regarding which widespread plants are increasing or declining, and where. This is where the public comes in. We are looking for volunteers to carry out surveys in different parts of the Ring of Gullion.

This scheme is a newly developed habitat-based, volunteer-lead plant monitoring scheme. The aim is to collect data yearly and volunteers are randomly allocated a reasonably local 1km square to visit. For more information on the National Plant Monitoring Scheme in Northern Ireland, visit nmni.com/cedar/surveys/NPMS

Ring of Gullion River Watch Project

Update published on: July 27, 2016

Training for the Ring of Gullion Riverfly Monitoring Project project took place on 27^th July in Crossmaglen Community Centre.  Taking part in the project  involves monthly surveying using a three-minute health check with riverflies as a barometer for water quality examining the abundance of pollution sensitive riverfly larvae.

The Ring of Gullion has joined a national scheme, The Riverfly Partnership, to monitor water quality in the area’s rivers. Volunteers were trained how to sample and identify the invertebrate life present in the gravel and silt on the river bed. Many of these tiny creatures are sensitive to pollution so their presence and numbers help indicate the quality of the water.

The project will enable statutory bodies such as the Northern Ireland Environment Agency to respond quickly to sudden, severe water quality issues such as pesticide spills. Frequent sampling also acts as a neighbourhood river watch scheme deterring would-be polluters. In addition to helping address actute pollutions events, volunteers  have the potential to make a significant contribution to long term plans, for example local delivery of Water Framework Directive outcomes.

Community members are river custodian, they have a unique knowledge of their local rivers, and using a robust scientific health check their expertise can make a real, noticeable difference to how we monitor river quality. Healthy riverfly populations are a sure sign of healthy rivers, which means better water quality for everyone.

The monitoring programme is part of the on-going conservation work being undertaken by the Ring of Gullion AONB and Landscape Partnership in its bid to improve the overall river environment in the area.

The training was provided in partnership with the Ballinderry Rivers Trust, the Riverfly Partnership and Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

To find out more about the National Riverfly Partnership visit http://www.riverflies.org/.