The old Ballast Pit in Skerries is now under threat from a proposal to build a swimming pool there. The formation and position of this site make it a special habitat for wildlife.Originally a sand pit, it was then used as a dump for cinders and ash from the old steam railway engines. Over the best part of one hundred and fifty years this base has been covered by a thin layer of organic material to create a special type of soil for plants.

As well as this soil and the sandy banks, its position beside the railway track means that it has become a haven for plant seeds sucked along by passing trains. Some of these seeds in time germinate and grow to add to the variety of flora in the area. This diversity of flora in time attracts new fauna. All this has led to a rich and varied collection of flora and fauna in the Ballast Pit.

While it may not contain any species that are endangered in Ireland, it certainly contains a unique mixture of plants, from Melilot (rarely found outside Co. Dublin) to Quaking-grass (common in the midlands but rare and local elsewhere). A botany student from U.C.D. counted nearly 100 species of plants in the Ballast Pit one morning. How many were missed?

Besides its ecological importance the Ballast Pit is a riot of colour during the late spring, summer and autumn. The large, round, white heads of Ox Eye Daisy contrasting with the spikes of Purple -Loosestrife (Irish Earball caitin).

The yellow flowers of Lady's Bedstraw was said to be used by the Virgin Mary as bedding when she gave birth to Jesus, and the golden flowers of Tutsan with their spectacular stamens are interspersed with the graceful feathery heads and spikes of the many species of grasses found here. The leaves of Tutsan were pressed in olden days between the pages of Bibles for the aromatic scent they give off when dry.

Here and there the flowers of Pyramid Orchids show their purple while Meadow Blue Butterflies flit above the ground. The delicate pink trumpets of Convolvulus are easily spotted while the wild Pansy (Irish Sail chuach) symbol of remembrance, hides in the undergrowth. The banks are dotted with the Scabious and the bright yellow of Bird's-foot-trefoil, a food plant of several species of butterfly. Restharrow (Irish Sreang-bogha), so called because it could stop the horses when tilling grows on the floor.

One of the more secretive plants found in the Ballast Pit is Pearlworth, a pretty little mossy creeper. It is famed in tradition as the plant Christ first walked on after the Resurrection. It is attributed the power to deter the fairies when they are bent on mischief and according to tradition has the power to attract and bind a lover.

These are but a few of the species found in this special mixture of flora and fauna. Many of the plants are used by butterflies, moths and other insects as food, and all are threatened by man's use of herbicides and insecticides. Thankfully these chemicals have not found their way into the Ballast pit.

The Ballast Pit has already been reduced to under half its original size by Man's encroachment. A Gaelic pitch and a filled in and grassed area now occupy one end. This end has lost most of its use as a wildlife habitat, with the exception of some of the bank around the pitch. These banks with the proposed building of a pool will probably be considered unsightly and cleaned up.

Even if the building of a pool does not completely destroy the rest of the Ballast Pit, our desire for a tidy town will soon complete the job. The image of Skerries will have to be maintained and the so-called efforts to "clean up" will leave an unrecognisable hole in our local wildlife.

Flower tubs and hanging baskets will soon be followed in quick succession by landscaping with flowerbeds and lawns destroying the last vestige of this valuable wildlife habitat.