TWO LETTERS TO THE SKERRIES NEWS

AND

A SUBMISSION TO NORA OWEN T.D.

 

 

SHED A TEAR FOR LOCAL WILDLIFE AND FILL A SWIMMING POOL

For the last twenty years wildlife in the Skerries area has been under steady pressure from the slow erosion and destruction of specialised habitats. This pressure has steadily increased and it has now come to a point where the wholesale extinction of a large number of species from the area could happen for one building. If the ballast pit - a specialised area of natural habitat - is destroyed, the number of species lost to the area will never be known.

Our desire for flowerbeds and lawns has already eliminated the Common Newt from Skerries to the best of my knowledge. Found originally in swampy land near the roundabout side of the Railway Bridge (now a lawn and flowerbeds) and in a small pool in the Ballast Pit filled when St. Patrick's Close was built. It can no longer be found in the area. The question is how many more species have disappeared without even being noticed.

Thirty years ago two specialised habitats stretched across the south of Skerries; the Reed Beds and Millpond stretching from the Railway Bridge to the Holmpatrick Church and the Ballast Pit stretching from the railway track to the Dublin Road. The Reed Beds are now reduced to a small area at the back of the Old Cabra while the Ballast Pit is reduced to less than half it's original size and under threat of disappearing altogether with the possible construction of a swimming pool.

The Ballast Pit is decried by the North East Swimming Pool Committee as waste ground (in other words it is of no use to man), in fact it is a specialised type of habitat and once destroyed, would be hard if not impossible to recreate. As a specialised type of habitat it supports a range of flora and fauna which is adapted to live on poor, very wet, or very dry often infertile soils, unsuited to life in habitats that the committee would class as useful ground.

It is time we started planning with nature in mind to protect local areas of specialised interest. Instead we destroy them to satisfy our desire to win Tidy Towns competitions or build a swimming pool. By all means build a swimming pool and good luck. There is a large area between the Community Centre and Holmpatrick Church, where a swimming pool would do little harm to our wildlife.

If the Ballast Pit is destroyed Skerries has no right to claim it is interested in wildlife or animal welfare, rather it should earn the title of a town of "environmental vandals". We are all quick to denounce the destruction of wildlife and habitats i.e. the rain forests - often the difference between eating and starving for the peoples involved - and then allow the destruction of our own specialised habitats for pleasure. Let's stop being hypocrites and protect local wildlife first, then we will earn the right to criticise others for destroying their wildlife and natural habitats.

 

 

 

WASTE GROUND - WILDLIFE HABITAT

The North East Fingal Swimming Pool Committee in their publicity, make great stock of the fact that "The Ballast Pit is currently waste ground and there is nothing there which cannot be found in other areas". In my mind this type of attitude is the cause of plants and animals joining the list of endangered species.

By destroying this area they are encroaching on a specialised habitat, and reducing the population of many species. It is this reduction in population that finally reduces the number of any one species and puts its survival in danger. When the survival of a species is in danger on a national level we find sites receiving protection. Efforts should be made to retain species of indigenous flora and fauna on a local level. By taking the attitude that the Ballast Pit is a special type of natural environment and by protecting it we are doing our bit to stop other species joining those already on the endangered list.

The fact that it is so called "waste ground" because it is not profitable to man helps make it important. In an area like Skerries where the useful ground is manicured by man and treated with herbicides, fungicides and pesticides, the Ballast Pit escapes this cocktail of chemicals and man's interference making it a rich and varied feeding ground for wildlife.

By protecting this area we are not only protecting wildlife, we are keeping our rich and varied local flora and fauna, not leaving other areas to protect it on a national level. Lets hope that in their quest for money and pleasure the committee do not leave us all sadder and poorer. Or is their outlook on life that future generations will not miss what they will only see in old manuscripts?

 

 

 

PERSONAL WRITTEN SUBMISSION BY WILLY DUFF

TO

"DUBLIN NORTH IN THE NEW MILLENNIUM"

public meeting, held in the Windmill, Skerries,

on 2nd February 1998

 

The Retention of the rich and Varied flora and Fauna of Fingal

By conserving the areas of habitat which support it.

 

Because of its geographical position as a coastal area, Fingal, with it's offshore islands and its varied coastline (ranging from steep cliffs to long sandy beaches and estuaries) is home or temporary residence to a wide range of species of fauna and supports a wealth of flora. This variety is further added to by the many relatively undisturbed patches of land dotted around the area, the old quarries and sand pits, the wet lands, the woods, etc. Unfortunately these areas, so important to the retention of our rich and varied wildlife are considered to be waste ground, and man's only consideration seems to be to put them to his own use and to turn a quick Buck.

In the dying years of this millennium and in the next, the changing use of land to suit the needs of an ever expanding human population will destroy these areas of so called waste ground and wipe out the species which depend on them for their existence. Not only will the species, which are so dependent on these natural sites, be wiped out: marine species will be driven away from our shores by human disturbance and interference with their natural habitat. By starting to plan and act now Fingal can retain a wide range of species.

Areas of Scientific interest on their own are not enough to protect our wildlife. A complete change of thought is needed in the way we plan for the future, giving consideration to wildlife and the retention of wild areas, especially those areas - no matter how small - which because of their nature have lain undisturbed by agriculture or man's interference for years. Protecting habitat is the only way we will protect our wildlife. Surely a use can be found for at least some of these areas or parts of them which will not drastically change their nature and where disturbance can be limited. (Can we have natural parkland where proper paths replace the present rough paths and people are required to stay on them)?

We in the Fingal area should learn from the mistakes others have made and now regret. It is surprising how, when there is a rich variety of flora and fauna in an area, local people ignore its needs till they reduce it to the commoner species and the so-called pest. When the wildlife of an area is reduced to this level and it is too late to restore it to its proper place, there is a sudden upsurge of interest in nature and its protection. In Fingal where the use of land is rapidly changing from agriculture to urban sprawl, let us learn from others who have gone through this change and protect our wide diversity of flora and fauna, not destroy it and live to regret its destruction.