As part of Brillliant Ballybunion we are running a Wild About Life programme with ecologist Dr Joanne O Brien.
Earlier this summer we had planned to go Dolphin watching but as the weather forecast threatened wind, we decided to reschedule that event and hold a Bioblitz at The Barna Way instead. As it turned out we had a beautiful sunny day with only moderate wind.
Dr Joanne O Brien brought lots of resources to help us identify different species. We divided into different teams, identifying trees, grasses, hedgerow plants, insects, birds and mammals. We took photos on our phone and sketched in our Brilliant Ballybunion journals.
Different species of trees included oak, ash, alder, whitethorn, blackthorn, elder and alder, rowan, scots pine. In the meadows the wild orchids and ragged robin were starting to give way to the clover, buttercup, rush, vetch and grasses.
We compared our bio blitz with a previous study done by Dr Joanne O Brien and Dr Barry O Donoghue. There were some new species but a notable absence of mammals and butterflies on the day. The first hares didn’t show up until the following morning at The Barna Way!
Joanne stressed the importance of protecting space and habitats for nature and the challenges presented by conflicting demands for land use including the production of food. Brilliant Ballybunion tries to integrate biodiversity, creativity and food into everything we do.
We were treated once again to delicious food by chef and artist Stephanie Sheahan from Rituals of Plate. Stephanie harvested the food from the garden and served a great vegetarian feast for everyone.
