On a warm June evening, a group of nature enthusiasts took off on a walking biodiversity tour in Laois, not of its woodlands or bogs, but surprisingly around the busy town of Portlaoise.
The event was led by local Ecologist Dr Fiona MacGowan, who has cowritten the town's first ever Biodiversity Action Plan 2023 - 2028. More below photo gallery by Denis Byrne.
The Biodiversity Walk was held to highlight the many positive steps taken to enhance biodiversity in Portlaoise started at the Top Square rambled around the many biodiversity areas in Portlaoise finishing up in Fitzmaurice Place.
The Laois PPN community umbrella group, in collaboration with Portlaoise Tidy Towns, held the walking tour.
Dr Fiona MacGowan praised the town for its huge changes to battle the biodiversity extinction crisis.
"We had a great wander around Portlaoise town catching the highlights of the many biodiversity actions of Portlaoise TidyTowns. We got to watch the aerial acrobatics of some of the town's avian residents - swifts, swallows, and house martins and to hear some of the amazing facts about their lives.
"We studied the beautiful native Irish wildflowers that grow on the esker that is the town's historic Ridge graveyard such as the gorgeous Greater knapweed, the delicate wild carrot, the beautiful mauve Field scabious and the hay scented Lady's bedstraw.
"We also discussed how much more sustainable it is to use perennial, pollinator-friendly plants in the planting schemes compared to the pollinator-unfriendly annuals of old planting plans - less time and less costs involved for all.
"We chatted about the great help and ideas available at www.pollinators.ie and all went home with some terrific nature swatches from the national Biodiversity Data Centre courtesy of Laois PPN," the ecologist said.
Ms MacGowan along with Brian Gaynor, of Green Pine Consultants, were commissioned by Portlaoise Tidy Towns to undertake their recently launched new Biodiversity Action Plan 2023 - 2028.
“We would like to thank the wonderful community champions Portlaoise TidyTowns who commissioned the Portlaoise Biodiversity Action Plan. The BAP was funded by Community Foundation Ireland who are supporting community volunteers all over Ireland. Also, many thanks to Laois PPN and Laois County Council for enthusiastically supporting the BAP.
"The Biodiversity Crisis is daunting and we can feel powerless but so much can be achieved when we work together as evidenced by the changes made across Portlaoise town for the benefit of biodiversity e.g. changed grass-mowing regimes resulting in natural wildflower meadows such as that in the People's Park; biodiversity awareness-raising signs along the outer ring road; greening the grey with pollinator-friendly planting at many roundabouts; pollinator-friendly crocus bulb planting along several access roads to the town, thousands of native trees planted across the town and many more," she said.
Vincent Booth is the Secretary of Portlaoise Tidy Towns and Laois PPN Secretariat.
“It was great to see such a good turnout for our biodiversity walk. I'd like to thank Dr Fiona MacGowan for giving of her time and giving such an informative talk. It's so nice to know we have such a variety of biodiversity on our doorstep. I suppose the main message that people can take away from the evening is that everyone can do their bit for the environment no matter how small the action,” he said.
Dan Bergin is Laois PPN Resource Worker.
“I thank Dr MacGowan for sharing her wealth of knowledge and expertise with Community Groups from across Laois during our Biodiversity Walk. This event was part of Laois PPN’s Climate Action Project 2023 which is a yearlong calendar of events which aims to share knowledge, educate and Inspire Climate Action in our Community. Laois PPN wish to commend the volunteers of Portlaoise Tidy Towns Laois who with the support of Laois County Council have enhanced biodiversity in Portlaoise making it a great place to live, work and visit," he said.
Laois PPN has more than 650 member groups from the community, social inclusion and environmental pillars. All registered groups may attend Laois PPN events. Any group wishing to join Laois PPN can complete the application on www.laoisppn.ie
The BAP can be viewed at www.portlaoisetidytowns.ie
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