This article is from page 15 of the 2014-09-02 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 15 JPG
AROUND 150 Irish people will soon be offered the chance of receiving a unique “Burren transplant” of orchid rich Burren land, thanks to a groundbreaking new conservation scheme.
Acres of orchid rich Burren habitat will be destroyed in the months ahead to make way for the extension of the M-18 motorway. Two local conservation groups, the BurrenBeo Trust and Conservation Volunteers Galway, have come up with an ambitious plan to transplant large sections of this land to public and private gardens all over the country.
The Burren is one of the world’s leading habitats for orchids. Twenty four of the twenty eight species of Irish orchids are all grow within the Burren, making it, by far, Ireland’s richest habitat for the rare flowers.
The two group are inviting appli cations from members of the public who wish to receive a free transplant of this unique Burren land. The groups are also in negotiation with a number of local authorities with a view to transplanting larger sections of the habitat into public land.
“The road is being built and all the compulsory purchase has already been done, so there is nothing to be lost from trying to preserve as much of this unique habitat as we can,” said Brigid Barry of the BurrenBeo Trust.
“The Burren is such an amazing habitat for orchids. It contains 24 of the 28 Irish orchids and we know that the land marked for transplant con- tains at least 15 species, but I would suspect that there are more.
“There are basically no orchids in Irish grasslands. There may be swamps in parts of the country where you might find two or three species or orchids, but noting like we have in the Burren.”
In order to obtain a free four foot squared Burren transplant, landowners much have a suitable, free draining limestone area when the land can be transplanted to.
“Orchids just don’t exist outside the Burren, they just don’t, it is such an important habitat for orchids in Ireland,” said Peter Butler of Conservation Volunteers.
“They will not survive the construction of the motorway, that’s for sure, so this is about conserving as much as we can. But we’re not giving it away for people to put in a pot in their garden. They will need to have suitable, free-draining, limestone ground.”
Anyone interested in obtaining a free Burren orchid transplant should email volunteer@burrenbeo.com.