[Greengage]

There are so many book on the subject its hard to separate the wheat from the chaff.
There is a lot of concern re biodiversity and insects but I see lots of bumble bes around this year. mainly from six species.
remember Silent Spring.
"There was once a town in the heart of America where all life seemed to live in harmony with its surroundings," she wrote, extolling the peace that had reigned "since the first settlers raised their houses." Lately, though, a "strange blight" had cast an "evil spell" that killed the flora and fauna, sickened humans and "silenced the rebirth of new life."
Now in some quarters she has been accused of using dubious statistics and anecdotes. If you Google "silent spring was wrong" you get 38,300.000 hits so what if were wrong again.

[tagwex]

My two penny worth.... on a subject i don;t know a whole lot about.

I have noticed quite a few signs lately in roadside verges explaining the reason why they are not being cut..... being left to the pollinators.

[Greengage]

This may come back to bight them yet.
Why is grass cut.

Grass is often cut to facilitate maintenance work.
• Surface treatment.
• Ditch clearing.
• Forward visibility of essential road signs.
• Some hedgerows cut to improve visibility even though they are the responsibility of the adjacent landowner.
• Grass cutting on motorways and near towns to provide safe line of sight and provide safe stopping distance.
• Green waste not removed left to rot naturally.
• Motorway Vergers are vital as refuges for wildlife including plants/birds/ insects and mammals.
• Site sensitive management is required to maintain verges as wild-flower habitats.
• Weeds not sprayed although done along drainage systems also along road verges to prevent damage to structure of road.
• Knot-weed not cut mapped.
• Indian Balsam usually under different authority.
• Long grass dries can become fire hazard in event of car accident or cigarette butts.
• Also cut to remove saplings and progressive invasive species.
• In towns grass overhanging pavements causes people to walk on roads.
• Cut grass and cycle paths encourages people to walk and cycle.
• Otherwise access to villages would be difficult and dangerous.
• Some areas are designated amenity areas for wildlife and are managed as such the same for roundabouts.
• The all-Ireland pollinator plant has been adopted by councils and their are aims and targets involved.
people think just let it grow for pollinating insects and it will have no knock on effect on their lives but things are never that simple, Lots of things are phases, we have had acid rain and lots of historical pieces were moved indoors especially along the money point corridor remember that. Then we had the big issues with our motorways and its effects on removing trees and fens that all passed. when the economy collapsed there was huge response to GIY even this site had a lot of people on, This year its Biodiversity Bees and more bees over 200 have joined our Beekeeping group but it wont last, So whats next sustainable gardening with a shortage of water, Organic gardening, Holistic gardening, We live in interesting times, I suspect the planet will survive long term but the human race will have its problems it is all very complicated and fascinating but we will never get to write the epilogue as we will be well gone.

[tagwex]

I spotted this on the golf club FB book page..........

Golfing Union of Ireland
June 4 at 11:52 AM ·
The GUI National Golf Academy is creating a safe space for bees - with the help of Beebombs Ireland. An area at the rear and side of the range will be allocated for wild flowers to grow.

Does your club do this? #SaveTheBees

[Greengage]

must be a guilty conscience with all the chemicals they use on golf courses.

[tagwex]

Are you generalising?

[Greengage]

On golf courses I doubt it, How do you assume the fairways are kept green and the greens too as well as worm free. Biodiversity is the in word at the moment and unfortunately bees are the leaders of the pack but there's a lot more to biodiversity than bees and wild flower meadows. One of the problems with wildflower meadows is managing people expectations after all a meadow consists of 70% grasses and 30% flowering species. The new buzz word for this self publicity for companies and people jumping on the band wagon is Green washing but having said that it keeps it in the public profile.
Remember your man from America who visited last week well without his visit a lot of environmental organisations who wanted to protest about his coastal defences would not have got the platform or media attention for their cause without his visit so it was a double edged sword.
As were talking golf courses I don't know what the problem with the coastal defences are that he wants to
build I thought we were all for building coastal defences to protect sand dunes etc but no one told the weather that as big storms rolling in off the Atlantic have no respect for man made structures as can bee seen in Hawaii where east Island was removed from the face of the earth by storm Walaka.

[tagwex]

Fairways and greens are kept green by irrigation. Wildlife is encouraged on numerous fronts. Even the crows are put up with as they search for worms and pick up divots looking for more. Plus they damage the greens regularly but instead of taking measures to eradicate them they are put up with.
Trump built walls to protect the course from erosion.

[Greengage]

Hello are we talking about golf here the game where you beat a small ball around 100 acres and try to put it in a small hole and not crazy golf.
Golf greens are cut once a day 7 days a week weather permitting. They are top dressed with sand to reduce thatch, rolled to increase green speed and keep them smooth, greens ,fairways and tee boxes are sprayed with growth regulators, slow release fertilisers are put on every four weeks, wetting agents applied to reduce surface tension, pesticides and fungicides are applied on a preventative basis regularly throughout the season. then there is irrigation.
Wildlife is not tolerated Grey squirrels are caught and removed Humanly ( Crack over head) there is a policy around here to exterminate them if possible, Crows destroy turf and greens digging for leather jackets Larsen traps used. rabbits shot, Cows not allowed and sheep fenced off.
https://www.carrgolf.com/golf-course-maintenance-1/
I was at a biodiversity conference a few months back and president Michael D Higgins said "if we were coal miners we would be up to our knees in dead canaries".

[tagwex]

Hello are we talking about Kildare courses, courses in general or was i talking about the one i am a member of and would know what the policies are? There is culling or trapping done to any animal. The bigger animals couldn't possibly be let on the course, it would be destroyed.

[Greengage]

My experience would be Kildare, Dublin and Attending some seminars on golf course maintenance. Maybe there is one somewhere in wexford but it is in a very small minority.

[tagwex]

Just realised that there is a word missing from my previous post which puts a different slant on it....
* There is NO culling or trapping.....

[Greengage]

yes I figured that bit. Off topic bu tDid you know there are 350 golf courses in Ireland that are 18 holes there are 10 in wexford. You must be in this one
https://www.enniscorthygc.ie/course/ I have been asked to meet a golf superintendent to discuss how he can make his course more biodiversity friendly so ill send him here.

[tagwex]

Good man

[Blowin]

Just a quick point. The topic includes 'Global Warming', but then concentrates on Biodiversity. Obviously the two are linked, but is there a reason neither of you is mentioning GW?