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O’ Donnell’s Furniture Wildlflower Meadow

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· June 12, 2019

O’ Donnell’s furniture have a wonderful wildflower meadow in front of their premises on the Baltimore road. This local family run business is participating in the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan by conserving certain areas of their grounds in order to save the Bees. Out of the 98 Bee Species in Ireland, one third are being threatened with extinction due the decline in pollinator numbers. This needs to change. Aodh O’ Donnell managing director explained that since they have left the meadow grow an Irish purple orchid has been found growing on the meadow along with many other species including many ox-eye daisies. Tim Cooke, employee at the firm is leading the pollinator project and it has been a real success.

It’s great to see local companies signing up to the pollinator plan and as you can see their grounds are enhanced and improved by doing less. There’s less grass to cut, more biodiversity, more bees and ultimately it’s a win win for nature and whoever has to cut the grass at O’ Donnell’s. Well done O’ Donnell furniture and we hope others will follow your lead! Sustainable Skibbereen urge you to leave areas of grass uncut to encourage wildflowers and help our pollinators. And don’t miss the picture of the amazing orchid below!

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Chapel Quay

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· May 28, 2019

Today we had to forego our painting as the rain came! However it did give us a chance to do some
more planting. We decided to go for some more wildflowers and chose the banks, bunks and ditches
mix from wildflowers.ie. We prepared a seed bed by removing some bindweed and grasses, leaving
some plants already growing which looked interesting. We raked it and scattered our seed mix and
are looking forward to the results. Otherwise the garden is looking fantastic and it is so nice on the
lower section to feel like you are really at the river’s edge. We sat and had coffee and croissants and
discussed future plans, including a bug hotel for the garden, our upcoming seedbomb event among
other interesting conversation.

World Bee Day is the 20 th May and it really is vital that we plant for the pollinators. The phacelia we
set at the garden is coming up really well and the bees love that. Our wildflowers will also be a big
hit with the bees. Tidy towns have installed a water butt at the garden next to the downpipe which
we will be able to use. The sticks we cleared and left for the council have still not been collected. I
think at this stage they won’t be so the plan is to move them to the boys school and incorporate
them into their dead hedge.

Wildflower mix, banks, bunds and ditches

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Seed Bomb Workshop

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· May 20, 2019

@ St Patricks National School, Skibbereen. Wed 22nd May 2019 7pm

From From Gardenista.com
“Seed bombs are the main weapon guerrilla gardeners can use to spread flowers in bare spots, creating pockets of beauty and habitats for pollinators. Gardening without permission is another way of describing these activities: not strictly legal but filed away by the authorities under the category of “What’s not to like.” Alex Mitchell in her book The Rurbanite shows us how to make seed bombs, using guerrilla tactics to spread cheer.

“Seed bombs are best, and the most fun, when thrown into neglected roundabouts, central reservations, flower beds, and planters,” says Mitchell.

Many guerrilla gardeners arm themselves with trowels and work nocturnally. But with seed bombs it is possible to make a difference without that considerable commitment; lob a bomb from a bicycle, a car window, or when passing on foot.

Seed bombing is best done in spring and autumn, says Alex Mitchell. Or, time your attack to coincide with heavy rainfall.

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Chapel Quay: Civilised activism

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· May 16, 2019

We met on the 11 th May at Chapel Quay to continue our work on the biodiversity river garden there. We are making great progress with the space and it is wonderful to see it taking shape. The phacelia flowers we sowed have germinated and our coming up nicely. These are beautiful blue flowers which the bees love. We have created two arcs in the lower section of the garden for these flowers. We added some bee friendly wildflower seeds into that area too.

The grass was cut by Bev and Rob painted the gate using our sponsored paint from fusion home interiors. Beata joined us too and helped out. She loves visiting the garden with her daughter. The hard work was rewarded with some freshly ground coffee from Colm in O’Neills coffee shop. A great café in town which we are lucky to have. We moved the picnic bench to a new spot down by the river and had our coffee along with some croissants. Some great conversation and plans for an upcoming seedbomb event were discussed. A great morning and keep an eye on our page for any meetups at Chapel Quay. We try to be there most Saturday mornings between 9 and 11 am.

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Deer Video

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· April 18, 2019

Beautiful baby deer by the road in Killarney National Park.

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Fusion Home Interiors – History in the Re-making

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· March 4, 2019

Ciaran from Fusion Home Interiors donates paint to restore and improve the railings and gates at our project at Chapel Quay. The neglected garden will be restored and become a wildlife observation area for schools, and a picnic area for visitors and families. Sustainable Skibbereen members under the guidance of wildlife expert Calvin Jones will be working on the garden over the coming months.

The restoration is also supported by the County Council who have said

…Historic Quays – Comprising of old disused stone quays along the town side of the River Ilen between the two road bridges, these quays were once the primary means to transport goods and people in and out of Skibbereen. Some of the quays are in private ownership, others are unrecognisable and some have been blocked with stone and deposits. However,what is unquestioned is the historic significance and value of the quays and therefore their protection should be considered as part of this plan. In the past, communities and public bodies turned their back on water bodies but now the tide is turning in this regard. Therefore an opportunity presents itself … by ensuring that the quays are redeveloped as part of any proposal on adjoining land…

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Wildlife Garden Bee Friendly Arc

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· February 18, 2019

Our intrepid volunteers get to grips with the Wildlife Garden at Chapel Quay. From a rubbish strewn wilderness it is slowly being converted into a wildlife observation area by the river for schools and picnic area for residents and visitors.

Men’s sheds meanwhile are renovating the benches and tables.

Plus phacelia for the bees will be planted in the arc shown.

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Comfrey: A Green Healer

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· January 22, 2019

Comfrey Symphytum officinale has enjoyed a long traditional use for healing damaged tissue. So much so some of its common names include Knitbone and Boneset. It is a native plant to Ireland, a member of the Borage family, and is found growing in rich damp, moist soils, especially along river banks.

The leaves and roots are used and preparations such as infused oils,salves and creams can be made for topical use to apply to cuts,bruises,swellings,burns, insect bites and stings,sprains,fractures and broken bones. I make infused oils from my comfrey plants throughout the growing season and have it ready when a salve or cream is needed.

Comfrey repairs damage to superficial and deep tissue injury by its ability to resolve inflammation effectively and due to a constituent inherent in the plant, Allantoin.This is also found in another of our native herbs, Ribwort( Plantago lanceolata) but to a lesser extent. Allantoin stimulates the proliferation of new cell growth and along with the mobilisation of white cells involved in tissue repair, a speedy resolve is effected.

Another element found in comfrey is a sticky substance called Mucilage. Mucilage rich plants (refer also to our native Marshmallow) exert a soothing effect, and a simple infusion of comfrey leaf or root can be made and applied topically as a wash to inflammed,painful skin lesions.

Internal use of comfrey has been cautioned but it continues to hold an honored place as one of our most effective healers in external use. On top of all of this Comfrey is a green manure par excellence. Every year I harvest leaves and stems from my plants and cut them up roughly.

The cut leaves are placed in deep wide containers and water added and left to macerate for about a week. The sun’s heat will hasten the breakdown of the plant material which releases an abundance of its minerals.

It makes an excellent plant food and Nettles can also be added to the mix which also contains huge amounts of minerals and iron. In the autumn the roots can be dug up and seperated and replanted to replenish stocks so that the herbalist and gardener ensure a continuous supply of comfrey plants.

Jacqueline Kilbryde Medical herbalist MNIMH MIRCMH

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Our Farms Our Food Our Future

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· September 3, 2018

Book now for a great line up speakers at the Town Hall Skibbereen on Saturday 8th September as part of the TOWC Food Festival. Details in the TOWC programme, at Eventbrite and below in the article in the SS.

Tickets here

DESCRIPTION

This forum is being organised by nutritional therapist Majella O’Neill and organic farmer and seed saver Madeline McKeever. As a result of their research they are committed to highlighting the vital connection between how we grow and produce our food and our health and well-being. Chronic diseases such as obesity, infertility, diabetes and mental illnesses, have increased in recent years. At the same time soil quality, animal health, and wildlife biodiversity are in decline. Research from the APC Microbiome UCC and others are pointing to the link between microbes and soil, plant, animal and human health. There is growing evidence that these are damaged by chemicals used in modern farming. To elucidate these issues, and to highlight them, they has brought together this international panel of experts. They hope the final discussion will find ways forward for West Cork Farmers to grow food that will truly nourish people. This forum is for farmers, health professionals and all who have an interest in food, health and wellbeing.

Speakers:-

– Professor Giles Eric Séralini, Professor of molecular biology at the University of Caen,

Researcher, teacher, Author of books on environmental pollution, GMOs, and detoxication (8 books and more than 100scientific papers or publications). -.He was expert for the French government and the European commission on GMOs, president. President of the scientific council for independent research on genetic engineering (1999-2016)(www.criigen.org).

– Jérôme DOUZELET , Chef

Co-author with Gilles-Eric Séralini of two books « Cooked pleasures or hidden poisons, », translated in English under the title “The Great Health Scam” , and “Le goût des pesticides dans le vin” “The taste of pesticides in wines” published also as a research paper (see www.seralini.fr). He is the first expert in tasting and discovering the differential tastes of synthetic pesticides in water at levels present in wines. He cooks essentially natural, fresh,organic and esthetic meals of high quality. The quality of his products is highly controlled as well as their origin, and is commited to avoiding GMOs and pesticides in the food he serves .

– Ib Pedersen

Danish Pig Farmer and Researcher who carried out studies on his farm to limit incidence of disease and fertility issues in his stock by removing GM soya from the feed. As a result of his finding the Danish Department of Agriculture have commissioned studies through Aarhus University,

– Darina Allen… Chef

Owner of Ballymaloe cookery school, columnist, author and TV presenter. A tireless ambassador for Irish food and farmer’s markets. She holds many positions in food organisations such as the East Cork Slow Food convivium, the Taste Council of Bord Bia, the Artisan Food Forum of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland. and a patron of Irish Seed Savers. Member of Euro-Toques (European Association of Chefs) and Guild of Foodwriters.

– Dr Fiona Crispie

Researcher with Dr Paul Cotter, Teagasc Food Research Centre Moorepark. Her research interests include the microbiology of food and the human/animal gut and its role in health and disease in humans and animals. She has a PHD in molecular biology

From the Southern Star

WORLD experts will outline the established link between our health and what we eat, as part of next month’s A Taste of West Cork Food Festival. A day-long forum called ‘Our Farms, Our Food, Our Future’ takes place in the Town Hall, Skibbereen on Saturday September 8th from 10.30am to 6.30pm.

Nutritional therapist Majella O’Neill and organic farmer Madeline McKeever are organising the forum which will be of interest to farmers, food producers, chefs, health professionals and anyone interested in exploring food and health. Majella and Madeline are committed to highlighting the vital connection between food choices, how we grow and produce food and our health and well-being.

Majella said: ‘We hope this discussion will find ways forward for Irish farmers and food producers to lead the way on the world stage toward a more sustainable health promoting model of food production that will truly nourish us into the future.’

She added: ‘Here in Ireland we have a culture of relatively small diverse holdings and a growing lucrative artisan food industry incorporating many health promoting principals. Ireland’s farming and food industry is perfectly poised to lead the way on the world food stage, and capiatalise on a growing consumer sentiment by embracing food production standards that give real, dependable assurances to consumers as to the quality and health benefits of our food products.’

Speakers include Professor Giles Eric Seralini Seralini, professor of molecular Biology, Caen University, France and author and researcher on effects of pesticide and GMO; Dr Fiona Crispie, technologist, Teagasc and Dr Laura Boyle, animal scientist with Teagasc.

Jérome Douzelet, hotel and restaurant owner in the South of France, who cooks organic meals and knows how to detoxify chemicals in food through particular culinary methods and use of detoxifying ingredients will also address the forum along with tireless campaigner Darina Allen, chef and co-owner of Ballymaloe Cookery School.

Ib Pedersen, a pig farmer who discovered when he stopped feeding genetically modified soya to his pigs that there were immediate improvements in their health and fertility, and who is now working with the Danish Department of Agriculture to combat the use of pesticides in food crops, completes the impressive line-up.

• Tickets for the event cost €25 and are available from eventbrite.ie

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Swift Boxes to be Built

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· July 13, 2018

Swifts will need new homes in Skibbereen soon so Men’s Sheds are investigating how to make some.

Here is some handy advice from Bristol.

“Swifts take quite readily to artificial nest boxes; however there are a few general tips worth taking into account before you start to install your own. Firstly it’s a great help to have swifts nesting nearby or at the very least swifts that fly high overhead. If you do then you are half way there. Unfortunately if you haven’t then it could be difficult to attract swifts, but not impossible. Secondly, If you know you have swifts nesting already around your house, try and install your new boxes as close to them as possible. It also helps if the entrance hole is a similar shape and angle as the natural hole, for example if your swifts enter via a downwards facing entrance hole install boxes with the same aspect. Likewise if your swifts fly straight in without landing momentarily, fit boxes with their entrances on the front without a landing strip. For more help on how to locate natural swift nest sites see Bristol Swift Survey 2016.

The nest box ideally should be at least 5 metres above the ground, although swifts have been known to nest as low as 1.5 metres. The nest box can be fitted to any aspect, however if fitted on the south side precaution should be taken to avoid the mid-day sun (maybe by painting it a light colour).Most importantly, take care when putting it up and don’t take any risks on a ladder – please read Swift Conservation website ‘Fitting nest box safety guidelines’ and Ladder Safety.

The flight path into the nest box should be free from nearby obstacles such as trees or wires. Finally a sound system located next to the nest box playing swift attraction calls really helps attract swifts. Play the calls as loud as you can without annoying your neighbours – read details of When to play Swift Calls CD/mp3 at bottom of page.

I have been making and adapting my swift box designs for the last 10 years. I found that my designs with a bottom entrance have the highest occupancy rate. All my boxes (except for the shoebox design) are made to fit under soffits which are less than 150mm deep. The shoebox design is for soffits over 200mm deep. My most successful design, the twin box is quite heavy and awkward to handle, so I would recommend two people install it. This is the main reason behind my recent single box designs in 2015 and 2016, which retain all the good points of my twin box design but are much lighter to handle.

In 2015 I included a couple of new designs which are easier to make and a lot cheaper, costing less than £10 per box. They are both made to fit under wooden soffits less than 150mm deep. The ‘Zeist’ box has a front entrance and has been around for many years, whilst my ‘single compartment box’ is just a smaller version of my twin box design with a bottom entrance and landing strip. My 2016 ‘shoebox’ and corner box designs are specifically for use under deep soffits, which are over 200mm and are currently being trialled.

All of my designs are fixed using top brackets on either side of the box. To help support them even more securely, a third bracket can be attached underneath the box and fastened to the outside wall. I would recommend this for the 2015 single box and twin box.

Internal Swift bricks
The key to the long term security of swifts in the UK is to encourage the building industry to incorporate swift bricks into the walls of new builds on a regular basis. It’s already started to happen on some building sites, but a lot more still needs to be done. The beauty of these boxes is once they are installed there’s no need for any future maintenance unlike external nest boxes. So if you’re thinking of building a new house or planning major building refurbishment then internal swifts boxes should be considered. There are lots of commercial swift bricks available to choose from which should suit every type of new building or extension, as seen on the BBC’s Countryfile on Sunday 5th March (44 minutes in).

Trial swift boxes for 2017 with black interiors
Swifts seem to prefer to nest in as dark a recess as possible, actively seeking out places which seem pitch black to us. So I have painted the interiors in 3 of my boxes black to trial in 2017. I’ve chosen my “smaller box” designs as historically they only have a 30% occupancy rate compared to my longer boxes which have an occupancy rate closer to 70%. Although these smaller boxes are regularly visited by prospecting swifts they are rarely used as nest sites. I’ve wondered if this is because they are too bright inside compared to my longer boxes. So in readiness for the 2017 season I have painted the interiors of 2 corner boxes and 1 Zeist box black, using a matt black emulsion. For comparison 3 similar boxes have been left unpainted.”

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