Abby – Page 4 – CANN Project

Carpeting the carpet

Posted on September 11, 2020September 11, 2020 by Abby

Specialist jute matting has been laid on the bottom of Lough Arrow to conserve valuable biodiversity and help local anglers reach the trout for which the lough is famous, without their engines and oars getting tangled in fast-growing dense mats of alien invasive Nuttall’s Waterweed (Elodea nuttallii).

Scientists from CANN partners, IT Sligo, and INVAS Biosecurity who are specialists in the control of alien invasive species, have come together to lay jute matting as a carpet on the bottom of Lough Arrow. This carpet of jute will block the light from the Elodea, but the native carpet of charophytes or stoneworts will be able to grow through its loose weave and flourish to provide feeding and breeding places for the trout and the insects they feed on.

*Chara braunii CC Show_ryu – Obra Proprie,*

*Elodea nuttallii by Christian Fischer, CC*

“Elodea nuttalli arrived on Lough Arrow sometime after 2010 and quickly spread in the shallower water where it blocks out light from the delicate and unique charophytes” said Dr Frances Lucy from IT Sligo who leads the CANN team on Lough Arrow

“The weed kills the native freshwater reef of stoneworts which provide food and shelter for wildlife. There is also a very strong chance that weed caught in boat engines or equipment can transfer to other water bodies, Now the CANN project funded by the EU’s INTERREG VA Programme, through the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) has allowed us to actively manage this invasive weed and help prevent it spreading” she continued

A trial was carried out on the lough two years ago and was so successful that a full 80m length mat, 20m wide has now been laid extending out from the main launch area to the deep clear Elodea-free fishing grounds. The weed clear path is marked with navigation markers to make it easy for the anglers to use.

Anglers have also been provided with sanitation stations to help them clean their equipment and are being asked to follow the Elodea Code

Check equipment, clothing and footwear
Clean everything thoroughly, using hot water where possible
Disinfect all equipment using Virkon ® Aquatic
Dry everything as some alien species can live for two weeks in damp conditions
Follow the buoys when launching and landing

Bog on the Bog

Posted on September 11, 2020 by Abby

Just a week after a major clean up, an entire toilet was dumped at Curran Bog near Magherafelt, highlighting the ongoing problem with waste crime in Northern Ireland. The CANN team cleaning the site nicknamed this “the bog in the bog”. Curran Bog is one of the most important raised bogs in the UK and is an important site for the large heath butterfly.

“Among the usual threats to Curran Bog, such as drainage and scrub invasion, the owners told us of years of fly-tipping, particularly along the Clooney Road boundary,” said Dr Trish Fox, from Ulster Wildlife.

“Curran Gun Club, which leases part of the site, has removed huge amounts of waste including six cars over the years! In June our contractors did a major clean-up along Clooney Road, removing dozens of tyres, hard-fill, oil drums, furniture and even what they reckon was equipment for growing cannabis.

“Unfortunately, within a week, the fly-tippers were back, and a toilet was dumped at the site. We have now put up cameras to monitor the roadside and will be forwarding any footage showing illegal dumping to the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

“As well as large pieces of individual rubbish, there are lots of single items which people are clearly throwing out their vehicle windows. It is sad when people see the environment in general, and this very special site, as a bin for their use.”

Fly-tipping is a recognised threat to all peatland habitats like Curran and to the environment in general. “The CANN project has allowed us to actively restore this bog and many others but we are battling against these beautiful areas being treated as tips. It makes no sense to dump your bog in the bog and risk a fine when you could just as easily take it to Mid Ulster’s main recycling centre in Magherafelt for free,” said Dr Fox.

Dam those Drains for Peat’s Sake

Posted on September 8, 2020 by Abby

CANN is tackling global climate change by re-wetting local bogs across Northern Ireland. Garry Bog, Peatlands Park and Moneygal Bog are targets for the next tranche of work this autumn. Local action for global benefit.

First to be tackled is Moneygal near Castlederg and next week heavy machinery will move onto the bog to block old drains and help to re-wet this internationally important habitat so that it starts to function as an actively growing bog again. The rejuvenated bog will be rich in biodiversity and will also capture and keep carbon out of the atmosphere helping Northern Ireland do its bit towards national climate change obligations.

“Years ago, Moneygal Bog was drained so that it could be cut for turf and planted with conifers and those drains have continued to carry water off the site causing it to slowly dry out. Now the CANN project has allowed us to actively restore this bog and many others across Northern Ireland, Ireland and Western Scotland,” said Simon Gray from Ulster Wildlife

Moneygal Bog, which is a Special Area of Conservation and National Nature Reserve, is one of eight raised bogs across Northern Ireland included in the project.

“Although protected, all these bogs are in poor condition, mostly because they have dried out and the important peat-building Sphagnum mosses cannot grow. Blocking drains is the quickest and most effective way of reversing that trend,” Simon continued.

“We work with hydrologists at the RPS Group who pinpoint exactly where to block drains to get the most impact. We monitor the water table monthly and will keep a watching eye on levels after the drains have been blocked.

“We need the water to be within 10 cm of the surface for 90% of the year and blocking the drains is the only way this will happen. A healthy wet bog is excellent at capturing carbon and bog restoration is a key tool in our work to tackle climate change.

Ulster Wildlife has also removed over 10ha of invasive conifers and scrub from the bog this year. The re-wetting will help stop further invasion.

Moneygal Bog is owned by the Northern Ireland Forest Service. Ciaran Cassidy, Forest Stewardship Officer, said:

“We are delighted to see active conservation on this very important site and have worked closely with Ulster Wildlife and the CANN project to allow this to happen.”

Scientists let out of the CAN(N) for Essential Survey

Posted on May 18, 2020May 19, 2020 by Abby

A vital part of the Collaborative Action for the Natura Network (CANN) project, is scientific research. So far, programme scientists have been surveying for breeding birds, checking water-table depths and setting up ammonia monitoring, but the Covid-19 pandemic meant all work had to stop.

CANN, which is supported by the European Union’s INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB), depends on accurate science to understand the impact of actions and to plan further effective schemes to improve the conservation value of the sites and safeguard this precious habitat for many years to come.

As soon as Government eased restrictions on work, CANN scientists carried out thorough risk assessments to allow this important survey work to resume. Observing very strict social distancing and hygiene guidelines, they are now getting back to work on some isolated bogs and wetlands. Permissions for work have been obtained from all landowners and managers, private and public.

The project had planned to start monitoring for passive ammonia, which is deposited from the air on our wetlands, before the lock-down. But researchers have had to wait till this week to start work at Peatlands Park near Dungannon and some other raised bogs in Counties Tyrone, Derry, Antrim and Down to collect ammonia data for analysis. The data will be compared to what was previously modelled using computers. Ammonia is linked to COPD in humans but is also very bad for the health of our wetland lungs, our bogs, that breathe out oxygen and breathe in and capture carbon dioxide.

Other scientific research that is restarting includes water quality sampling on Lough Arrow in Sligo/Roscommon and investigating thermal stratification of the water in the Magheraveely-Kilroosky lake cluster in Fermanagh and Monaghan.

All work that is being carried out on CANN sites is subject to rigorous risk assessment and full health and safety audit carried out by qualified H&S practitioners. All the scientists will be working alone when in the field and will be fully compliant to social distancing and hygiene requirements. No scientists who have personal interactions with vulnerable or shielded individuals will be undertaking this work. The scientists are keen to safely resume fieldwork as this is such a crucial period for this monitoring. The work of the scientists will also be assessed on an on-going and regular basis in light of any change to Covid19 regulations and guidance.

CANN wins Best Environmental/Ecological Project 2020

Posted on February 19, 2020February 19, 2020 by Abby

The CANN project is pleased to announce that it has received the award for the Best Environmental/Ecological Project at the All Ireland Community and Council Awards 2020. Against stiff competition from several excellent projects, the specially selected panel of judges decided that Collaborative Action for the Natura Network would receive the Gold medal for the category which is sponsored by the EPA.

The project was nominated by one of our partners Monaghan County Council and Shirley Clerkin, Monaghan County Heritage Officer, who is a member of our steering group received the beautiful crystal goblet on the project’s behalf at a gala awards ceremony at Croke Park Stadium. The winners were announced at the ceremony by RTE’s Marty Morrissey, the awards are organised by the Local Authorities Members Association and the IPB insurance company.

Wet and Wonderful at Cranny Bogs

Posted on February 4, 2020February 6, 2020 by Abby

A challenging start was made to rewetting Cranny Bogs last week (27th January), as heavy machinery moved in to begin the process of installing hundreds of dams across the site to block the flow of water out of the Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The site covers 78ha on three bogs, Killymoonan, Fallaghearn and Cavan and is located just outside Fintona in County Tyrone.

The original plan was for the digger to start work on one of the drier areas of the bog. However, the recent snowmelt meant that the ground was too wet. This meant that there was a real danger of damaging the site or even losing the digger into the bog! The solution was a suite of bog mats which the digger driver used as a pathway, inching his way across the site, moving the mats from behind the digger, swinging them around and laying them in front as he travelled.

Simon Gray, a technical officer with Ulster Wildlife, one of the partners in the CANN project, said:

“the ground was rippling up and down like jelly every time the digger moved.”

He then explained the skilled job of creating the dams:

“The contractor digs an anchor point or key out of the drain into the peat, then digs a borrow pit out of denser peat, using this stronger material to pile up a dam in the ditch, placing a layer of vegetation or “scraw” on top.”

“Although the dam sits proud of the site initially this will soon settle,” he continued.

Ulster Wildlife is aiming to install hundreds of dams across all the CANN raised bogs, over 300 at Cranny alone. This will ultimately have a substantial positive impact on the site, raising the water table which will allow sphagnum and other bog flora to survive during the summer and ultimately to begin actively forming peat again. The open water will also provide space for invertebrates such as dragonflies and damselflies, adding colour and life to the bog and supporting the whole food chain.

After only one week, the impact on the site could already be seen. The first dams built had half a meter of water built up behind them, and some had begun to spill over the surrounding area. Just what the project wanted to see. This is the start of a long process, but the impacts will be massive and long-lasting with Cranny Bogs playing an active role in locking carbon away and providing a valuable habitat for our biodiversity

see the work in action on our Youtube channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39_LV1B05q8

Author: Abby