After an absence of many
decades, next Saturday (August 20th) will see the return to Galway city of the mowing of a
wildflower meadow using traditional hand-held implements. Starting at 10.30am members of Cumann na bhFear, also known as Men’s Shed
Ballinfoile, will use scythes to cut the long grass in a meadow in Terryland
Forest Park near the Quincentenary Bridge.
The event is part of Heritage Week and organised with Galway Civic Trust.
The event is part of Heritage Week and organised with Galway Civic Trust.
Last autumn, dozens of volunteers from Conservation Volunteers
planted over one thousand native wildflowers in what was up until then a
sterile lawn in Terryland. Their actions transformed it into a rainbow mosaic of
yellow cowslip, red poppy, purple clover, pink ragged robin, white daisy oxeyes
and many other flowers. In times gone by, a 'meadow' was defined as a field set
aside by farmers for the growing of long grass which was cut during the summer
and autumn months to produce one or two crops of hay to serve as winter food
for livestock. Because no chemical fertilizers were
used, these meadows became important habitats for an array of colourful native
wildflowers and would be alive with the sights and sounds of many varieties of
bees, moths, butterflies and other pollinators.
Our aim is to re-introduce
meadows back unto the city and provide nectar-rich feeding havens for bees in
particular which are in a serious decline worldwide due to industrialised monoculture
farming, pesticides, habitat loss, pollution and climate change. Bees and other
pollinators are essential to the survival of humanity as the plants that they help
to reproduce are responsible for one-third
of all foods and beverages that we consume.
The Cumann is also committed to preserving and re-educating the
public in traditional Irish rural skills and crafts that still have an
essential role to play in today’s farming because of their social, health,
economic and environmental aspects.
So we are
asking people to come along next Saturday to witness this ancient rural
hay-cutting in action and to take part in planting nearly a thousand more
wildflowers with Conversation Volunteers Galway city. Light refreshments will be provided to all volunteers.
