The Sun

Cabragh Wetlands Trust is holding its annual Flag Day in Thurles this Saturday (18th), and there will be number of collection points around the town. Of course fund raising is the day’s main objective, and we hope that the good citizens of Tipperary will respond with the generosity they always show when charities and other worthy causes hold out their voracious collecting buckets, but it is also a good chance to talk to people, spread the word about what we are trying to do, spark interest and perhaps even gain some new members. So stop by at one of our collection tables; take the opportunity to find out a bit more about what we are up to.

Despite the frequent deluges of rain, there have been some lovely sunny mornings recently. It’s so easy to take the sun for granted – without its light and warmth we would be in a very sorry state. The sun is the source of so much on our planet, and with the fortieth anniversary looming of Neil Armstrong’s first moon landing, it is worth reflecting on the fragility and interdependence the units of our solar system. The sun supplies our energy needs and the needs of all life. We have come to regard the use of fossil fuels like coal and oil as normal. Our creativity in inventing technology which allows us to exploit and utilize these energy sources has been astonishing, but they are finite sources of energy and will not last much longer – not to mention the consequences for the environment and climate of massive carbon emissions. Our traditional energy sources are going to run low within the lifetime of most people reading this. It is not a theoretical problem for the distant future, it is an immediate problem for you, your children and your grandchildren. We are living off our deposit account and most of us are not acknowledging that it will run out. All of earth’s processes depend on the sun; they work well enough. There are just three of these processes. First the producers supply the food. Many millions of years ago plants learned to trap sunlight and turn it into food, a process known as photosynthesis – a major step in Earth’s evolution. Secondly came the consumer animals which eat the plants and turn them into food, like cattle eating grass. We fall into this category. The last group are the decomposers, like earthworms, which have the important task of breaking down material and making it available for the plants to take up. And so the cycle begins again. For almost four billion years this process has continued. It is well tried and tested. Mankind lives within this process, which looks after our needs so well. We too are part of this interconnected and interdependent community of life. At a time when there is such heightened environmental concern, our challenge is to allow the sun and Earth to provide for all of life, just as they have done so very well for so long.

Summers Evenings

The old people celebrated St John’s Eve with gusto, and the longest day of the year is always a milestone both in one’s personal life and in the world of nature. At this time of the year Cabragh Wetlands is at its pristine best. A few evenings ago, in a blood-red sunset as close as it ever gets to the Devil’s Bit, a Committee member came across a small group of ladies tucked silently beneath the trees watching the water lilies beginning to close at the end of another beautiful day. In answer to a nosey question they replied that they were waiting for an otter. Of course no otter arrived on demand – nature is a force beyond human control, and efforts to do so have resulted in a cataclysmic outlook for mankind. But here at Cabragh such concerns can seem far away, and time and patience bring their reward. Some come to capture a moment on camera, others on multi-pixel film, and yet nothing can recreate that fusion of sound, colour, smell and a hint of a breeze on the evening air. What is certain is that an evening stroll or quiet sojourn by the lakeside lifts the spirits and gives a feeling that, despite everything, all’s well with the world in this quiet green corner of Fertiana, Cabragh and Galbertstown. Hurrying back to the busy world, one begins to think that on the longest day of the year time is once again gaining on us. How many beautiful May evenings have we lost, just as we missed the churning lake waters of March and the arrival of migrant birds arrived from foreign shores? The children, of course, have another wonderful opportunity this summer. As the marsh at last begins to dry out, the butterflies and damselflies flit and hover, the orchids colour the grassland, reed buntings and stonechats grate the ear, and our youthful Detectives in the Wild are there to observe, record, measure but above all experience at first hand the joy that immersion in the natural world brings to the young mind. Detective in the Wild Summer Camp begins at Cabragh Wetlands on July 13th, and a similar week for adults during Heritage Week at the end of August. All details from the Wetlands Centre (0504-43879) or 0504-23831.

NATURE AND NUTURE

At one time the agricultural advisory service followed the mantra ‘One more cow and one more sow and one more acre under the plough’ when advising farmers. This advice was very appropriate at the time as it fitted very well into a mixed farming model.
Farms in general were small and had a variety of enterprises. So people had experience with and knowledge of a range of enterprises. A small farm might have a Donkey/Pony, Cows, Calves, Hens, Geese, Pig etc. A kitchen garden with a variety of vegetables. Children growing up on such farms were exposed to a range of experiences. These were not cash economies, to a large extent people were self sufficient. Even if you were not from such a farm you had regular contact with such places, as you friends or cousins lived on one.
It turns out now that the wisdom and insights gained with such a lifestyle are very valuable and much needed at this time.

Our lifestyles have changed a lot especially in the past decade and many insights which we took for granted are now far less common.
Though children to-day have many opportunities they would benefit from more awareness of the world about them. Our experience at Cabragh Wetlands is that nature heals, and it brings out the best in children.

Our generation while we might have had less than children today, yet we inherited so much.
Our parents and communities shared much wisdom and knowledge with us, skills which we need for life. In the same way our children need those same insights. We cannot recreate the experiences we had but we can share our memories and wisdom. We can share some of the magic of the world about us with them, we owe it to the next generation.

MEETING WITH MICHAEL LOWRY TD

Monday May 11th
Meeting with Michael Lowry TD at Cabragh Wetlands
Demonstrating his ongoing interest in developments at Cabragh Wetlands Michael Lowry T D met with members of the Trust at the Cabragh Wetland Centre .
It was welcome news that following our meetings with Minister Eamon O Cuiv TD and Minister John Gormley TD ( which were arranged though Michael Lowry) that Leader had come on board with a promise of a grant to update the building and facilities at Cabragh Wetland Centre. We also discussed the potential of the Wetlands as a visitor attraction and the possibility of assistance from Shannon Development in the designing an appropriate building and upgrading of facilities.
This is exciting news for us, for the volunteers who have worked so hard over the years to develop the Wetlands.
We are sincerely grateful to Michael Lowry for his genuine interest and support.

MEETING WITH MINISTERS

Meeting with Ministers
The unceasing search for funding and assistance to help the Cabragh Wetlands Trust took a new twist recently. Following contacts with Michael Lowry T.D., meetings were arranged with Ministers Eamon O Cuiv and John Gormley. Thanks to the Tipperary Enterprise Board, we were able to source advice on the content of a PowerPoint presentation from Lorraine Grainger, Consultant. Armed with the best material we could muster, four members of the Trust Committee travelled to Dail Eirann, and gave their presentation, which involved a brief history of the Trust and a summary of the work done so far, before moving on to our vision for the future of the wetlands and of the Centre.
For obvious reasons both Ministers were extremely busy, but even so we were given generous time to make our case. Both Ministers were very impressed with the project, and especially the work done over the years by a small group of volunteers. Minister O Cuiv was very positive and is looking into how we can best source support for the next phase of development. Minister Gormley noted that the Cabragh Wetlands are a designated SAC (Special Area of Conservation) and NHA (National Heritage Area). He was very impressed by the rich biodiversity of the wetlands and promised to look into how he can best support our forward development. We are greatly encouraged by Minister O Cuiv’s remark that “this is the kind of project we want to support”.
Special thanks must go to Michael Lowry T.D. for his time and interest, and also his enthusiasm for what the Cabragh Wetlands Trust is about. His availability to meet us, and his attendance at both ministerial appointments is much appreciated. Though this is a difficult time to be seeking funds for anything, we remain positive.

NEW MALAWI UPDATE FROM JOE GALLAGHER

As you walk around the villages along the lake shore large trees canbe seen in the middle of the street around which people and the few vehicles have to maneuvre! One might wonder why these trees remainhere in the way of things and two reasons emerge - firstly they are thousands of years old and were here before any humans arrived and secondly their wood is poor for burning and therefore cutting themdown is of little use and a lot of work for local people! These trees are known as Baobab trees and this is the common name of a genus(Adansonia) containing eight species of trees, of which one typeoccurs on mainland Africa. In Malawi Baobabs are found principally on the lake shore. Storieshave passed down through the generations of how God angry with the baobab picked up the tree and flung it back into the ground upsidedown. In Namibia it is said that God gave each animal a seed of a tree to plant. The hyena was left until last and angry at this planted the seed of the baobab tree upside down. Research has shown that the tree grows fast for the first 270 years and then slows down.Baobab trees do not produce annual growth rings and so radiocarbondating is used to estimate their age.

They produce big white flowersin October with each bloom lasting only 24 hours. These flowers are then pollinated by the fruit bat. It is a deciduous tree and shedsits leaves during the dry season from April until October. Baobabs store water inside the swollen trunk (up to 120,000 litres) to endurethe harsh drought conditions which occur during the dry season and hence their poor burning potential.The species reach heights of 5 to 30 metres (16 to 98 ft) and trunkdiameters of 7 to 11 metres (23 to 36 ft). An African Baobab specimenin Limpopo Province, South Africa, often considered the largest example alive, has a circumference of 47 metres (150 ft) and anaverage diameter of 15 metres (49 ft) and has been radiocarbon datedto be 6,000 years old.

The baobab has many uses here in Africa. The leaves are commonly used as a leaf vegetable throughout the area of mainland African distribution. They are eaten both fresh and as a dry powder. The fruit is nutritious possibly having more vitamin C than oranges and exceeding the calcium content of cow's milk Also known as "sour gourd"or "monkey's bread", the dry fruit pulp separated from seeds and fibers is eaten directly or mixed into porridge or milk. In Malawi,the fruit pulp is used to make a nutrient-rich juice.

Having a distinctive foul smell, tree parts may have been used by primitive tribes to ward off evil spirits, making the tree known inAfrican folklore as "God's Thumb."A Major Trollip while stationed in Namibia during World War One installed a flush toilet in his local hollow baobab where it remainsto this day (see picture)!

So these ancient trees have many uses here on this continent and are likely to remain an obstruction in thestreets of Africa for some time! Tionana

Google Video - Spring Lecture Series

If you missed the talk on the 25/03/09 the The Cicada's 17 Year Sleep - Complexity and Emergence in the Natural World given by Dr. Declan Murphy you can view it through google videos by following the link below http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-2763690042769934717&hl=en

If you missed the talk on 'Darwin and Darwinism' given by Adam Tozer in Feburary, you can also watch it on google vidoes by following the link http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5765645832228418054