Girley BogManagement Report

2014

Report to sponsors,staff & volunteers

Girley Bog, Co. Meath Management Report 2014, Report to Sponsors, Staff andVolunteersPrepared and written by Tadhg Ó Corcora Msc, Conservation Officer, IPCC

© 2014 Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Lullymore, Rathangan, Co. Kildare, Irelandwww.ipcc.ie

Cover Images from the top left (note all photographs © Tadhg Ó Corcora unless otherwise stated):Education course delivered on Girley Bog © Nuala Madigan; The living surface of Girley Bog © CatherineO’Connell; Heather clearance from drains; Community engagement © Kate Flood; Inoculating the cutoverwith Sphagnum; Bog walk and talk for Biodiversity week © Nuala Madigan; Tree Removal with MoylePark students; Drain blocking; TCD Biodiversity & Conservation MSc volunteers; Water measurements onthe bog; Raising awareness of the ongoing work during Heritage Week © Kate Flood; Extracting donorSphagnum for innoculation trial; Profiling the bog surface

Girley Bog, Co. Meath Management Report 2014

Acknowledgements

This project is supported by Meath County Council, the Environmental Protection Agency under theSTRIVE programme and the Heritage Council under the Heritage Management Grant Scheme2014.

Girley Bog was purchased with assistance from the Dutch Foundation for the Conservation of IrishBogs as well as Friends of the Bog, the members and supporters of the IPCC in 2013.

Staff & Volunteers

IPCC wish to acknowledge our colleagues in the partner organizations for this project including theNational Parks & Wildlife Service, Coillte, Native Woodland Trust, Meath County Council, CauseyFarm Experience, Queens University Belfast, Denyer Ecology and Meath Ecotours.

We also wish to thank members of the local community who participated as volunteers on the proj-ect, who provided information, made donations and supported the conservation of Girley Bog byattending public awareness events.

We would particularly like to mention the following people;

Martin Lawless, Wilbert Gelens, Tadhg Ó Corcora, Katie Geraghty, Marcella Branigan, RolandMcHugh, Elizabeth McHugh, Mary Kerr, Micheal Ó Corcora, Ben Mohan, Andy Smyth, NualaMadigan, Catherine O’Connell, Jenni Roche, Maurice Eakin, John Dowds, Niall Murray, SteveWaldren & the TCD Biodiversity & Conservation MSc Students, Terry Flanagan & the Moyle ParkTransition Year Students, Ray Flynn, Kate Flood, Hugh Cushnan, Ken Reid, Mr. Reid, Ger Dunne,Marion G.O., Deirdre and Matt Murtagh & the staff of Causey Farm, Native Woodland Trust, SharonByrne, John Connolly, Loreto Guinan, Annette Lynch, Oliver Usher, Rebecca Doyle, ChristinaSweeney, Joanne Denyer

Contents

Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . 1

Project Aims . . . . . . . . . 3

Water Measurements . . . . . . . . 4

Girley Bog Management Goup . . . . . . 5

Drain Blocking . . . . . . . . 6

Education . . . . . . . . . 11

Sphagnum Cultivation Trial . . . . . . 14

Tree Removal . . . . . . . . . 15

Communication . . . . . . . . 16

Appendix I : Water Measurement Graphs

Appendix II : Dam Location GPS Data

Appexdix III : Species List for Girley Bog

List of Figures

1. Girley Bog Drainage Scheme & Piezometer Location2. Meeting No. 3 of the Girley Bog Management Group3. Overall drainage map of IPCC section of Girley Bog4. Drain C area of IPCC section, extensive drainage scheme5. Topography graph of Drain B6. Plastic lumbar used to block drains, displaying issue with split plastic7. Location and type of dams installed on Drains A & B8. Location and type of dams installed in Drain C area9. Participants of Education Course on Girley Bog10. Front Cover of Girley Bog Map & Guide11. Back Cover of Girley Bog Map & Guide12. Measurements of the Girley Bog boardwalk13. Location of the Girley Bog boardwalk

Project Aims and Achievements

The overall aims of the Girley Bog Restoration is the restoration and subsequent conservation of theexisting Annex I habitats on the site (Active Raised Bog and Bog Woodland), as well as maximisingthe conservation and biodiversity value of the entire site. The development of the sites potential forresearch and education. The involvement of the local community in the providing a valuable amenityat Girley Bog.

The objectives of the project were to:

• Complete a full species list for Girley Bog (see Appendix III)

• Restore 8.6ha of raised bog habitat on Girley Bog NHA, Co. Meath.

• Profile and block 1km of drains on the bog with 30 dams.

• Innoculate part of the cutover bog with Sphagnum mosses so as to re-establish active bog growth.

• Publicise and host three public awareness events during biodiversity week, international bog day and heritage week.

• Engage volunteers and encourage community participation - IPCC engaged 95 volunteers on the project on throughout the summer and set up a stakeholder group to help develop and co-ordinate management activities being undertaken on the site.

Activities undertaken included:

• Restoration works involved 18 visits to Girley Bog between April and November 2014. Tasks included:

o Profiling drainso Constructing dams using drain piling and peato Training volunteerso Monitoring water levels in 32 piezometerso Re-establishing Sphagnum moss growth on the cutover bog

Benefits of the project included:

• IPCC engaged the local community very successfully with this project from raising awareness to encouraging engagement and stewardship.

• 8.5ha of threatened raised bog habitat has been enhanced through the measures undertaken.

The lesson learned from the project was:

• That conservation excellence is achieved through engagement with local communities on a variety of levels.

Water Measurements

32 piezometers were installed on Girley Bog between March and August

These were located as follows (below and see Figure 1):

• 5 piezometers at various points along Drain B

• A ‘V Transect’ of 10 piezometers travelling towards the bog centre from Drain C

• A ‘V Transect’ of 5 piezometers travelling towards the bog centre from Drain A

• 2 piezometers in each of 4 cutover bays

• 4 piezometers installed directly below facebank in Cutover Bay 1

• Since March 2014, water measurements have been taken on the bog 6 times in total. This is to allow information be gathered before and after drain blocking on water levels in the bog. This data is visible in Appendix I

Girley Bog Management Group

• Given the large number of stakeholders in Girley Bog a Management Group was set up to ensure information was shared across the board and advise could be given and taken on board by all parties. The members of this group are as follows:

o Irish Peatland Conservation Councilo Native Woodland Trusto National Parks & Wildlife Serviceo Coillteo Meath County Councilo Causey Farm Experienceo Queens University Belfasto Private Landownerso Meath Ecotours

• The Management Group met on 3 occasions in 2014, on the 4th March, 30th April and the 10th September.

• At 2 meetings there were guest speakers who focused on research work undertaken on Girley. Dr Ray Flynn on the hydrology of Girley Bog and Dr Joanne Denyer on the ecotope habitats present on the site

• The Group worked to provide a Management and Restoration Plan for the site and to this end 44 provisional actions have been drawn up

Drain Blocking

• First step was to map each of the drains on the site. Two drains (A & B) are the major system drains running from the centre of the bog to the margins. In addition an extensive complex of drains were mapped close to the cutover bog (see Figures 3 & 4)

• Overgrown bushes of heather were cleared so that drains could be adequately followed and the bog surface detected

• Drain profile measurements were taken on the bog surface directly adjacent to each drain. Three meter sticks were used and measurements were taken on a metre-by-metre basis.

• There is significant drop in topography along the drains in the IPCC property, for example Drain B has a shift of over 5 metres in height across 462 metres from the centre of the bog to the cutover (see Figure 5). Best practice is to insert a dam every 10cm drop in topography, which would require a minimum of 50 dams. This course of action was not followed as it would exceed the IPCC project budget. As a result a strategic damming protocol was developed to ensure the maximum results for minimum financial outlay. This can be added to in years to come.

• A graph was produced for each of the drains on the site and dam locations chosen for each.

• 150 sheets of plastic lumbar (3m lengths) were purchased from the company Masterpile UK in August 2014. This was delivered to Causey Farm near Girley who kindly accepted and stored the lumbar in close proximity to the bog.

• Blocking was carried out on a series of days throughout September, October and November.

• An issue arose with the plastic delivered from Masterpile as the lumbar was made using two separate sheets as opposed to one stand-alone piece. As a result the pressure required to insert the dams occasionally resulted in the plastic splitting (see Figure 6). In such cases the sheet was replaced and discarded

• This was reported to the company and 50% or 75 new sheets were delivered to the Bog of Allen Nature Centre in November 2014.

• As of the 10th November IPCC have inserted 32 dams across the drainage scheme of Girley Bog concentrating on the larger drains. These are made up of both single line plastic dams and sandwich dams which are a combination of two plastic dams set close together sandwiching a layer of peat.

• A GPS reading (see Appendix II) and photograph has been recorded for each dam to help monitor rewetting and species regeneration in the future.

Education

• IPCC have initiated a number of programmes to further educate and increase awareness of the local community and general public on the importance of the raised bog habitat supported on Girley

• On Friday 21st February Nuala Madigan, Education Officer with the IPCC was on the bog to deliver an education course to 11 members of the local community working with them on how to deliver ecology courses specifically on peatlands (see Figure 9)

• The IPCC have produced an information Map and Guide on Girley Bog to raise awareness of the importance of the site and to highlight its’ unique contribution to biodiversity (see Figure 10 & 11). This is available in print format and to download fromwww.ipcc.ie as a pdf.

• IPCC were awarded a grant from Meath County Council to purchase wooden lumbar to install a 100m boardwalk on the Eastern extreme of our land. This area faces considerable damage from trampling as it makes up part of the popular Girley Bog National Loop Walk (No. 51)

• Wood was purchased from David Fox at Irish Timber Products and delivered to the site on the 7th July

• Work on the boardwalk began the same day by staff (District Conservation Officer and General Operatives) of the National Parks & Wildlife Service. Work continued throughout the week with the above workers as well as staff and volunteers of the IPCC

Sphagnum Cultivation Trial

• On the 14th August IPCC installed a Sphagnum cultivation plot on Cutover Bay 1 of Girley Bog (see Figure 14).

• Sphagnum was collected from a donor site adjacent to the loop walk where the boardwalk was inserted.

• Sphagnum was spread at a ratio of 1 to 10 in an area 16m in length by 2m wide.

• A water piezometer was installed in the trial area prior to the creation of the trial to allow water monitoring before and after completion.

• The area was chosen as it was found to support a high water table throughout the year which should allow for optimum Sphagnum growth conditions.

Tree Removal

• As a result of the historical afforestation of part of Girley Bog there has been significant seeding on the IPCC land with the spread of conifer trees, in particular scots pine from the adjacent Coillte land holding.

• The Coillte forestry has now been removed and drains blocked in the area as part of a major raised bog LIFE+ project (ref: LIFE09 NAT/IE/000222), Demonstrating Best practice in Raised Bog Restoration in Ireland 2011-2015

• One of the key goals of this project is to ensure the future preservation of the IPCC portion of the site. To this end IPCC is removing short stunted trees from the high bog in particular where they are known to negatively influence the water table

• IPCC carried out 3 intensive workcamps in 2014 with large numbers of volunteers removing trees from the high bog and transporting these to the drainage ditches in the cutover. The dates of the camps were as follows

o 20th May 2014 – Trinity College Dublin Biodiversity & Conservation MSco 28th & 29th August 2014 – Moyle Park Secondary School Transition Year

Students

• Trees continue to be removed periodically by staff and volunteers while on alternative workcamp site visits.

Communications

• 3 open days were held during the project where members of the IPCC met with the local community; o The first during biodiversity week which involved a guided bog tour on the 25th

May 2014o The second event was held on International Bog Day 2014 and involved a for

aging excursion under the leadership of Kate Flood of Meath Ecotours, 27th July 2014

o The Heritage week event was held on the 31st August 2014 and involved a guided tour of the IPCC’s conservation work on Girley Bog led by Tadhg Ó Corcora and Nuala Madigan

• A workshop presentation on the community led conservation of Girley Bog was presented by Dr Catherine O’Connell to members of the Irish Peat Society at their meeting in Tullamore on the 15th October.

• 2 press releases were issued on the project on the 13th May and the 26th August. A feature article was published in Peatland News Autumn 2014. The RTE Mooney Goes Wild programme covered the Heritage Week event on the 31st August.

• 2000 copies of a visitor map and guide to Girley Bog were written, published and circulated by the IPCC in August. This publication was uploaded to the IPCC web site at www.ipcc.ie and is available to download as a pdf.

• An exhibition panel on Girley Bog was mounted at the Causey Farm experience and in the Bog of Allen Nature Centre to help promote the site and educate visitors.

• 18 volunteer days were organised and promoted during the course of the project.

• A 3 minute film about the community led conservation project on Girley entitled ‘Girley Bog Meitheal’ was recorded and published on the IPCC YouTube page.

• An online diary of the project was maintained at www.ipcc.ie.

Figure 16: Still from the IPCC YouTube film ‘Girley Bog Meitheal – Community led Conservation

Appendix I: Water Measurement Graphs for all piezometers on Girley Bog, Co. Meath.

Taken April through November 2014

l Piezometers were systematically installed over the course of 2014 in order to assess the water

level across the bog and hence the capacity of the site to support Spahgnum growth. This will

also allow for assessment of the success of the IPCC drain blocking program.

l Water measurements were collected by IPCC staff and volunteers on a regular basis over the

course of 2014

l Using this data graphs have been created which are presented within this Appendix

l On each of the pages there is a copy of the entire IPCC site and location of piezometers to

be used as reference. This is available in a larger format on page 4 of the main report, where

further information on the IPCC water monitoring system is also available.

Figure 1: Water Measurements for Transect A Girley Bog taken between April and November 2014

Figure 2: Water Measurements for Transect B Girley Bog taken between April and Novemeber 2014

Figure 3: Water Measurements for Transect CE Girley Bog taken between April and November 2014

Figure 4: Water Measurements for Transect CW Girley Bog taken between April and Novemeber 2014

Figure 5: Water Measurements for Cutaway Bay 1 Girley Bog taken between April and November

2014

Figure 6: Water Measurements for Facebank on Cutaway 1 Girley Bog taken between April and

Novemeber 2014

Appendix II: GPS location for each dam inserted on Girley Bog in 2014

Appendix III: Species List for Girley Bog, Co. Meath