RBAPS Project

El pasado mes de septiembre se reunió el Comité Asesor del Proyecto RBAPS en las oficinas de Gestión Ambiental de Navarra. En la reunión se presentó el proyecto al comité, que tras mostrar su interés por el mismo, aportó interesantes sugerencias y comentarios para la su implementación.

Last September the Advisory Gruop of the RBAPS Project in Navarra had its first meeting. The RBAPS Project was presented to the Advisory Group. Members of the group expressed their interest on it and made useful suggestions and contributions to improve it.

An information meeting on the RBAPS project is being held for farmers in the following townlands

Scrabbagh, Sheebeg, Carrickaport and Coraughrim

in the Leitrim Organic Co-op, Enterprise Centre, Hill Road, Durmshanbo, 7pm on Tuesday 13th October.

If you are farming in these townlands, either as an owner or through a lease, then please come along and meet Dolores and Caitriona, the RBAPS Co. Leitrim team, and see if your land may be eligible to enter the RBAPS scheme for 2016 & 2017.

An information meeting on the RBAPS project is being held for farmers in the following townlands

Gleneige, Fawnlion, Dooard, Kiltyfeenaghty Glebe and Shass

in the Bee Park, Manorhamilton at 7pm on Monday 12th October.

 

If you are farming in these townlands, either as an owner or through a lease, then please come along and meet Dolores and Caitriona, the RBAPS Co. Leitrim team and see if your land may be eligible to enter the RBAPS scheme for 2016 & 2017.

Lichens can often go unnoticed but they are everywhere on farms, hanging from trees; growing on rocks, wooden fences and sometimes on old animal bones. 

If you could look at a lichen under a microscope you’d see that most of a lichen is actually a fungus which gives the shape and a small algae which makes the food through photosynthesis. The algae and the fungus work together perfectly and because of this they are found in every continent and you’ll find them growing on boulders at the sea up to rocks at the top of Ireland’s highest mountains.

Apparently over 8% of the world’s surface is covered with lichens, and it’s reckoned that there are close to 1,200 lichen species in Ireland – compare that to less than 1,000 plant species found on our small island.

This picture is of at least three lichen species growing on the branches of an old Hawthorn in the middle of sheep grazed field in North Leitrim. The ‘fluffy’ lichen is Usnea, and it’s usually found in areas where air quality is good. So when you see this type of lichen, make sure to take a deep breath and enjoy the fresh, clean air.

For more information and pictures of lichens see http://www.lichens.ie/.

Marsh or Spotted Orchids (Dactlyorhiza species) can be found in bogs, heaths, wet meadows and along roadsides. Petal colour can range from purple, to pink to white. They are beautiful plants and can indicate grassland which has had limited disturbance and intensification.

On site today we found another lovely meadow, down on the edge of a small lake, beautiful array of flowers and heaps of damselflies and dragonflies zipping about 🙂

The European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism is the only European organisation focusing on the maintenance of low-intensity livestock farming and are lead partners on the RBAPS project.

For more information about the European Forum on Nature Conservation and Pastoralism visit

http://www.efncp.org/

For more information about the AranLife Programme:

http://www.aranlife.ie/

Welcome. We are currently in the process of making this site a valuable resource for all our stakeholders. In the meanwhile, if you have any queries please contact the project manager, Caitriona Maher at this email address maher.caitriona@itsligo.ie