Newsletter 27 July 2024
A Normal Sunny Sunday
On Sunday morning there was an air of anticipation and excitement around Ballincollig as Cork were preparing for their meeting with Clare in the All Ireland.
The morning started with the watering of the planters at Eastgate which were very thirsty and took 800 litres of water and feed.
We had 29 volunteers out for our Weekly Litter Pick and in addition Denis and Cillian were washing signs in West Village.
We covered all the usual areas from Carrigrohane to Classes and everything in between and we also covered sections of the Regional Park and the steps that go from behind Westgate Foundation down to opposite Ballincollig Community School.
A great crew out and from everyone we collected 7 bags of litter. In addition there were 2 bags of litter and 1 bag of glass collected from our volunteers.
The cuppa afterwards was great fun and the banter between Cork and Clare was as always lively. We reckon the Clare Shout will be hard to stop this Sunday!!
Monday Works Part 1
Monday morning was a bad morning for people in Cork but Gay, Sunday and Tom, hit the ground running. They started by cutting back the briars that were over hanging the footpath near the traffic lights at Heathfield Estate heading along the Carriganarra Road. They also strimmed back the grass near the directional sign. Now at people can see the sign!!
Monday Work Part 2
Monday morning’s work continued with Gay, Sunday and Tom, cleaning the rest of the weeds from the back of Circle K, they then trimmed the bank at the back entrance to Muskerry estate and then strimmed around the Welcome to Ballincollig Sign.
Innishmore Clean Up
On Tuesday morning following a request from one of our volunteers Jimmy and his Team tackled the Flower bed in Innishmore Estate. This bed was always maintained by the Residents but unfortunately has been left and was overgrown and neglected.
After a lot of hard work by Sunday and Jimmy they revealed the tidy estates 1997 plaque for all to see.
They removed 3 no ton bags of weeds/cuttings of thorny shrubs. They made a huge difference. Well done lads.
They then went and collected 7 bags of weeds/cuttings and road sweepings collected from Rosewood.
Eastgate Tidy Up
Jimmy did a great job cleaning around the old Barracks entrance at Eastgate. The difference in the space of an hour was so noticeable.
Thursday Worknight
Our Motley Crew enjoyed lovely sunshine as they did a clean up at Poulavone Roundabout on Thursday evening.
While they were working our Watering Team were out as well and they used 1050 litres of water and feed and were out watering for 3 hours.
Thursday Crew
On Thursday our Proud Clare Man and his Team did a great job.
Keith and Sunday filled a trailer with suckers and dead branches removed from trees on Old Fort road. While Tom and Ger removed weeds from base of wall at the junction of Carrigrohane & Leemount Place.
The difference in both locations is very significant.
Tuesday Crew on the Edge!!
On Tuesday evening 16 Volunteers including 2 guest volunteers were edging at Coolroe in front of Parc Cul Rua and also in front of Ballincollig Rugby Club. Diarmuid struck off with the edging machine and the team started and removed so much that the trailer was full at the end. The difference was over 8 inches in places on the footpath. Two of our volunteers then started cutting back protruding briars from the boundary hedge of the Rugby Club. In one hour the team did an incredible job and our thanks to our guests.
Wednesday Morning
Vince and his Team continued the work done on Tuesday night by removing the sods after the edging machine. They then had the huge job of moving over 40 bags of edging to recycling.
DC’s for Bees
We have been very lucky to be involved with the DCs for Bees Project which is a sub initiative of Host Ireland.
In association with them we have planted a number of Mini Orchards and we are delighted to see the results with beautiful apples this year. It has been a wonderful experience to see the trees develop and to see the fruits develop and all importantly see the bees in action.
Busy Bees
Our allotment continues to be a hive of activity for Busy Bees.
These photos are a sample of what was happening early last Sunday morning.
Cinnabar Moth
Recently we were looking at removing some ragwort and when we were doing so we noticed a large number of Cinnabar Moth Caterpillars on the plant.
We did some research and following this we are going to leave them alone for a while.
Below is an article on these moths by Charlotte Owen.
Cinnabar Moth caterpillars can be found in their hundreds munching away on yellow-flowered Ragwort, and their bold black-and-gold stripes make them easy to identify. As well as being the Cinnabar caterpillar’s main food plant, Ragwort supports more than 40 other insect species and is an important source of nectar. It is also toxic and well known for its potential to poison horses and other livestock if eaten, particularly via contaminated hay. The toxins within the growing plant make it so bitter and unpalatable that it is usually avoided but the Cinnabar caterpillars feast upon ragwort without ill effect. They actually benefit from its toxicity by eating enough of it to become toxic themselves, and their colourful stripes are a warning to predators: I’m poisonous and taste terrible, don’t try to eat me.
Newly-hatched caterpillars are vulnerable at first so will cluster together, starting at the base of the plant and working their way up. As they grow bigger and develop their toxic defences they start to spread out, and with hundreds of hungry mouths their host plant can be rapidly reduced to a ragged, leafless stem. Large populations can easily decimate an entire patch of Ragwort and many caterpillars will starve if their food runs out before they are fully grown, so as competition intensifies the caterpillars become more aggressive and may even turn to cannibalism in their quest for calories. It takes about a month for them to develop fully, at which point they will descend to ground level ready to pupate. They will remain here all winter, safe inside their cocoons, and complete their metamorphosis the following spring to emerge as beautiful black and red adults.
It is thanks to this vibrant red colouration that the moth earned its unusual name, inspired by the red mineral cinnabar – a toxic mercury ore that was once widely used as an artist’s pigment. The adult moths fly during the day and could easily be mistaken for exotic butterflies. They are brightly coloured for the same reason as the caterpillars, since the Ragwort’s toxins remain in their bodies and still provide an effective defence against predators.
