Green Communities Wild Flower Walk & Talk, Corkagh Park: 07/05/16

The Green Communities Wild Flower Walk and talk went ahead in collaboration with South Dublin County Council Parks Department and the National Biodiversity Data Centre. Unfortunately we faced a cold cloudy day after a week of mild sunshine. The skies were opaque with Nimbostratus like cloud after earlier rainfall this morning.

After a slide show and talk about Ireland’s Wild Flowers, we then walked around the park identifying and recording some of the species within Corkagh Park. These records contribute towards the National Vascular Plant Database! The aim of the National Vascular Plant Database is to build a picture of Ireland’s flora and to help drive plant conservation in Ireland through better data.

During the walk Una and Oisin demonstrated what’s involved in the new plant monitoring scheme, where a 2 metre square patch of grass land is surveyed once a year to list the number of plant species it supports. For more information see:

http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/projects/vascular-plants/plant-monitoring-scheme/how-to-take-part/

There was plenty of bird life to be seen as well. Four newly arrived Swifts were powering about backwards and forwards over the fishing ponds, amongst the Swallows and Sand Martins. We also saw nesting Grey Heron. Corkagh Park is located near the Naas road stretching towards Clondalkin. Opened to the public in 1986, it consists of 120 hectares and was formerly part of Corkagh Demesne.