NATURE:A NEW Butterfly Garden opened in Letterkenny yesterday as part of Heritage Week, aimed at fostering the many species of butterflies native to Ireland, writes Kate Heaney
The project has been spearheaded by the local branch of An Taisce in an effort to conserve the wide variety of butterflies in the county and educate people as to their importance as an indicator of the general health of the environment
Mr Bob Aldwell, president of the Dublin Naturalists' Field Club, who has supervised butterfly surveys in the county for the past 11 years, attended the opening and congratulated all those involved on the development of the butterfly garden.
Mr Aldwell explained that Donegal has 25 of the 33 regular species of butterfly seen in Ireland each year, with two of the rarer species - the Dingy Skipper and Small Blue - being seen in particular areas of the county. The Marsh Fritillary which is now endangered in western Europe is to be found in good numbers around the Inishowen peninsula.
"Butterflies are part of the natural and national heritage and it is good to see this development being included as part of Heritage Week," he said.
"Butterflies are a sensitive bio-indicator which show the health of the general environment. Today some species are still relatively numerous although the majority of people will say there are less butterflies than they remember seeing years ago. We do not have hard data to support this, but it is a sad fact that all too often the native plants the butterfly thrives on are deemed as a weed.
"People of my generation, and I am in my 80s, can remember when there was a corncrake and yellow hammer in nearly every field. Now, in one lifetime, they are rare and almost extinct. We do not want to take anything for granted," Mr Aldwell said.
He added that the creation of this new garden will meet the two main needs of the butterfly - nectar and food plants. While some species are relatively sedentary, never moving more than 10m, others roam the country when the sun shines. A third requirement for the species in Donegal he added was shelter.
Mr Aldwell, who spends up to 40 days a year in the county surveying, welcomed the funding from the Heritage Council and thanked the 40 volunteers from Donegal who assisted him.
Mrs May McClintock, the chairperson of An Taisce in Donegal, explained the rationale behind the local project. Last year her local members carried out a biodiversity study in the county and noticed that there were few butterflies.
The main idea for the garden came after An Taisce members Anne McGowan and Eithne Diver visited a butterfly garden in Norway. On their return to Letterkenny they then began to discuss the possibilities of creating a local butterfly garden in the area.
"Butterfly gardens can provide sustainable habitats as a food source for caterpillars and nectar for adult butterflies. They also give people in urban areas a chance to watch butterflies at close quarters," said Mrs McClintock.
"We have planted only plants which will attract butterflies. In order to make the proper habitat for butterflies there are a few important things which need to be in place. Firstly they need shelter and a garden which faces the morning sun. Strangely enough butterflies not only need food, they also need water and we have plenty of that here because there is a stream which runs just behind the garden."