Killeshandras wild flower initiative is blooming

Bryan Wilson

Purples, reds and yellows, the road from Cavan town to Killeshandra is awash with colour...
These are not highly maintained, manicured potted plants; these are the wild-flowers left to flourish by local volunteers who are eager to let nature take its course as part of a new project to enhance Killeshandra’s biodiversity.
Killeshandra Tidy Towns received funding from to carry out a year-long survey of public areas within the town. As a result, local naturalist Heather Bothwell began to scour the local areas for potential wild-flower growth.
Enlisting the help of a Tidy Towns member blessed with an extensive knowledge of wild-flowers, Barbara Newbury, Heather went in search for “what was there for starters” near the Cavan Road picnic area, The Strand and the Old Rath Church graveyard. 
She was impressed by the wide variety of flora, but discovered that whilst mowing the grass areas, diligent maintenance staff were inadvertently clipping back some of the most beautiful flowers before they could blossom. 
With Heather’s advice heeded, cutting regimes of local Rural Social Scheme members Sean Reilly, Robin McIntyre and Brian Moore were changed “to allow the wild-flowers to grow up”.
Heather and Barbara both believe the decrease in wild flowers is a national issue. 
In Britain, with similar conditions to our own land, wild-flower habitats have decreased by 97% since the 1930s.
At present, the pocket of land beside road from the lakeside town to Crossdoney is low lying, and for motorists driving past, the work undertaken may not immediately stand out. But as Heather says: “The idea is not to say 'We’re going to make the most beautiful thing’. It’s to say 'We want to use something from around here, something that belongs here’.”
The survey carried out by Heather over a period of 12-months found Killeshandra has always enjoyed a rich array of local flora, including orchids trying to grow, but up until this latest initiative had been snipped just as they began to flower.
Heather and Barbara’s vision is to let the grass grow, and therefore the different varieties of orchids, self heal and tormentil to bloom. Results from their scheme so far have been positive, the roadside stretch of grass measuring a few hundred metres are home to over 100 orchids and several other variations.
While it was Heather and Barbara’s initial vision, the practical work has been done by local community workers. The trio of workers share the ladies’ excitement for the conservation project. The advice they follow is, if anything interesting is spotted “Just mow around it.” 
The reason the wild flowers have such large growth in this area is that it is the same men that have been caring for this land for the past few years, and assure us that there has been no weed spraying here for years. The clippings have also been moved impoverishing the soil of certain nutrients, leaving it ripe for the growth of these wild flowers.
This project has not finished. It is only a few months in and the results are already evident for any walkers coming in or out of Killeshandra in the direction of Cavan town. Wild flowers are important for the survival of bumblebees in the area. Even on the cold rainy day, that the Celt met with those involved, a bumblebee was observed searching for a flower to pollinate.
The new project began with an Agenda 21 Grant received by and funded by the Cavan County Council.