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Design By Nature's most important conversation project to
date.
Offaly Co. Council carried out the first
ever recreation of an esker flora in Ireland.
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DBN were contacted to recreate Offaly's
flora, as in future new roads are to be built through the Eskers Ridges.
Eskers are rare glacial features in the landscape which stretch across
Ireland. The foreground shows the areas without topsoil,
the background shows a scattering of peat, you can see the
difference to the resulting vegatation.
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During the 1990s, Design By Nature worked with Mr. Jack Keyes of Offaly County Council.
The County Council's aim was to grow for the first time ever, Native Wild Esker Flora on bare
Eskers denuded of any
vegetation. To landscape and maintain native flora on such site take years
and is not like sowing wildflower seed on normal bare soil where the
fertility assists the growth of all species
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The base soil is so poor, lacking any nutrients, that
it took 7 years for the flora to grow and flower, we watched it get
bigger every year, saw the rabbits eat it and once enough soil
fertility built up the wildflowers bloomed. No top soil was to be
used over half the site, as we knew this would assist the establishment
of long term meadow and allow comparisons.. |
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This photograph is taken in year two, shows Marestail germinating
from the peaty soil, we had enough knowledge to know that such a terrible
weed colonised sand and gravel pits which were cut fro Eskers, so we
were not concerned as we knew the some of the species we choose
would compete in this soil. In 2004 the now rare Greater Knapweed is
flourishing. |
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Design by Nature were also asked to prepare a Management plan and to sow trial plots. To date we have collected the entire flora of the
Local Esker Ridge in Co.
Offaly.
We then grew the seed at our Nurseries and re-established the seed back on the Eskers.
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To see
further text only information from Design By Natures file regarding Esker
Management Plan for Co. Offaly, please click here
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| Most of these bare Eskers are clearly visible where a new road has cut through them, many also are hidden from the public in farms, gravel pits, and under native ash and hazel woodland.
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