KILCULLEN: 18 May 2001: by Brian Byrne. A five-year wildlife conservation plan under way in Kilcullen may well be a unique undertaking amongst Kildare's smaller communities.
The project is one of a number under the aegis of Kilcullen Community Action, a new community group evolved from several local organisations and individuals, including the Tidy Towns Committee.
The plan has been drawn up by a sub-committee led by Duchas conservation ranger Roy Thompson (right), and will include assessment of existing habitats as well as identifying those which can benefit from management schemes.
An education element will involve regular articles in the Kilcullen community magazine, The Bridge, and the inclusion of young people from the town's schools.
Habitats already identified around the town include marsh, grassland, wet woodland and scrub woodland. A full survey towards the creation of a 'habitat map' is expected to be completed within a year.
"We plan to involve the schools in a number of ways," says Roy Thompson. "These can include building of bird nesting boxes and bat roosting boxes in the woodwork classes, which can then be distributed to homes who want to do their own bit to look after wildlife."
A comprehensive habitats management plan will be drawn up, to be ready early in year two. But Roy Thompson suggests elements of this may well be to 'not manage' particular areas.
"There are cases where we will be more concerned with making sure that habitats are left untouched," he says, adding that the programme will be a series of 'small scale' elements to maintain and possibly enhance the wildlife situation in the immediate Kilcullen environs.