Wildlife About Wildlife: Exploring the People’s Park in Limerick

I LOVE exploring parks and especially ones that make the effort to maintain a balance between the needs of people and wildlife. Parks can provide an important connect between people and nature and for those living in the city environment an opportunity to get up and close with nature.

I recently had the “interesting experience of dress shopping for my daughters TY ball. This is a new occasion for me as it was not around when I was in secondary school. The dress shopping went very well and there was a few tears as she looked so grown up and stunning in the dress.

Even though it was a very positive experience myself and Harry were still in need of some nature therapy to clear our heads. The day was bright but cool and we were only a short walk from the local park.

It felt like ages since we have visited and I had promised Harry the last few times we were near the park that we would go for a walk there but it never managed to happen. As we passed through the entrance the wind was rustling the autumn leaves on the branches of the trees. There was already a crinkly carpet covered the ground and leaves are an amazing resource for nature and people.

Battle lines drawn over proposed cycle lane in Limerick city centre

They are slowly decomposed by worms, insects and fungi and this returns all the nutrients back into the soil. I usually stuff them into old compost bags and leave to decay for a few years. By then it has turned into the most amazing compost and it is completely free. You just need to be careful where you pick up the leaves as I have sometimes found broken glass.

We walked beneath tall oak trees that are well over a century old. Lower down one of the larger branches of a conifer tree was growing at a 90 degree angle. I have often seen kids sitting and playing on it but today there was a young couple on it and they were taking photos of themselves.

Winter heathers had been planted in a bed and these will provide a welcome splash of colour. If the trend of mild winter weather continues and queen bees emerge heathers will provide one of the few sources of pollen and nectar. A possible necessary action of climate change will be to provide more winter bee friendly plants.

I was recently with a class of students and they asked why wasps are important? Wasps chew up tonnes of caterpillars and flies and bring this high protein food back to their larva. This helps maintain a healthy population of flies in the environment.
I was thrilled to discover that several new beds had been created and planted with pollinator friendly plants. Providing food plants for bees and butterflies is becoming a more important feature of our community green spaces and this is helping to create a healthier environment for wildlife.

Even at this late stage of the season there was still plenty of colour, shape and flowers. Cat mint is great for bumblebees and while mine have long finished flowering this additional warmth and shelter in the park extends a lot of plants flowering season. The buildings and hard surfaces of the city absorb heat during the day and radiate it out at night making it feel a few degrees warmer.

The tall London plane trees had already lost most of their leaves but their patchwork bark was an interesting autumn feature.

At the back of the museum Fushia and marigold were in flower. Nearby a bed of black eyed Susan flowers provided a welcome distraction from the browns of the large beech trees.

We were all starting to feel the cold and getting a little hungry and we left the park for another day.

I felt refreshed after a walk in the park and having access to parks and nature is an important part of keeping my mind and body healthy.

For More
albert.nolan@rocketmail.com or 089 4230502.