Credit Union helps Lui Na Greine biodiversity project

Pics courtesy Lui Na Greine Working Group.

A biodiversity project at the Lui Na Greine estate is now well under way thanks to support from Kildare Credit Union, writes Brian Byrne.

Members of the estate's Working Group have planted barrels with pollinator-friendly spring bulbs and winter bedding plants, and a bird feeder, bird table and a hedgehog box have been installed at strategic places in the estate grounds.

The Working Group saw an advertisement from the Credit Union's Outreach Programme earlier this year offering to help biodiversity projects. "We put in our application, but everything was then postponed because of the Covid lockdown," says the Group's Majella Leighton. "We finally got our funding in September, and that enabled us to get down to it."

The plan had two phases, planting for pollinators and also looking at nature in general in the estate. Although some planting for the overall project has to be deferred until the spring, a good start was made, and it's hoped both the bird feeder and hedgehog box will be made use of through the coming winter.

"We used to see quite a few hedgehogs in the area, though not as many since the 2010 big cold snap," Majella says. "They hibernate, and we're hoping that one or more will take advantage of the warm and dry space as we get into winter."

The estate already had two areas being managed for wildlife and wild flowers, and these are where the box and the bird table have been located. This kind of project also serves to brings households in a community together, and Majella says the Group particularly involved children from the estate, from the very early stage.

All concerned are very grateful to Kildare Credit Union, whose support fully covered the costs of the project.

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