Let it Bee – wild flower meadows to be created around Limerick City

  • Green Leaf City - Let it bee
  • Corbally (Pic Diarmuid Greene)

Limerick City and County Council is to develop its programme of wild flower meadows around the city as part of our commitment to climate action and to celebrate Limerick’s year as a European Green Leaf City. Grass and wild flowers will be allowed to grow in these areas until Autumn to provide food for wild bees. In September, these areas will be cut down and the cuttings removed. This will reduce the nutrient levels in the soil, thus encouraging wildflowers to naturally colonise the areas.

The areas which will be left uncut are:

  • Childers Road from the Parkway Roundabout to the Roxboro Roundabout
  • The Old Cork Road opposite Georgian Village
  • Condell Road from Shannon Bridge to the Coonagh Roundabout
  • The Dock Road Roundabout to the Quin’s Cross Roundabout
  • The central reserve from the Coonagh to Clondrinagh roundabouts

Since 2018 grass cutting has been delayed in a number of areas to allow the dandelions to flower and provide an important early food source for pollinators. This initiative was hugely popular with the public and received an overwhelmingly positive response.

In addition wild flower meadows were developed at Corbally Meadows, Childers Road and College Park. A subsequent study of the species diversity in these areas by botanist Dr. Tom Harrington concluded that all were found to have a range of plants of value to pollinators, in particular at Corbally Meadows.

This year the Council is taking things a step further and in a number of pilot road verges, grass will be left uncut until Autumn to allow the areas to develop into meadows.

Mayor of the City and County of Limerick Cllr Michael Sheahan said: “I’m delighted that the Council is expanding this programme. We all need to take care of the environment and it’s been proven that pollinators are an essential element of our ecosystem, and they need to be protected.”

Limerick City and County Council is an official partner to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, which is leading the way in ‘pollinator protection’.

This means the Council agrees to support the ethos of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan; to consider the plan in their policies, plans, and management decisions where possible; to carry out one pollinator-friendly action in the first year of signing up, and plan to carry out at least three more within the following five years.

Anne Goggin, Senior Executive Engineer with Limerick City and County Council said: “We are leaving areas untouched until this autumn because one of the simplest things you can do to help pollinators is do nothing! Stop cutting grass and using pesticides and herbicides. In fact, just “Let it Bee” and embrace the wild side! And watch out for the signs”

Signs explaining what is happening will be erected in all areas where the meadows are growing.

Let us know what think using #LetItBee on Twitter.

#beefriendlylimerick #LetItBee #EGLALimerick2020

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Treaty Stone Limerick. Photo Piotr Machowczyk