Laois man on team that wins big biodiversity award

It was a double for Laois at the the National Heritage Awards where Ricky Whelan from Mountmellick was on hand at the Royal College of Physicians Ireland to co-accept the Biodiversity Award.

The Awards honour those organisers who created the most engaging and inspiring events and projects for National Heritage Week 2022.

This Biodiversity award is presented to the event that successfully encouraged a greater appreciation of our natural world or a consideration of the variety of plant and animal life in the area, and/or conservation of native species and natural landscapes, and/or that considers a resilient and sustainable future for the environment.

Ricky was centrally involved in the BirdWatch Ireland project which was carried out, in association with Kildare Bat Group and Laois Heritage Office, Co Laois: Irish Wildlife Trust Laois Offaly Branch, BirdWatch Ireland and Kildare Bat Group. They organised ‘Bats about Rooks’, a walk for all ages through the People’s Park in Portlaoise to hear all about its bird and bat life.
Birdwatch Ireland's Ricky Whelan led the information walk while Kildare Bat Group expert Anna Collins also gave a talk about bats, leading the audience after dark along the River Triogue bank.

The event on Friday, August 19 started at the rookery at the Downs beside the Park, one of the largest in Laois, and brought to life the antics of the Rooks and Jackdaws that call Portlaoise their home.

Portlaoise has not only has one of the fastest growing populations in Ireland, but it also has the largest roost of rooks in the county.

Ricky leads the way during the Heritage Week event.

The heritage site of The Downs, a glacial ridge covered in mature trees near the town centre, is now known to have the largest rook roost in Laois.

Anna Collins spoke about the bat life of the Park, showing adults and children alike how to use bat detectors to make the echolocation calls of the bats audible to human ears, and helping everyone to adjust the frequency on the detectors to actually identify the different bat species flying above the group, purely by the frequency of their calls.

One of the highlights of the event was when the group was treated to the sight of two Daubenton’s bats, possibly a mother and young, flying together low over the park’s lake, feeding on the insect life of the lake.

Páirc an Phobail in Portlaoise, managed by Laois County Council, is an oasis for wildlife in the town, having recently been awarded the Green Flag for Parks. The original vision for Páirc an Phobail has evolved over the last 16 years with many new additions, designed to attract people of all ages back to using the Park to its full potential.

Some of the facilities in the Park are a natural play area, a woodland walk containing a bilingual Tree Trail, grassy areas managed for pollinators and a small man -made lake which is also managed for wildlife.

The Park provides an excellent location for nature trails and also gives schools and families the opportunity to observe local wildlife in a beautiful setting. The Park has successfully achieved a Green Flag Award each year since it first entered the scheme in 2016.

Ricky commented on winning the award.

"We are blessed to have such natural spectacles on our doorsteps and at the centre of our county town. To be able to see upwards of 4000 Rooks come to roost each winter evening is truly wonderful, it’s a privilege to observe their behaviours, politics and social structures right on our doorsteps. Add the wonder of echolocating and foraging bats to the equation and you have a truly special event,” he said.

The National Heritage Awards honour those organisers who created the most engaging and inspiring events and projects for National Heritage Week 2022, as well as Ireland’s Heritage Hero. This year National Heritage Week celebrated the return of in-person events, while continuing to showcase digital projects, which proved popular over the last two years.

Portlaoise man Teddy Fennelly was presented with the Heritage Hero award at the event which was attended by big Laois contingent. 

More than 1,800 events and projects took place around the country in August during National Heritage Week, as communities and individuals answered the Heritage Council’s invitation to explore this year’s themes of sustainable heritage and biodiversity.

In Pictures : Portlaoise GAA give Zach Tuohy a warm welcome home to Laois

Entrants were also encouraged to use environmentally friendly practices to ensure the sustainability of their events and to share heritage with everyone in the community, including those who are new to heritage, those who do not have local roots or those who have additional accessibility needs.

Award winners chosen from entries under six heritage categories received their awards from Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD.