Discovering the Hidden Heritage of Ballyteige Burrow’s Buffer Zone
Most people know Ballyteige Burrow as one of Ireland’s most important coastal dune systems, protected as both a Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Special Protection Area (SPA). 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗳𝗲𝘄 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗽𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗼 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗿𝗼𝗹𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹.
This week, as part of National Heritage Week, we’re taking you behind the scenes of our Community Heritage Grant project: a multi-season ecological baseline survey of the Cutting and the surrounding buffer zone. Stretching for more than 2 kilometres from Sofrimar towards Inish Bridge, the Cutting forms part of a wider, roughly triangular buffer zone lying within the Ballyteige Burrow pNHA and immediately alongside the SAC. This network of reedbeds, hedgerows, ponds, grasslands and waterways creates a living ecological corridor connecting the protected dune system with the surrounding landscape. this network of reedbeds, hedgerows, ponds, grasslands and waterways acts as a living corridor connecting habitats. It provides food, shelter and safe passage for birds, mammals, insects and amphibians, while helping to protect the ecological health of Ballyteige Burrow itself.
Until now, this landscape had never been surveyed in a comprehensive way.
Over the past few months, with the support of a professional ecologist and an enthusiastic team of volunteers, we have been recording breeding birds, mapping habitats, documenting plants and searching for signs of protected mammals such as otters, badgers and pine martens. By November, this work will become the first ecological baseline for this important area—a snapshot in time that will help guide conservation, inform future planning, and allow us to measure environmental change in the years ahead.
This isn’t just about recording wildlife. It’s about understanding how nature works as a connected system, where every hedge, ditch, pond and patch of grass has a role to play.
Throughout Heritage Week, we’ll be sharing some of the fascinating discoveries we’ve made so far.
We hope you’ll join us as we explore the hidden natural heritage that exists just beyond the dunes.
Saturday 15th, we’ll discover why The Cutting is one of Kilmore Quay’s most important wildlife corridors—and who uses it.Tune in each day next week, from Saturday 15th to Friday 21st, to discover more of the hidden natural heritage of Ballytwihe’s buffer zone.
𝑇ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑗𝑒𝑐𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑢𝑝𝑝𝑜𝑟𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑏𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑐𝑖𝑙 𝑡ℎ𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝐻𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 𝐺𝑟𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑆𝑐ℎ𝑒𝑚𝑒.