Summer Newsletter 2019 Northern Ireland Ploughman's Hill at Mount Stewart last summer Take a walk on the wild side this summer More than just pretty to the eye, wildflower meadows play an important role in maintaining a healthy eco-system, providing food and a home for a variety of wildlife. n the last few years we have make a big contribution to the health of steps you can turn your garden into a haven including the rare greater butterfly grasses that can be found, providing created 15 extra hectares of other wildlife too. They attract a huge for wildlife. Try planting pollinator-friendly orchid. These wildflowers have thrived a home for moths, flies, bees and I variety and number of pollinating insects flowers, trees and shrubs in your garden following a change in the way the butterflies and a host of other wildflower meadows and verges in including butterflies, such as meadow flowerbeds, planters or window boxes. land is managed. Instead of being wildlife. Belfast, Fermanagh, Cushendun, browns, small coppers and common Check out the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan maintained as lawn, the meadows in and Castle Ward, bringing our total blues, as well as hoverflies and bees. guide for gardens at www.pollinators.ie front of the house and along the drive North Coast – White Park Bay and meadows to over 40 hectares – The National Trust has signed up to which has great tips and recommended are now cut just once a year, giving Giant’s Causeway are also home to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and are plant lists. Make simple bug hotels to attract the flowers a chance to flourish and species rich grasslands with a diverse that’s about 80 football pitches of dedicated to making our outdoor spaces insects into your garden and leave part of set seed. range of wildflowers such as frog meadows in Northern Ireland! pollinator friendly. your lawn uncut and see what wildflowers orchid, meadow cranesbill, devil’s- appear – you may be pleasantly surprised!’ Castle Ward – we'll be leaving bit scabious, twayblade, meadow As well as meadows, we manage wildflower ‘Unfortunately our pollinators and other unmown areas across Castle Ward vetchling, harebell, kidney vetch, rich dune systems, peatlands, woodlands, insects are not faring well in today’s Take time this summer to celebrate our this summer to provide food and lady’s bedstraw, pyramidal orchid and wetlands, gardens, hedgerows and orchards environment. Several high-profile wildflower meadows and enjoy some of shelter for our native pollinators. Why the common spotted-orchid. - all important for the survival of pollinators scientific reports, based on long-term these special places throughout the season. not spend some time in our recently like bees, moths and butterflies. surveys show catastrophic declines; the created ‘Broad Meadow’ where yellow Mount Stewart – once a potato field, term ‘Insectageddon’ has been coined to Rowallane Garden – bluebells are followed rattle and common orchid are already the 14-acre site at Ploughman’s Hill Our Wildlife Adviser, Melina Quinn is capture the seriousness of the problem. by splashes of yellow in kidney vetch and beginning to flourish, and see how was seeded with a meadow mix of encouraging everyone to discover one of Insects are critical to the survival of the bird’s-foot trefoil. Then starry whites of many varieties of butterfly and bee 21 varieties creating an impressive our wildflower meadows this summer and if rest of the living world; they pollinate eyebright and chickweeds appear, with the species you can spot. Alternatively, pictorial meadow including poppies, possible, create your own wildflower space our crops and wild plants, control pests, pale pink spikes of the common spotted- come along and join our ranger cornflowers, corn marigolds and at home too. decompose and recycle organic matter orchid appearing in July and the purple team in some of their survey and ox-eyed daisies. The mix contains and provide food for many of our birds, haze of devil’s-bit scabious blossoming in monitoring tasks. annuals for an exceptional display in ‘A walk through a meadow to see our native fish, amphibians and mammals. late summer. the first year with perennials which grasses and wildflowers in bloom can really Minnowburn – meadowsweet, get better and better from year two lift the spirits,’ Melina explains. ‘Wildflowers ‘This is where you can do your bit to Castle Coole – look out for knapweed, orchids, buttercups, yellow rattle and onwards, so we should be in for a however are not simply pretty to look at but help nature too. By taking a few simple self-heal, oxeye daisy, plantain and orchids, vetches are among the flowers and treat this summer! Page 02 Page 03 Page 06 Page 07 Page 08 Fundraising for Mussenden Temple Dog-friendly café at Castle Ward Meet our Mourne Rangers Holiday ideas at home Dates for your diary www.nationaltrust.org.uk/ni Summer 2019 01 Local craft: In the picture A GIANT success Dr Bob Brown OBE The retail team at the Giant's Causeway Regional Chairman have once again smashed their sales targets for 2018 and have attributed The world is littered with committees and their success, in no small part, to boards that work away almost unseen, their strong focus on local craft. but do important jobs none the less. Well, here’s one for you - the Northern Ireland The Giant's Causeway retail offer Regional Advisory Board (RAB to its provides a unique landscape where friends) is a group of volunteers who have Northern Ireland's artisans and agreed, as the name suggests, to give Connecting People and Places Sustainably crafters can showcase their range of advice to our team in Northern Ireland beautiful gifts, imagined, designed about issues, challenges and of course Stunning and staggeringly beautiful the large numbers coming to their towns I am delighted that later this year we opportunities, lying before the Trust. and uniquely made in Northern Ireland, landscapes, majestic mountains, rugged and villages. This sometimes hidden and will be jointly hosting an international to a broad range of international coastlines, and the most friendly and unseen impact can be positive, but we conference to consider further how visitors. Visitors are guaranteed to find The National Trust wouldn’t be the passionate people you will ever meet. know this isn’t always the case. best to do that. We will be learning healthy and vital organisation it is without an extra special souvenir to treasure That’s how I hear visitors to Northern from others, as well as sharing our their trip to the Causeway Coast. volunteers. Their efforts permeate Ireland describing ‘our wee country’. Being aware of this, the National Trust experiences, to make sure that almost every area of our operations, be in Northern Ireland has taken a number Northern Ireland continues to be Alastair Walker, Operations Manager it telling stories in fine houses, repairing The appeal of our amazing places are of actions. While not set up as a tourism a must-see destination, but not at said: 'This is a tremendous achievement dry stone walls in the hills, encouraging no longer the preserve of those who live organisation, we find ourselves through the cost of the people, heritage and for the retail team here at the Causeway. new members, and just about anything here. Over the last five years Northern our conservation work and ownership, experiences we offer. else. In essence the members of the Ireland has seen consistently increasing managing some of the most most popular ‘The team have a very clear RAB are pretty much the same – they’re numbers of international visitors natural, built and cultural heritage sites Will we ever go back to a few understanding about the part they volunteers. For them, the task is to act wanting to experience it for themselves here. Working with our partners in thousand people visiting the Giant’s as critical friends for the whole Northern and that is likely to continue. Our Tourism NI, Tourism Ireland, government, Causeway each year having welcomed play in helping to look after special Ireland team. So, in the next couple of confidence and pride in our heritage Council representatives and key tourism 1.1 million last year? I doubt it. Can places and they are driven and paragraphs I’ll try to share what we are has blossomed. Economically it has partners we have started the conversation we manage the numbers visiting and passionate about coming up with not, and more importantly, what we are. given us a boost and tourism is now our about the need to look ahead, and give those visitors the best possible innovative ways to constantly achieve. largest contributor to GDP. manage our sites in a responsible way. experience, while sharing the economic Firstly, we aren’t a bunch of isolated benefit with others? Absolutely! Can 'Year on year, since the new Visitor boffins directing the actions of the However, the growth in numbers Collectively we have recognised that we we ensure that visits to National Trust Centre opened in 2012, the team have various National Trust teams about the visiting Northern Ireland and National don’t want to end up in a situation like places continue to grow and do so honed the commercial offer, with a country. We can’t, and don’t want to, Trust sites brings with it the challenge Venice where over tourism is now a big sustainably without damaging the strong focus on local craft. We are very have any executive function at all – the of how to ensure those who visits issue, so we have to plan now.