Re-wilding Wicklows Uplands Landscape Architecture 2021 - Thesis Book Seán Phelan LARC40360 Ucd Landscape Architecture School of Architecture, Planning & Environmental Policy 1 2 Table of contents Page 4 Summary of site & problem 5 Summary of concept 6 Summery of Solution/approach 7 Landscape research 21 Design 22 Analysis 28 Concept 31 Strategy 35 Trails 36 Bog Restoration 40 Woodland Restoration 44 River Restoration 45 Conclusion Glendasan 3 Executive summary Thesis Statement - To develop a landscape rewilding strategy in the wicklow uplands that aims to restore natural heritage. Site/Problem The area in which I have chosen to investigate and test Summary for my design thesis is located in the heart of the Wick- low upland region, which is the largest upland region in the county, stretching from the south of Dublin to Carlow. The site comprises of two neighboring glacial valleys at the source of the Avoca river watershed, Glenmcnass and Glendesan that meet each other Laragh. The site lies most- ly in the Wicklow mountains national park (the largest in the county), which is also Ireland’s largest SPA under the bird’s directive and SAC under the habitats directive. The region is rich in habitat diversity, ranging from blanket bogs that coat the hills to rocky cliff faces and even some long-established woodlands further down stream. The large open and expansive landscapes are hugely popular recreation areas for hill walkers and nature lovers from Dublin and beyond with stkevins and the Wicklow way be- ing two popular tails that run through the site. As well as its natural wealth, the region is renowned for its cultural heritage with Glendalough, the glens of lead mining sites, the famous military road and is one Ireland’s biggest tour- ist destinations. However, despite these being habitats of international im- portance they are in dire straits and are deteriorating at an alarming rate. These sensitive montane habitats have had a been subjected to a history of damaging land use activ- ities such as deforestation, the draining of peatlands for cutting turf and afforestation, burning, grazing pressure from sheep and a deer population that is over 10 times a sustainable average. As a result, our blanket bogs are slid- ing off the hills eroding at a rate of up to 1 tonne per hect- are per year, in-turn polluting our water and clogging our rivers and releasing vast quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. This history of ‘de-wilding’ has brought us to where we are today, in the midst of a climate and biodiversity emergency. As well as climate and biodiversity implications, the ability of this landscape to retain water has been lost causing serious problems for the catchment Avoca river was named Ireland’s most degraded river due to its levels of acid and silt, mining and exotic coniferous afforestation on peatlands are to blame. 4 Concept summary My design thesis deals with the new radial concept of nature conservation known as rewilding. Nature conser- vation has traditionally aimed at conserving the current state of natural environment or aims to restore it to the state in which it was received, as each generation hands down a more degraded natural environment the baseline for what needs to be met is lowered. Whereas Rewilding seeks to correct the environment to the stage where natu- ral processes can take hold and begin to drive functioning and dynamic natural systems. Rewilding is biased on the fact that nature is the ultimate restorator and designer and that natural processes will always prevail. However, it is the role of man to kick start some of these natural processes. Flooding, natural grazing, scavenging and predation are all essential natural processes that have been stripped from Irish landscapes. These natural processes make a functional ecology and functioning landscapes that are dynamic and forever changing. Natura 2000 sites (SPAs & SACs) are the largest network of protected lands in the world and is the backbone of EU conservation, and as a member state Ireland is legally bound to protect and manage its Natura 2000 sites. As outlined in article 6 of the habitats directive, section 1 states that member states must establish management plans for its protected habitats and species, section 2 states member states must prevent any further deteriora- tion of Its protected habitats (Sundseth 2014). However, this has not been the case in the Wicklow hills. The Eu has recently released its biodiversity strategy for 2030 which unlocks 20 billion per year to be spent on bio- diversity and aims to protect 30% of land and sea. My concept stands on the above EU policy and law and I propose to that landscape use/management is driver by habitat restoration from 2021 onwards and recognizes the following. - In the NPWS 2019 report on the Status of EU protected habitats all habitats in Wicklow uplands scored in the bad condition category. - The cost of future landscape management and failure of to protect habitats will be huge and Ireland will end up in the EU court for their failure to act. - Ireland’s Climate Change Plan and Biodiversity Action and is being rewritten. -Wicklow County was the leading group in the declaration of a Biodiversity and Climate Emergency. 5 Solution/Approach To solve the problems outlined above I have designed na- Summary ture biased solutions that address three main landscape components, restoring blogland, rivers and promoting natural woodland regeneration. I have developed a large- scale strategy that shows how the overall project will be phased and develop in time. Acknowledging that humans cannot manage the landscape on their own I propose to reintroduce some of our lost fauna as landscape engi- neers….. Beginning with my strategy, I have proposed to create Green infrastructure links that link areas of high ecolog- ical value (eg. Long established woodland) in the region via riparian corridors. These links will create wildlife high- ways that promote dispersal and genetic diversity as well as establishing riparian buffers and habitats. I then propose that Coilte phase out conifer mono culture forestry and phase in continuous cover forestry, where-by a mixture of selected species are planted and selectively removed. To promote natural woodland regeneration in the uplands (up to the treeline @500 M) seed sources will be planted from indigenous seed to facilitate seed dis- persal. Alongside this, sheep will be removed from com- monage and deer will be heavily culled, while wild Boar - ty and the Eurasians lynx will be introduced to incorporate the ecology of fear into and manage the deer population. The restoration of peatlands comprises of re-wetting drained bogs to restore the water table and removal of afforestation and invasive species in a sensitive manner. Peat Hag damming and contour bunding will focus on restoring bog areas that have suffered from accelerated weathering due to grazing pressures in order to prevent runoff and promote peat accumulation. Looking to our waterways the establishment of riparian buffers, the creation of instream habitats and the im- provement of river morphology are the methods of resto- ration I have focused on. Providing safe access into these areas so that people can enjoy and learn from our natural heritage was the fourth are I focused on. 6 Old Military Road 7 Introduction Landscape Research the year to support epiphytes. Epiphytes are plant organisms that grow and live on other plans and draw their water nutrients from the air around them such as mosses and lichens. For thousands of years the majority of Irelands natural environment consisted of temperate rainforest. These rainforests primarily consisted of oak woodlands in the lowland and valley areas while the more marginal upland areas would have consisted of pine and birch forests. This environment was deeply ingrained in the history of our culture and economy as it was where people drew resources and spirituality from. Tales of the wood are intertwined with Irish folklore and place names. I am from Hollywood, once holywood where St. Keven began his pilgrimage to Glendalough. Here he was met with an oak wood so thick and powerful that it was impassable, when he prayed to god the wood opened and paved a path that brought him to Glendalough where he started his monastery. He blessed the wood and swore that any man who cut it would be cursed. Figure 2 - Deciduous wood - Seán Phelan Up until early Christian times our Brehon law system that survived in partially up until the 17th - mented. After a long history of de-wilding Now Irelands natural environment is among one our ecosystem such as forestry and farming which are damaging and intensive and pay little respect to wild areas. Irelands biggest national park and so called ‘wild area’ is located in the Wicklow mountains and is comprised mainly of barren mountains that are a grazing area for sheep and deer. This ‘wet desert’ has the potential to provide much needed habitats for Irelands indigenous birds, forested land take up the majority of the Wicklow upland region. 8 What is rewilding Rewilding as a concept can mean various things to different people. For some people, it can be sectioning off a corner of their land to be left back into the hands of nature, for others it can mean the absence of human activity in large areas of land and the reintroduction of extinct fauna. The word its self is relativity new, it only came into the dictionary in 2011. of nature to allow it to heal itself. George Monbiot, a journalist and environmental activist describes the notion of rewilding as being a way of thinking and that rewilding the person is just as important as rewilding the land.