Ring of Gullion Volunteers needed

The Ring of Gullion AONB is calling for volunteers to take part in the National Plant Monitoring Scheme 2015. Designed by the Botanical Society of Britain and Ireland (BSBI), the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology (CEH), Plantlife and the Join Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC), the scheme will help provide an annual indication of changes in plant abundance and biodiversity.

Newry Mourne and Down District Council through the Ring of Gullion AONB and Landscape Partnership Scheme are offering volunteers training to take part in this great scheme. The training will take place in Crossmaglen Community Centre on Friday 17th July starting at 9.45am. Spaces can be booked on the Ring of Gullion website www.ringofgullion.org .

Councillor Naomi Bailie, Chairperson of Newry, Mourne and Down District Council said “Plants are the foundations of habitats and ecosystems, but we are currently lacking valuable information about changes in plants across the country and especially the Ring of Gullion.”

“The survey will help to provide robust evidence regarding which widespread plants are increasing or declining, and where. This is where the public comes in. We are looking for volunteers to carry out surveys in different parts of the Ring of Gullion.”

This scheme is a newly developed habitat-based, volunteer-lead plant monitoring scheme. The aim is to collect data yearly and volunteers are randomly allocated a reasonably local 1km square to visit. For more information on the National Plant Monitoring Scheme in Northern Ireland, visit nmni.com/cedar/surveys/NPMS

This training is free and supported by Newry Mourne and Down District Council, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Ring of Gullion Landscape Partnership, the Heritage Lottery Fund and CEDaR Centre for Environmental Data and Recording (http://www2.habitas.org.uk/records/).

If you would like to get involved in the training, book your place through the website www.ringofgullion.org or call into the office in Crossmaglen Community Centre, O’Fiaich Square, Crossmaglen, BT35 9AA Tel:-(028) 3082 8590.