SHEEP WOOL INSULATION

I see the All Ireland sheep shearing championships were held this month in County Galway. The event highlights the fact that here in Ireland there is a vast amount of raw wool available to turn into commercial products. Locally, wool for clothing may not be in as much demand as it used to be, and now farmers are selling some wool to be used as home insulation products. There are many benefits in using natural sheep’s wool insulation, the most significant points being that:

- Wool can absorb moisture and still retain its superior insulation properties

- Wool has a naturally long lifespan and will extinguish itself in event of fire

-Wool is perfectly safe to both the end user and the environment.

The only other products in wool insulation are borax and natural rubber. Borax is a naturally occurring salt and acts as a pest-repellent by stopping the development of beetles, moths, ants and cockroaches. Borax also enhances the fire rating of construction materials as well as preserving the materials over time. The natural rubber forms a porous coating that helps retain the memory of the wool.

Wool insulation has a very low conductivity which means it is very difficult for heat to pass from one side to the other, this factor makes if far more energy efficient than other products on the market. It is good to know that sheep’s wool is now being used for all types of house insulation. You can use it for loft insulation, under timber floors, in the internal and external walls as well as in the attic. The Co-op in Carndonagh has more details.

Photo: Francis Doherty from Linsfort helps out with the sheep

Environmental.

BIO FUEL CONCERNS

The European Union has warned that the targets set out for Green Fuels will accelerate the destruction of the rainforests and force indigenous people from their land. The bio-fuel industry is a multi billion-dollar industry and at the centre of a worldwide movement to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Biofuels derived from agricultural products such as wheat corn, sugar cane and other crops are a key issue and a balance has to be made between the fuel production and the ecology of the planet. Done right, it could mean that it will be the farmers who will benefit.

Environmental.

A STROLL IN THE GARDEN - MARION LYNCH

This weeks featured garden is Marion Lynch. Marion’s garden is full of intrigue and splendid features that look great at any time of the year. Marion is a worthy winner of the Best Garden Award in the Buncrana Tidy Towns gardening competition (four times at the last count)! Marion is an inspiration to gardeners across the peninsula.

How long have you been working on the garden?
Twenty years so there have been many changes over the years.

What is your favourite plant?
I love all plants but if I had to choose it would be Mahonia charity, Fatsia Japonica, lilies and geraniums.

What is your favourite feature in the garden?
The gazebo and water fountain. It’s just beautiful to sit in the gazebo in summer with a nice cup of tea looking up at the Fahan hill with the sun setting to the sound of the fountain. It’s just brilliant!

What is your favourite season and why?
Summer. Beautiful flowers, birds singing and washing in the birdbath and the butterflies collecting nectar.

What work gives you the most pleasure in the garden?
The flowerbeds, planting and weeding. I enjoy deadheading and feeding too.


Any irritations in the garden. How do you cope?
Slugs and our cat. Broken egg shells around the base of plants keep the slugs at bay. The cat is more of a problem!

What is your best gardening tool?
I have two. A small rake and a watering can.

Top Tip for spring?
Plant marigolds through the flowerbeds to get rid of whitefly. They don’t like the smell. “Boy oh Boy” is the best.

Any pans for the future?
I will be planting more flowering plants in a new bed at the bottom of the garden.


PHOTO: Marion’s garden is full of interesting features

Horticultural.

ME AND MY MOTOR-DARREN MCCAULEY

Name: Darren McCauley

Address: Drung

Car: 1991 Ford Sierra Sapphire GLX 1.8

Darren is in the middle of a mechanics course at Magee in Derry. He has always had a keen interest in machinery and was guided by his grandfather from a very early age. He used this knowledge to fully restore a 1974 Ford 4000 tractor last year that had been lying in a field for years until he salvaged it. He has now completed his latest project, his Ford Sierra GLX.


How long have you had the car?
I have had the car since September of last year. Before that I had Ford Fiestas

What condition was the car in when you got it?
The bodywork and interior were in excellent condition. It was a one owner car from new and had been well looked after cosmetically

What work did you do to the car?
I did a complete overhaul of the engine and fitted a new original carburettor. I have used genuine parts to keep the originality of the car intact (apart from the boot spoiler and RS wheels!) The paint was very dull too as red oxidises in the sunlight so this also needed work.

How long did it take you to complete the work?
I lost track! I worked mainly evenings and weekends until it was finished.

Is it reliable?
Yes. I travel to Galway in it every week with no problems at all. If it wasn’t reliable I would probably enjoy fixing it anyway!

Best thing about the car?
The Ford Badge! Ford cars are the main vehicles for our family. My grandparents started the trend and my parents, sister and I have all followed suit with models like the Focus and Granada.

Any plans to change?
Reluctantly yes. I would like to work on another project. (An R.S. Cosworth.)

If you were the Minister for Finance what would you do to help motorists?
Cheaper insurance and improve the condition of the roads.

What would you really like to be driving around in?
A Scania Centurion 143 Topline 500 truck! I would be following in the family haulage tradition. My grandfathers (John McCauley and Billy McDaid) were hauliers and so is my father Billy.

PS

HAPPY 19TH BIRTHDAY DARREN!

Motoring.

GREEN SCHOOLS

(Click on the title for a link to the An Taisce site)

Ian.

Could you give me some information about Green Schools? Who runs it and what does being involved mean? Thanks G.K.




Reply
An Taisce are running the Green Schools programme. The hope is to help improve attitudes towards global change. Green-Schools is an International environmental education programme, designed to promote and acknowledge whole school action for the environment. Green-Schools offers a well-defined, controllable way to take environmental issues from the curriculum and apply them to the day to day running of a school. This process helps students to recognise the importance of environmental issues and take them more seriously in their personal and home lives.

BENEFITS TO SCHOOLS
The Green-Schools programme can help schools to:
Improve the School environment
Reduce litter and waste
Reduce fuel bills
Increase environmental awareness
Involve the local community
Gain local publicity
Create links with other schools in Ireland and abroad.

Green-Schools is run by An Taisce in co-operation with Local Authorities throughout Ireland and is sponsored by Coca-Cola Bottlers Ireland Ltd. and The Wrigley Company LTD. Both companies have been criticised recently. Fizzy drinks have been taken out of a lot of schools because parents are concerned about the amount of sugar in them. Chewing gum gets a bad press because of the mess it leaves behind on the streets (and underneath tables!). By doing something positive they hope to clean up their act with the public. A leading integrated waste management company called Greenstar is also on board. In Ireland there are currently almost 2015 Primary, Secondary and Special schools participating in the programme, that's over 50% of all schools in the country! 651 schools have implemented the programme successfully and have been awarded the Green Flag.

Green-Schools is both a programme and an award scheme. The award is given to schools that successfully complete the Seven Steps of the programme.

The Seven Steps

GREEN SCHOOLS COMMITEE
This directs the school's involvement in the project. Ideally, the committee includes pupils, teachers, non-teaching staff, management and parents.

ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
A process of examining the schools environmental impacts in order to identify targets for action and improvement.

ACTION PLAN
This gives specific and achievable targets with proposed completion dates that will show real success.

MONITORING AND EVALUATION
This will ensure that progress towards targets is checked, amendments made when necessary and success celebrated

CURRICULUM WORK
Curriculum materials are provided that give ideas on how to integrate environmental issues into lessons.

INFORMING AND INVOLVING
A publicity programme keeps the school and wider community involved and informed through displays, assemblies and press coverage.

GREEN CODE
This is a statement of the schools commitment to environmental good habits

Green-Schools is a long-term programme; the awards will probably be renewed every two years. An Taisce provides support materials to each school that registers for the Green-Schools programme. There has been lots of positive feedback about the initiative and it looks set to grow in popularity over the coming months. If your school isn’t part of the project then give An Taisce a ring or check out the web site.

Environmental.

A STROLL IN THE GARDEN - JOY FUREY

This week we are in the garden with Joy Furey from Fahan. Joy has created a haven for a wide range of wildlife in her garden as well as a place for the family to play, sit and relax.

How long have you been tending the garden?
Ten years. The garden was a field before then surrounded by mature sycamore and ash trees.

What is your favourite plant?
I would have to say the pink clematis that grows along the fence and up to the top of a large Hawthorne tree at the edge of the garden.

What is your favourite feature in the garden?
I have a water feature that is very relaxing. I also love the variety of birds that come to the garden. We have robins, great tits, wrens, thrushes, doves, rooks, jackdaws, magpies, blackbirds, sparrows and even the occasional sparrow hawk. (They all have to eat!)

What is your favourite season and why?
Autumn for the wonderful colours.

What work gives you the most pleasure in the garden?
Weeding and tidying makes the biggest impact and gives me the most pleasure.

Any irritations in the garden. How do you cope?
Cats can be a menace in the garden. They are bird killers as well as pets and could also torment our over wintering hedgehogs. I have installed a sonic device in the garden to deter the cats. It seems to work.

What is your best gardening tool?
The Weed Twister. It makes tending the borders a pleasure. Four spikes twist around at the end of a long handle. Just push the spikes in, twist, and the weeds come right up!

Top Tip for spring?
If the birds in your garden are not of the passerine type (perching birds) then put plants in the garden, which have berries on them. Holly, mountain ash and rose hips attract all sorts of larger birds to the garden.

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Any plans for the future?
To retire and spend more time in the garden!


PHOTO: Joy gets to work on the weeds with her trusty Weed Twister tool.

Horticultural.