Station Poster Campaign
The Translink Biodiversity Project is using, amongst other means, station posters as an innovative and effective way of raising awareness of biodiversity and getting the message out to staff and the members of the public. We plan to produce two each year so watch the poster space at your local bus or train station!
Swift Action
One of the benefits of Translink supporting a Biodiversity Project is that there is a biodiversity officer in post which staff, members of the public or a local community group can contact if they have an idea for a project or a query regarding wildlife and conservation on Translink’s property.
One such enquiry was made in early 2008 when a local resident contacted the officer to explore the idea of Translink participating in a swift nest box scheme for his area. Swifts migrate from central and southern Africa each spring to these shores to breed, gravitating to the eaves and roofspaces of older buildings or modern buildings that can accommodate them. A bus depot in his area, it seems, offers prime summer residences for these overseas visitors – the location being the outside wall of the depot where nest boxes could be erected.
Rose Cremin, Translink Biodiversity Officer explains: “The problem for swifts in Northern Ireland is that they have traditionally nested in large colonies in old buildings, many of which were built in the late 19th century and are now being demolished or refurbished. The Northern Ireland Swift Group has reported colonies which have had their numbers halved in the past 20 years or been completely lost due to lack of nesting sites, so it’s important we do our bit to help.”
There are simple measures that can be taken to accommodate these impressive long-distance flyers – for example, being sensitive when redeveloping or using internal or external nest boxes on buildings – and there is plenty of information out there to guide you. Most likely we can all make space for wildlife; in this instance it is the swift species where a bus depot offers an ideal wall to put boxes up on. No doubt there are other opportunities for wildlife that Translink can accommodate, where practicable, with help from staff and customers alike.
For further information and action you can take for these species, take a look at http://actionforswifts.com.
