Poison in the woods?A suspected case of poisoning from the banned pesticide, Lindane, is highlighted in the current Forestry Network Newsletter.
Wicklow-resident Rosita Sweetman gives a graphic description of the body rash she has developed over the past five months and the treatment options she has pursued. She links the onset of her symptoms to a bang on the leg she got while walking in the woods near her home. Elsewhere in the e-bulletin, Lindane is described as a "persistent carcinogenic" and hormone disruptor which is banned throughout Europe although still used in many countries in the developing world. Coillte discontinued its use in state forests in 1999. However, the concern of Sweetman and others is that earlier use of the pesticide can still cause illness. The editors of FNN are keen to hear of reports of any other cases. See www.friendsoftheenvironment.org for Forestry Network Newsletter index and e-mail contacts.
Preserving early texts
Many early Christian texts stored in ecclesiastical libraries throughout Ireland are decaying due to inadequate storage and preservation. These collections of books in such places as the Bolton Library in the grounds of Cashel Cathedral, Cashel, Co Tipperary, Glenstal Abbey, Co Limerick, and Mount St Joseph Cistercian Abbey, Roscrea, Co Tipperary, have both academic and cultural significance. Now, a group of academics and librarians in the south of Ireland have come together to raise funds to catalogue and preserve these holy books. The project is called Memolib, an acronym for Munster Ecclesiastical and Monastic Libraries. Contact George Cunningham on tel: 0505-21619 for more details.
Environmental policy update
As access to the countryside continues to be a contentious issue, the role of the Mountaineering Council of Ireland in resolving disputes between farmers and walkers becomes more crucial. The MCI is currently updating its environmental policies and welcomes ideas on how best they should be implemented. Interested members of the public can attend meetings: on Monday at 8 p.m. in Jurys Tara Hotel, Merrion Road, Dublin; on Wednesday at 8.30 p.m. in the Home Rule Club, John's Quay, Kilkenny, and on Saturday next at 4 p.m. in McKevitt's Village Hotel, Carlingford, Co Louth. See also www.mountaineering.ie
Hedge watch
Nature-lovers turned environmental vigilantes are a growing species. And, e-mailing sightings of the flouting of environmental legislation has become an effective way of raising environmental awareness further. It is in this vein that Debra James complains of the unseasonal cutting of hedges. Under the Wildlife (Amendment) Act 2000, it is an offence to cut, grub or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch from March 1st to August 31st, she says in the current issue of the Forestry Network Newsletter. James suggests that signs specifying the illegality of felling hedges during the specified time would be useful. See also www.thehedge.org and www.networksfornature.com
