21/05/2012

Windfall for Woodland Protection Group

A community group has won three quarters of a million pounds to protect endangered woodland.

Members of Carntogher Community Association, from Co. Londonderry, plan to buy and manage 130 acres of land, using money from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Niall O'Kane, of Carntogher Community Association, said the windfall was a "dream come true".

He said the money would "provide the opportunity for the entire community to get involved in a landmark heritage project over the coming years."

The project will nearly triple the size of Drumnaph reserve, protecting trees dating back to the 1600s as well as two Iron Age forts.

Paul Mullan of the Heritage Lottery Fund said the woodland had been at "significant risk of destruction", but this funding would help volunteers get to grips with conservation skills.

He said: "Northern Ireland has very little woodland cover, only 6% compared to an average 12% for the rest of the UK."

The site, near Maghera, is home to sparrow hawks, buzzards, otters, Irish hares, and wading birds.

(NE)

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