As I was driving to host the Foyle environmental hustings this week, the destruction road building causes hit me right up the face as I meandered the stunning Glenshane pass.
Have a go if you must for my car use - but after a full day’s work - it was the only way to reach the Walled Garden on the outskirts of the city on time because of the state of our public transport system.
We do what we can, but sometimes making the right choice is almost impossible. But now we have that out of the road, I want to talk about this new A6.
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The project, which has been divided into a number of sections, saw 14.7km of new road installed between Toome and Castledawson Roundabout officially opened last year. A further stretch of 25.5km from Dungiven to Drumahoe, near Derry, is still being built.
I’ll admit it’s nice driving on brand new tarmac.
The slight reduction in journey time from Belfast to Castledawson along the finished stretch when you have a deadline to meet was also welcome. But gliding along the snaking miles of road, all I could think about was the impact our selfish wants and needs have on nature.
I wrote early and often about the plight of the whooper swans, whose Lough Beg habitat now has cars using the first phase of this new road whizzing by.
I highlighted then how some didn’t want the road because of the scar it would leave on a landscape that inspired Seamus Heaney.
Despite there being other options on the table, planners continued with the one closest to the Special Protection Area despite backlash from environmental campaigners.
So the diggers piled in, trees were chopped down in their scores and lands cleared to make way for the glistening new road.
Nichola Mallon then officially opened it with the cutting of a ribbon last year.
But the job wasn’t yet finished.
The Dungiven to Derry stretch is now being built.
On my journey this week I could see huge sections were finished even if they’re not operational yet. But as much of it sits alongside the already existing Glenshane pass as you wind up the mountain, it really got me thinking about how many more animals we’ll kill with two roads side by side.
I can’t recall a single motorway journey in recent weeks, where I didn’t see a dead bird, badger, fox or bunny lying in mush on the side of the road. People drive fast and the poor creatures haven’t a chance if they come into contact with our windscreens or grills.
And that’s why I think everything we plan and do in Northern Ireland should take the animals we share the land with into consideration.
When I went campervanning in England last year, the south of the country had an abundance of overpasses for mammals to avoid busy roads.
As I headed along the A6 this week, I couldn’t spot any so thought I’d ask about it.
The Department for Infrastructure tell me “mammal underpasses, bat hop-over planting, badger fencing and otter fencing” were all included in the new road scheme.
Their statement read: “Environmental assessments for major roads projects are carried out in accordance with UK national standards. Specific standards cover biodiversity and require detailed ecology surveys and assessments to be undertaken, the results of which inform the appropriate mitigation strategy to be implemented.
“As part of the overall environmental assessment process for the A6 Dungiven to Drumahoe dualling scheme, the potential impacts on a range of protected species were identified and, where appropriate, mitigation measures are being provided which include mammal underpasses, bat hop-over planting, badger fencing and otter fencing.”
After further probing it appears, 12 mammal underpasses were included in the first section of the A6 dualling scheme and 25 in the second.
That’s roughly one per kilometre.
I know lots of people balk a walking that far to cross a road but we won’t know if it’s enough for the animals until we can compare road kill figures for roads without any.
That’ll have to wait for another day.
We need to catch ourselves on
The amount of Northern Ireland waste sent to landfill between last October and December, was up almost 7% on the previous year.
I dunno about you, but I thought these figures were supposed to be going the other way.
I’ve asked the Department for Environment to explain what they think is happening here since there was a 4.4% drop in the amount of waste collected and the recycling rate stayed in households stayed pretty much the same (48%). I'll let you know what they say when I get an answer.
We just need to do better as what goes in the black bin is what’s doing the most harm. So please have a think about the waste you’re creating when you head to the supermarket and shop online.
More and more shops are popping up to help us reduce waste but big players like Coca Cola, with pathetic claims they’ll use 25% reusable packaging by 2030 while producing 13 billion more plastic bottles in 2021 than the previous year, are screwing us all.
Greenpeace is right to call them out and maybe we all should next time we need a drink.
Contactless water fountains installed in NI first
Antrim and Newtownabbey has become the first council in Northern Ireland install Ecofill contactless water filling stations along its shorelines.
It is hoped the initiative will help tackle marine litter as well as plastic waste by saving around 65,000 plastic bottles a year.
The four new filling stations, 14 new solar bins and two community litter pick boards were paid for with a £40,000 grant from Live Here, Love Here’s DAERA funded marine litter capital grants scheme.
Antrim and Newtownabbey Mayor Billy Webb said: “We are proud to be the first Council in Northern Ireland to install the Ecofill Water Refill stations in our marine areas.
“An inbuilt digital water flow meter analysis of how much water is consumed is showing hundreds of bottles saved in just the first few weeks of installation.
“Our Council’s aim is to provide environmentally sustainable solutions and get our residents and visitors excited to keep our beautiful scenic areas waste free for all to enjoy, ultimately improving waterways and the marine environment for local people.”
Get some bottle
Please, please, please get yourself a reusable water bottle and bring it everywhere with you.
I thought, everyone would have caught onto this by now - but a workout in the gym most mornings has shown me how wrong I was.
Imagine if we all had a reusable bottle and everywhere we went there was a lovely Ecofill fountain available to top it up.
We’d spend far less on drinks in throwaway plastics and save ourselves a fortune into the bargain.
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If you have a story you'd like to share please contact me at shauna.corr@reachplc.com or @ShaunaReports
