Pollardstown Fen Traditional Cache
Inishanier: Hi,
There has been no response from the cache owner so I'm Archiving this cache.
It may be possible to reactivate this cache. If you wish to do so please contact me via my profile and quote the Geocaching.com ID for the cache so I know which one you are referring to.
Please be aware that reactivation is not guaranteed and will depend on individual circumstances.
Many thanks,
Graham
Inishanier - Volunteer Reviewer for Geocaching.com (Ireland)
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You do not have to enter the fen to locate this cache. Fen's can be dangerous areas if you do not know them well.
Pollardstown fen is the largest remaining calcareous spring-fed fen in Ireland. Covering an area of 220 ha, it is recognised as an internationally important fen ecosystem with unique and endangered plant communities.
Undisturbed fens are rare in Ireland as their evolution into bogs is a natural progression. Moreover most Irish fens have been drained and developed for agriculture. This appeared to be the fate of Pollardstown when drainage work was undertaken during the 1960‘s to turn the fen into agricultural land.
The evolution of Pollardstown fen began after the last ice age, about 13,000 years ago, when retreating ice fields left behind a large hollow, filled with glacial meltwater and bounded by a glacial deposit of sand and gravel known as an esker. The lake was fed by calcium rich springs issuing from under the Curragh of Kildare, itself a great expanse of glacial gravel deposits. In time the mineral rich springs supported floating plant communities on the lake, while other plant species such as reed and sedge colonised the lake edge.
As these plants died they did not decompose fully, due to the lack of oxygen, and their remains collected on the lake bottom as fen peat. Over thousands of years the lake at Pollardstown became filled with the accumulation of peat to form a fen, and its surface now supports the distinctive fen vegetation to be found there today.
Pollardstown is best known internationally for its extensive areas of fen vegetation dominated by Black Bog Rush and Saw Sedge, a vegetation type almost unique to Ireland. Pollardstown also supports a number of rare and threatened plant species including the Fly Orchid, Pugsley‘s Marsh Orchid, Fen Bedstraw, Broad-leaved Bog Cotton, Tufted Sedge, Slender Sedge and Blunt Flowered Rush. Orchids to be found at Pollardstown include the Lesser Butterfly Orchid, Fragrant Orchid, Twayblade and the Marsh and Spotted Orchids. Insect-eating plants such as the Common Butterwort and Western Bladderwort are also present, while the Round-leaved Sundew can be seen growing on sphagnum moss in acidic parts of the fen.
The influence of man has left Pollardstown with a diversity of habitats including a central lake, reed swamps and forestry in addition to regenerating and intact fen. These habitats sustain a variety of animal species.
Pollardstown Fen National Nature Reserve is located 3km west of Newbridge in Co. Kildare.
Additional Hints
(Decrypt)
Oruvaq angherf abfr!
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