CONSERVATION - belfasthills.org

INDUSTRIAL SITE RENOVATION

There are numerous quarries and old industrial sites across the Belfast Hills. Many of these sites have naturally regenerated and are rich in biodiversity. However others are overgrown with scrub, have grasslands that are rank due to lack of cutting or grazing, have invasive species, illegal dumping or draining problems. Other active industrial sites also exist in the Belfast Hills. These sites provide an opportunity to work with site managers in order to initiate […]

WILDFIRE PROJECT

The Belfast Hills sit adjacent to the large populations of Belfast, Lisburn and Newtownabbey. This places high pressure on the landscape particularly in relation to illegal behaviour such as arson. Most years a number of fires are deliberately started on the hills by young people, generally corresponding to the Easter and summer school holidays. Although fire can be a useful tool for upland management to help regenerate the heathland, theses […]

FARMLAND/GRASSLAND HABITAT ENHANCEMENT

Large parts of the Belfast Hills are made up of privately owned agricultural land (approx 65%). Farming is essential to maintain this landscape and conserve the biodiversity of the Belfast Hills. Despite difficult times for agriculture, we need farmers and landowners to maintain the correct levels of grazing and management to preserve our species-rich grasslands. Grasslands are associated with iconic species such as the Irish hare, Marsh Fritillary butterfly and […]

INVASIVE SPECIES PROJECT

Unfortunately there are known to be high levels of invasive species in the Belfast Hills. This may in part be due to flytipping and also the number of landfill sites dotted across the hills, both legal and illegal. Such sites often have associated invasive species due to cutting/vegetation present in the dumped material. River corridors can provide the perfect habitat for invasive species to spread. Within the Belfast Hills, Japanese […]

BUILT HERITAGE SURVEYS & RESTORATION

The Belfast Hills have a rich history, the evidence of which may be seen by the remains left in the landscape. Much of this history is as yet undiscovered. When the National Trust bought the Divis and Black Mountain site in 2004 only one historic monument/feature was identified. To date 223 have now been uncovered. This provides a taster for what else must be out there in similar surrounding hill […]