EnglishThe Chairperson Ernie Hunter introduced the first speaker of the night our member Pat Rutherford.
In her talk entitled “Encounters with Mountains” Pat referred to the numerous visits she and her husband Jim had made to mountains both locally and abroad.
The mystery surrounding their origin has caused mountains to have a special spiritual significance for millennia. From Moses meeting God on Mount Sinai to Croagh Patrick and Slemish associated with St Patrick to the Buddhist shrine at Everest Base Camp and in more recent years the huge white Christian Cross erected on Slieve Gallion.
The scientific theory of Plate Tectonics in the 1970’s helped explain the origin of mountains.
From the time the world’s land area was all in the supercontinent Rodinia, the Earth’s continental plates have been in constant motion. For example, the two parts of Ireland north and south were at one time on two entirely separate continental plates far apart but came together along a line located at approximately the same position as today’s political border! Where two plates collide forcefully mountains are pushed upwards eg our Sperrins are part of the Caledonian range and were once 5 miles high. In other places plates are drifting apart—Pat showed us a photo of the Mid Atlantic Rift in Thingvellir National Park, Iceland which she and Jim had visited. Here the American and Eurasian plates are drifting apart at the rate of growth of a fingernail.
Pat intrigued us with another photo of Binevenagh with Jim perched on the summit. Also, a picture of the Moss Campion they were shown that day by Ronnie Irvine another CWT member. Moss Campion is an Alpine flower thought to have clung on at Binevenagh since the end of the last Ice Age.
The economic impact of mountains can be very positive eg. Switzerland has exploited the high Alps through having rich neighbours. The economic impact of mountains can however be very negative eg. In Nepal which has spectacular mountains but no rich neighbours to exploit. Here the mountains have led to primitive conditions very apparent when Jim and Pat visited a hospital at Ampipal run by Dr David Rodgers from Dungannon. However, in some places man’s “development” can also degrade mountains with deforestation, mining and quarrying scars and unsympathetic building eg the café at the top of Mount Snowdon criticised by the then Prince Charles.
Jim and Pat have walked many mountains in Britain, Ireland and Europe. As well as spectacular views they have often been rewarded with the sight of interesting mountain wildflowers. Pat showed us pictures of Glacier Crowfoot, Snowbells, Spring Gentians, Carthusian Pink, Trumpet Gentians and Alpine Anemone all seen during their mountain walks in Europe.
Jim had trekked on one occasion with Mid Ulster Walking Group to Everest Base camp. The Group visited a mountain school there set up by the Himalayan Trust founded by Sir Edmund Hillary. We were shown some poignant pictures of Sherpa children.
A few years later Jim and Pat had volunteered with PCI to teach in a school for children of expats in Kathmandu for 6 months. It was winter and the Himalayas were always visible—Pat showed us some spectacular pictures. The highlight was a flight to see Everest which in Nepali is called “Sagarmatha” meaning “The Head of Earth touching Heaven”.
Summary of Pat Rutherford’s talk by Ernest Hunter.
The second person to speak was Charlene Abraham. Charlene is an enthusiastic beekeeper and as well as been a member of Cookstown Wildlife Trust she is also the secretary of the Mid Ulster Beekeepers’ Association. In 2023 three teenage members of the club along with Charlene attended the International Meeting of Young Beekeepers in Slovenia. Over 40 countries were invited to attend. The reason for having this gathering is to encourage and educate 12- to 16-year-olds in the art of beekeeping. Charlene’s slides depicted Slovenia as a lovely country with many old meadows full of different plants all popular with bees. Crops like buckwheat are also cultivated and again these attract bees. In Slovenia, bee keeping is a way of life with 1 out of every 200 people a beekeeper. Many of the beekeepers are hobby beekeepers with few commercial apiarists. Charlene commented that the Carniolan honeybee is Slovenians native bee. They are a protected species and are greyer than our honeybee with a calm disposition and the ability to withstand very cold weather. Whilst in Slovenia Charlene and others were shown a museum dedicated to bees where everything was bee themed. Another trip was a visit to a Slovenian bee house. The hives in these bee houses are called AZ hives from the initials of Anton Znidersic, who developed them in the late nineteenth century They are designed to be housed in a building which not only protects the bees but also the beekeepers from harsh weather The hives face south to receive the sun, only the front of the hive where the bees enter, and leave is exposed to the elements. Up to forty beehives can be kept in this way. It’s also a tradition to paint the hive’s landing board and upper and lower entrances different colours and design to help the bees return to their hive. Some of the designs for instance are of mythical creatures. Another interesting visit was to a house where the owner lived in one half while the other half had been transformed into a bee museum. The large collection of items included some very old painted panels from bee houses, bee equipment and a beautiful selection of bee stamps. There was also a ‘honey room’ were honey and mead could be tasted. As Slovenia is the world capital of beekeeping it is not surprising to discover that it has what is called ’Apiary Therapy’ where people can get the chance to sleep close to the beehives. Apparently, the smell of the honey and the vibrations from the bees help to relieve stress and anxiety. Slovenia is characterized by wide varieties of honey like lime, chestnut and even fir. It was also nice to see that Charlene had time to have fun, namely trying out a zipline! Charlene hopes that in the future this Convention may come to Northern Ireland. After questions from the audience our next speaker, Shane Mc Garvey was introduced.
Shane’s talk was on Cuckoos. This unusual bird can be found in every country apart from Iceland It is the only example of a bird that practices obligate brood parasitism This is when a bird has lost the ability to construct nests and care for its young. This ‘parasite’ manipulates a bird of another species to raise its chicks for her. Shane describes the cuckoo as a dove -sized bird with a long-rounded tail and pointy wings. it arrives in Europe from North Africa in mid-April. Shane says that the cuckoos which arrive at Lough Fea always come every year on St Georges Day! The male cuckoo has mainly grey plumage with some barring and a solid-coloured head and breast, females come in two different colour varieties, which are called ‘morphs’ The first morph is grey and the bird looks quite like the male. The second is a rufous morph where the upperparts are reddish-brown with dark grey or black bars. Cuckoos eat mainly insects and have become adapted to eating hairy caterpillars which other birds would avoid. The hairs are later regurgitated in the form of a bolus. They are often mobbed by their host birds At Lough Fea the host bird is the Meadow Pipit. It is the male Cuckoo who sings persistently with the two note ‘cuck-oo’ but it does have other sounds. It has a guttural hoarse sound when it is chasing females which Shane likened to a Sid James laugh! The female has a soft bubbling call which is usually heard following egg laying. The two sexes have no close bond The males spend most of the time displaying, mating and chasing rivals The female spends her time searching for host nests She is very patient and can sit motionless for hours watching for a suitable nest. When found she silently goes to the nest removes two of the hosts eggs- which she often eats- before laying her own egg. This egg is like the hosts although slightly bigger. This imitating is known as Mimetic. She can only lay 1 egg every other day, but it has been found that a female may be able to lay 25 eggs all in different nests in one season. The young cuckoo after hatching, ejects other eggs or young from the nest so that the host parent can devote all their attention to it. The adult cuckoos begin to leave this country as early as June to migrate through South Europe to North Africa, the juveniles leave the UK later often in August. Shane ended his talk with remarking that despite the cuckoo not being as common as it once was and even though it is on the red or endangered list in England and Wales, in Northern Ireland for some reason this is not the case.
The evening ended with a picture quiz by Maureen Graham. This was won by Kellie McQuaid with a special prize going to Edmund Slaine. A Christmas supper was provided and as everyone ‘chatted and ate’ one of our youngest members, talented Lulu McQuaid played some beautiful music on her harp. Our chairperson thanked the contributors and wished everyone a Happy Christmas and New Year.
Summary of Member's night by Maureen Graham