Sir, - I recently had the pleasure of touring Ireland and was most impressed with the absolute beauty of what your country had to offer my wife and me. New Zealand is by any standards a "new" country whose history spans only a brief recorded time of 200 years. The marvellous sense of being able to touch structures which were warm, living thing long before New Zealand was discovered by its original settlers, the Maori, around the 12th century, was wonderful.
As a consequence of our youth, however, we have been relatively lucky and blessed by the foresight of our forefathers who created environmentally safe areas for native flora and fauna. With a total population in New Zealand of 3.5 million people, the pressure of intensive urban development does not compare to that we observed near Dublin.
We had the pleasure of staying with very good friends in Baldoyle, perhaps the only area where we were to find ourselves at odds with what was otherwise a most memorable stay. The Grange River passing through the estates of Baldoyle creates a most unpleasant spectacle. Exposed unsightly waterways filled with wind-blown plastic and other refuse were most offensive and so unnecessary. In the name of civic pride I find it difficult to understand how such a visual assault can be ignored by the councillors for this otherwise attractive area.
The flood plain to the east of this area into which I believe the Grange flows was a most relaxing vista, but the encroaching housing estate, I was informed, threatens this natural area. The delivery by mother nature of the land mass we now have was full and final and it ill behoves any one of us to take this gift lightly. This particular flood plain would be rich in wetland plants and is definitely the feeding and nesting habitat for a range of bird life and also the resting place of migratory birds, and should be treasured for this if no other reason.
The life span of any one man is brief and future generations will judge his wisdom by what he preserves for future generations.
Is it too much to ask that this flood plain be left in its natural state?
Please do not see this letter as a criticism but as a heartfelt plea to preserve a little of nature for future generations of Ireland and particularly for the deserving people of Dublin. - Yours, etc.,
V. H. Hensley, Lambs Road, Kaitaia, New Zealand.