November 2005 Archives

Monday, November 21, 2005

In conversation with WWF-NI

WWF is probably one of the better-known conservation charities in the UK. It's probably best known for its work to preserve endangered species around the world - most notably the Giant Panda that appears on its logo - but also tigers, polar bears and great apes.

Few people are aware that the WWF has a regional office here in Northern Ireland. The office, in West street in the centre of Carrickfergus, has been open for about five years in order to lobby on conservation and environmental issues to local councillors, the (phantom) Northern Ireland Assembly and the local media. There is now a staff of four full-time workers and one part-timer. Prior to that, the WWF here was just another voluntary action group.

I spoke to Sara McClintock, the Communications Officer for the WWF-NI about the group's work in the province. Her job is to make the important issues of endangered species and conservation relevant to ordinary folk here in the likes of North Belfast or Fermanagh where it's often hard to see what they can do to save the polar bear or the orang-utan.

These things, she says are all inter-related. We need to preserve habitat in order to save wildlife. For example, climate change means that melting ice makes it harder for polar bears to find food. "Polar bears are starving" she says. "Sea ice in the Arctic is forming later and melting earlier and more quickly as our climate warms up. The thickness of Arctic summer sea ice has decreased by 40% in the last 30 years. The sea ice allows polar bears to hunt for seals, their favourite prey. Without the sea ice, the polar bears can't reach the seals so when there is less ice around and for a shorter period of time, the polar bears will have less to eat". They have to travel further and go for longer gaps between meals. This has a knock-on effect on the population as bear numbers decline alarmingly.

Weather changes in Costa Rica affected a species of toad that lived in the upper branches of humid forests. The Golden Toad is believed to be the first species to become extinct because of climate change. As amphibians toads need moisture to survive. The Golden Toad thrived on the rain and temperatures in this habitat. Climate change made this area hotter and drier, killing the toads.

Another species to be affected lives on cool, moist mountaintops in North America. The Pika now has nowhere to go. "As temperatures rise due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide, scientists expected to see pikas migrating/moving to new places to live. This didn't happen though as there were very few suitable places for the pikas to move to and so the species have seen a rapid decline in numbers".

The WWF-NI works to create greater awareness of the dangers of climate change and the need for sustainable development. This allows space for endangered species to survive and in time thrive. In Northern Ireland it works alongside the Ulster Wildlife Trust and the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds to help protect endangered native Irish species and their habitat. One on-the-ground project in the Cookstown area aims - working with residents and farmers - to clean up a local river inside a year. Sara says that the farmers have responded brilliantly. Sometimes such projects are just a simple matter of redirecting waterspouts or separating clean rainwater from dirty run-off water. Even little changes can have a positive impact.
Another local project involves a joint marine partnership with the UWT to monitor the number of porpoises in Belfast Lough. This entails seeding six or seven 'T-pod' monitoring devices across the mouth of the lough in a rough line from Carrick to Bangor.

Anyone can help the valuable work of the WWF-NI. The Walk for Wildlife, which talkes place in Ballyboley Forest in Larne on October 8th aims to raise funds and awareness of the issues. This year's theme is the orang-utan. Find out more by visiting the website or ringing Sara on 9335 5166. Alternatively, you can just drop into the offices at 13 West Street in Carrick. 

Maid of the Mist, Niagara Falls, Ontario

IF YOU DO travel to Toronto on Zoom next year you must make a point of visiting Niagara Falls. Quite a few companies offer all-in day tours from the centre of the city, although some of these can be very expensive. You can even go for free if you take advantage of the casino buses that stop at most of the major downtown hotels. Their aim, of course, is to separate you from your hard-earned cash in one of their establishments in Niagara Falls, so it’s probably worthwhile to provide a free bus. If you’re cheeky enough you could probably walk away from the casino doors and explore the town!

It’s just as handy to go on the regular scheduled bus services from the Grey Line bus station behind the City Hall. Travelling time is around two hours. The Niagara bus station is some way away from the main attractions, in a rundown part of town, but a regular shuttle bus will take you there. For those on a budget, though it is convenient to the local Youth Hostel.

The Falls are truly one of the natural wonders of the world. You can hear the roar of the falling water as a constant backdrop to everything in the town. The main falls form a giant horseshoe shape across the Niagara River, which separates Ontario from New York State. There is another large, straighter shaped waterfall on the American side of the river. Visitors on the American side can also view the Falls from a large viewing platform and can descend to a series of paths under the waterfall.

On the Ontario side, the highlight of the visit to Niagara Falls is a river trip on The Maid of the Mist. In fact there is more than one maid of the Mist. Several of these open platform vessels struggle upriver to give their passengers a closer look at the Falls. Putting aside any thoughts as to how anyone could manage to get a lifejacket on if the vessel was to capsize, I queued up to pay my $13.00 Cdn. A lift brought us down to the bottom of the cliff, where we were each kitted out with a flimsy blue plastic poncho to protect us from the spray.

The deck platform offers a terrific view of the Rainbow Bridge that connects Canada and the US. I went on a very sunny day and was able to take pictures of the rainbow effect as the spray interacts with the sunshine. As we got closer to the Falls, the water began to boil and churn rapidly. Not a place for a swim! The spray came in huge waves, proving the need for the blue waterproofs. The total journey time was less than half an hour, but it’s one the traveller will never forget.

There is a lot about Niagara Falls and its tourist scene that is cheap and tacky but nothing can take away from the magnificent power of nature. It’s unbeatable. If you go, don’t miss out on this trip.

November 2005

FLY ZOOM ACROSS THE ATLANTIC TO CANADA

Zoom-Air - direct flights from Belfast International Airport to Toronto via Halifax, Nova Scotia.
TORONTO is a popular annual destination for thousands of Ulster holidaymakers. Many, if not all of these travellers have family connections in or around the city. In the past they have flown on charter flights or gone via Dublin or airports in Scotland or England.

This year it has been possible to fly on a scheduled airline directly from Aldergrove to Canada. The Canadian airline, Zoom-Air must have realised that it had the opportunity to make money by offering good value flights to Halifax and Toronto. these flights ran in 2005 from June to October and will run again in 2006. Zoom have also announced flights to Vancouver in western Canada. Fares can be checked out on the airline's website.

This year Zoom flew out at 13.45 each Wednesday afternoon. There was some confusion on the day I flew as the Zoom website gave contradictory advice, suggesting that the flight might be departing at 11.30. the same aeroplane was supposed to leave for Halifax at 11.30 and for Toronto at 13.45! Advice from Servisair was similarly confused. One caller of my acquaintance was told 11.30. another was told 13.45. To be absolutely sure of boarding the flight I turned up at Aldergrove well before 10.00. Here the display boards read 11.45 but this changed to 13.45 once the check-in desks opened. I was first to check in. I wasn't going to miss my flight. Aldergrove is a comfortable place to hang around these days so the time soon passed.

Security was brisk and efficient without being rude or unpleasant. I was a little disappointed to see that the tunnel that ought to connect to the aeroplane door at Gate 22 was left unused. The poor passengers had to climb an open set of steps in driving rain. This made us all the more grateful to take our seats but this is surely something that Servisair or the airport's management should be able to sort out. There was a proper boarding tunnel at the Toronto end, so why not at Belfast?

Facilities onboard the Zoom Boeing 767 were excelent and the flight attendants were pleasant and helpful. I'm quite a large chap and legroom on many flights I have travelled on in the past has been very cramped. Zoom have provided a lot more legroom, even in the economy seat I was occupying. This made all the difference for a pleasant flight when you are sitting in the same place for upwards of eight hours. Top marks for Zoom for this.

Passengers could watch the progress of the flight on large video screens displaying the height, spedd, outside temperature, time at place of departure and time at the next destination. An animated GPS map showed the areoplane's progress across the Atlantic Ocean. Passengers also had the option to buy a set of headphones and watch two films on the large screens, or listen to ten music channels. I didn't bother as I had chosen to read of Ian Rankin's latest Inspector Rebus book, Fleshmarket Close.

I had pre-ordered a vegetarian meal when I made my internet booking back in July. From past experience with British Midland, I had expected that I would have to tell the flight attendants about this when they came around with the food. I was pleasantly surprised to be served a rice and chilli bean hot meal right away. Apparently my seat number and meal orders were all co-ordinated by computer. Impressive stuff!

The old story of it being a small world is very true. Waiting in line to use the lavatory - well I couldn't hold it in for the whole journey - I was amazed to see my old form teacher from Rathcoole Secondary School emerge from the cubicle. Mr Alan Campbell has now retired from teaching and was travelling to Toronto for a Christian conference. I think that he was as surprised to see me as I was to see him!

The facilities at Terminal Three of Lester Pearson Internationals Airport were excellent. There was an access tunnel right up to the side door of the airscraft. Customs and immigration formalities were efficient and friendly. A regular bus service connects the airport to the TTC subway system at Kipling station.

If you are contemplating a visit to Canada next year you could do a lot worse than fly by Zoom. We give them 9 out of 10 for effort. It would have been full marks without the confusion over the flight departure time.

Zoom are already taking internet bookings for Summer 2006. If you are fairly sure that you want to travel next year now's the time to grab a bargain.

In Conversation with Underline

LAST YEAR Kerr's Corner spoke to Johnny Quinn, the energetic drummer from Snow Patrol - probably the most famous and successful band to emerge from Ulster since the Undertones. In a wide ranging interview, we asked Johnny why Snow Patrol had done so well. His recipe for success was simply perseverance. Many bands give up before getting their chance of getting into the big-time comes up. Johnny's advice was "don't give up!" Bands need a real determination to succeed. This requires hard work, time for rehearsal and a lot of luck. "It took us seven yaers to become an 'overnight success'".

Another local band who deserve similar success are Underline. A three-piece heavy rock band, they have already been compared to Soundgarden, Smashing Pumpkins, Black Sabbath and Therapy.

Impressed with such illustrious comparisons, I wanted to find out more. To do so, I spoke to Underline's Bass player, Terry McDonald (30). He informed me that he and the other two band members - his brother Shane McDonald (28) on drums and David Kennedy (28) on guitars and vocals - all originally hail from Armagh. They have been playing on and off in different bands for over ten years. Finding themselves all in Belfast they formed Underline in March 2004.

I'm always interested in bands that play live, so I asked Terry about life on the road. He told me that they'd played around 40 gigs so far - a few of them very memorable indeed. "During a gig in Warrenpoint, a full-scale riot broke out as we were playing our last song, but we just carried on playing. It was a bit scary, but no-one was seriously injured, so we can laugh about it now". He also recounted how Underline drove all the way to Portrush - to play to a massive crowd of four people! That wasn't such a great night he mused. However, their most memorable gig so far "was playing with Therapy in the Limelight at the Tsunami fund raising gig in January. That was fantastic".

So much for the past. What then are the band's future plans? "We've our first gig in our hometown Armagh on 22nd October, so we're looking forward to that. Then we hope to take a few months off from gigs and write a few more new songs. Then we hope to resume playing gigs - and hopefully people will keep coming to see and support us".

In closing, terry mentioned that further information about Underline could be found on their web-site http://www.underlinerock.com/ Here you can also download their first four track CD, Your Skinny Neck Friends. Their latest CD, Is This Yours? can be bought from Hector's House in North Street, Belfast.

Kerr's Corner would like to help promote local bands. I'm interested in all musical styles, so if you'd like to be featured, simply e-mail me at kerrscorner@thecarrick.biz