Shannon Town Men's Shed

Tony cycled up to the Westpark Campus early with the stake before the expected rain and wind hit.   Fortunately, the groundsman Frank was available to sledge the stake into the ground so the bug hotel could be fixed to it. So next to secure the hotel to it :) (Thanks Sean from Sirus https://sirusinternational.com/bms-building-management-systems for taking the photo)   A bonus was the small environmental sensor managed to make contact with Tola Park so that we now have temperature data for the bug hotel.     See https://shannontownwetlands.ie/westpark-campus/bug-hotel for the latest data.        

 Tony was going to buy a round 4" six foot stake in O'Neills on may way back from the Mens Shed but Sean made a fantastic one out of a spare 4"x4"x8" ash (I think) post. Perfect for the job! I used my bicycle for the first time in years today as well :) So next to cycle up to Westpark Campus with a LoRaWAN sensor, a laminated QR code and this post.

 Barry drove Tony and the bug hotel (which had a temporary stand fitted) to Westpark Campus to present it to Fine Grain Properties (who manage the three buildings: 2000, 3000 and 7000) in that campus. It was placed in the car park of 7000 which currently hosts over 20 companies (Unfortunately I forgot to take photos) This is what Tony intends to do next with it: Over the next few days get a 4" stake and mount the bug hotel to it Add a small laminated QR code see attached so people can follow (and comment on) the story of that bug hotel (directs people to https://shannontownmensshed.blogspot.com/search/label/westpark) Monitor it for insect activity weekly and maintain it (updating the blog) and slowly replaced the glue with clay See if a LoRaWAN temperature sensor can communicate to my house in Tola Park (570 m distant) from there. If successful you can then decide if you want me to add one to the bug hotel and share its data like I do here: https://shannontownwetlands.ie/environme...

 Barry gave the bug hotel a bit of a restoration before it is presented to Fine Grain Properties tomorrow at the Westpark Campus.

The Mens Shed happily lent the bug hotel to Shannon Town Tidy Towns for their parade float. The weather was poor on the day (though dry before and after the parade!) and the Mens Shed car broke down so I didn't get as many photos of their float as I would have liked.

Well I took to the glue gun and the wonderful collection of fallen material Brian had collected for the project all nicely dried. So I'll be putting a varnished sign at the front saying FineGrainProperty.com next and filling in the rest of the gaps with drilled wooden pieces :) This Bug Hotel will be on the Shannon Tidy Towns St Patrick's Day float this Friday!

 Greg Duff putting a finishing coat of paint to his bird box.  A few words of background from Greg: "A few words about my involvement with the Menshed. Some years ago I was Chair of Family Resource Centre and it was in that capacity that I heard about the Menshed, at that time we had rented a room in Ballycasey Craft Centre.  It was there that the first meetings took place. Different groups used this facility each day so it was not suitable for tools and machinery. I know Brian Kenny and Christy Collins were involved. It was when Tony Mulcahy a local Councilor made the connection to the Shannon Airport Company that we were successful in securing the former workshop of the Council in Smithstown.  In regard to why I am member. Well! There is a number of reasons.  Firstly it's the craic and banter of a company of me who are from different backgrounds also the solidarity of support not only to fellow members but to community groups that may need support. A lot of th...

Tony thought bending the clips to 60 degrees job was taking long - until he realised it was just protracted! Well Tony Walsh did a little bit more on the bug hotel today with three shelves cut and a few temporary clips added to hold roof in place until he decides what to cover the roof with.