Growing up on a small dairy farm in the 1970s and 80s, Donna Rainey has been passionate about wildlife and natural habitats since she was a child.
For many years she has raised awareness about habitat loss and destruction in her local area, and in particular, the consequences including species loss and local extinctions of birds, mammals, wildflower species and their associated invertebrates.
To counter this, she has spearheaded the incredibly successful ‘Don't Mow, Let It Grow’ campaign, which has now spread to many council areas across the island of Ireland and beyond.
To achieve this, she liaised with local council, the roads service, health trusts, schools and private landowners, encouraging them to better manage road verges, amenity grasslands, hospital grounds, farmland and privately owned green spaces, to promote growth of native wildflowers.
Increasing awareness around the impact toxins from fly tipping and litter have on wildlife and the environment, Donna has also worked with council and community groups to organise huge litter picks across the country.
Donna has been involved in surveying private farmland for curlew & the rare marsh fritillary butterfly. She has been able to advise owners of appropriate management in conjunction with eNGOs to ensure the future viability of these species. She has also converted intensively farmed land from Italian ryegrass to species rich hay meadow which now provides a home for wildlife.
Donna recently retired as a paediatric nurse and bought land in Donegal which is home to several rare species of butterfly, lichen and fungi, to ensure it is safe from destruction.
