merrion street

- Boys from local national school, St Mary’s Congress Avenue, Drogheda assist at momentous event.

The collection of a soil sample in Co. Louth today marks the completion of the EU INTERREG IVA-funded “Tellus Border” geochemistry survey which will significantly enhance our knowledge of the environmental well-being of the border region. The Tellus Border project has supported an environmental sampling programme involving the collection of samples of soil, water, sediment and vegetation across the border region of Ireland since August 2011. Minister for Natural Resources, Fergus O’Dowd, turned the sod on the final sample of the survey, at Irishtown, Ardee, Co. Louth with the assistance of pupils from St Mary’s Boys National School, Congress Avenue, Drogheda.

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Speaking afterwards Minister O’Dowd said “This nationally significant project will provide a wealth of information captured from both the ground and the air to assist with issues fundamental to the health and prosperity of communities in the border region, including increasing agricultural productivity, environmental protection and radon assessment”.

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The Tellus Border project, led by the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland in partnership with the Geological Survey of Ireland, will produce new maps for the border region and seamlessly join these results with data already collected in Northern Ireland as part of the award-winning Tellus Project (2004-2007). Meath-based OCAE Consultants Ltd conducted the geochemical survey on behalf of the Geological Survey of Ireland, which will provide comprehensive information on the natural chemistry of the soil and water environment. The company’s team of agricultural scientists, many of whom are from the border region, worked in teams of two, collecting water, soil, sediment and vegetation samples at each site. Over the duration of the programme field teams took 24,500 samples across an area of 12,000km2.

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As well as a ground-based survey, Tellus Border also involves an airborne geophysical survey which collects data on soil, water and rocks as it flies. The low-flying aircraft has become a familiar sight to many in the border region over the last few months and it is also set to complete its work this month, having flown over 52,000 km so far.

Koen Verbruggen, Acting Director of the Geological Survey of Ireland said: “We would like to extend our thanks to landowners and livestock owners all over the border region who have assisted us greatly in the collection of these samples, which will give world-class scientific information on the region. It is anticipated that the far-reaching benefits of the survey will be extended countrywide in the near future”.

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Mike Young, Director of the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland said "We are already looking forward to next year when we can reveal brand new maps of the chemical and physical properties of the Earth's surface and sub-surface in the border region. These maps will provide the basis to informing future environmental and economic decisions for the benefit of local communities in these counties".

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Samples collected as part of the survey are now undergoing laboratory analysis and a new phase of Tellus Border will begin shortly, whereby scientists at the Geological Surveys of Ireland and Northern Ireland will create maps for a variety of end-users. Maps and data will be freely available to all via the Tellus Border website (

) in 2013.

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For further information contact Enda Gallagher, Press Officer, Dept. Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Tel: 01 6782441 / 087 6937580,

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Notes for Editors

·        Photographs available on request

·        The cross-border Tellus Border project is funded by the INTERREG IVA development programme of the European Regional Development Fund, which is managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) in Northern Ireland, the border Region of Ireland and western Scotland. This is the largest of the latest awards under the Environment theme of INTERREG IVA and is part funded by the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government and Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment. More information from

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·        The project is a joint initiative between the Geological Survey of Ireland (GSI), the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland (GSNI), the Dundalk Institute of Technology and Queen’s University Belfast and builds on the award-winning Tellus Project which has already successfully mapped Northern Ireland. Data collected during both surveys will be integrated with the existing data to give a cross border geological baseline.

·        ‘Tellus’ was the Roman goddess of the earth, also called Terra Mater.

·        OCAE Consultants Limited, an agri-environmental consultancy, is conducting the geochemical sampling survey on behalf of the Geological Survey of Ireland. More information from

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·        The aircraft being used in the survey is a white, twin propeller plane with a distinctive red tail and blue stripe, and it carries the registration number of C-GSGF.

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SEUPB

• The Special EU Programmes Body is a North/South Implementation Body sponsored by the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland and the Department of Finance in Ireland. It is responsible for managing two EU structural funds Programmes PEACE III and INTERREG IV designed to enhance cross-border co-operation, promote reconciliation and create a more peaceful and prosperous society. The Programmes operate within a clearly defined area including Northern Ireland, the Border Region of Ireland and Western Scotland.

• The INTERREG IVA 2007-2013 Programme is worth €256 million and aims to address the economic and social problems which result from the existence of borders. It has two distinct priority measures to create co-operation for a more prosperous and sustainable cross-border region.

• For more information on the SEUPB please visit