Newsletter 17 August 2024
Busy Wet Sunday
After a beautiful day on Saturday our volunteers woke to a wet and miserable Sunday morning. It certainly didn’t deter them as we covered the usual routes
26 brave souls collected just 6 bags of litter and which Pat collected. He also collected 2 bags of litter 1 bags of glass and I bag of cans from litter picks during the week. We then adjourned to The Plaza for a very welcome and some lemon drizzle cake. We were all treated to a lovely juicy apple from our allotment.
Tuesday Morning Part 1
Last Week due to some Technical issue this piece of work was not put on the Newsletter. Last Tuesday Jimmy Tom, Keith and Sunday began working on removing overhanging bindweed from briars from the wall going from The Old Gaelscoil to the pedestrian bridge entrance to The Regional Park. They also began cleaning the weeds from the base of the wall.
This was an important job given the large number of people who use this footpath daily.
Waste Not Want Not
In BTT we do our best to waste as little as possible wherever possible. At the end of last Summer when removing the planters we put the begonias into some trays to see if they would survive the winter. Come late spring we could see some signs of hope and thankfully a large number of the recycled plants started to grow and the foliage was looking very healthy. Later than others there has been a beautiful blast of colour which has enhanced our allotment and Head Quarters Our recycling certainly paid off.
Busy Monday
On Monday morning Gay, Tom Keith and Sunday did an amazing job on Community Drive. They cut the grass, briars and furze that was at the base of the security boundary fence to the large site. It is not our responsibility to cut this but it was protruding onto the footpath and looked unsightly.
The lads did an amazing job in a short space of time.
Another Busy Tuesday
The Tuesday Gang continued where they finished last Tuesday on the Inniscarra Road, cutting back overhanging branches. They cleaned at the base of the wall as well and removed one ton bag of cuttings.
They then moved on to the path opposite BCS that leads to the rear of Westgate Foundation and removed weeds on both sides of the Laneway on the lower and upper sections.
They used the WeedHex machine and it took 30 minutes to complete the lower section and 20 minutes to complete the upper section. Apologies, no before photo of lower section of lane but it was very bad with weeds. Great help given by Tom, Sunday and Keith.
The photos really show the difference after our work and the machine really made a huge difference.
Jimmy later collected bags from Rosewood after their clean up and then watered the planter at the Inniscarra Bridge.
Tuesday Worknight
Our Tuesday Worknight was divided into two separate projects in the same area. The first project was the cutting of briars and removing low branches from the trees close to the footpath that are causing obstructions to pedestrians who use the footpath daily. On the opposite side of the road Henry was very busy striming the footpath from Alysbury to Lisheen Fields. Once the bigger job was completed we fell in to help Henry.
Both projects made such a difference and all done and dusted in one hour.
Thursday Morning
Ger had the Full Team this morning they tackled the boundary hedge at Bridgewater as a section of was totally smothered by bindweed and briars.
The lads did an excellent job and they removed 6 tonne bags of bindweed, briars and weeds from the hedge.
The Three Amigos
On Thursday evening the three amigos were working in The Old Square and doing a tidy up of the Ivy growing on the Arch on the Lane.
They shaped it and removed the bits that were hanging down on the arch and impeded the many pedestrians.
A great job done by The Three Amigos.
Wednesday in the Allotment
This Week we took some time out to do some work in HQ. With being so busy on so many different projects it is important that we take time out to tend to our own patch. Ger and his Crew spent the morning in the Allotment weeding, dead heading and tidying up the beds. Many hands make light work and the difference was very noticeable.
Butterflies and Bees 
Last Saturday our allotment especially the Buddleia Bush was literally a hive of activity with butterflies and bees. No matter where you looked there was activity. We did a video on the day but it didn’t do it justice. It was a most beautiful thing to observe and to see nature at work in all its glory.
Great job
Denis finished off cleaning the kerb side weeds on the road near what known locally as the Old Aldi. He collected four bags and it certainly made a big difference. It’s a pity that the owners of this area wouldn’t do this themselves rather than us.
The Thursday Crew
Tremendous work work done by 12 volunteers on Thursday evening cutting branches, sweeping up leaves and getting rid of weeds on both sides of the road from Avoncourt to the Maxol Garage.
An incredible amount of work done in One Hour by a fantastic group of volunteers. Welcome to our newest volunteers Daire & Colm who did fantastic work.
Watering – Watering – Watering
Our watering schedule is ongoing and is taking a lot of time as the plants continue to grow and thrive. This week alone on Wednesday evening it took one Team 3 3/4 hours to water the planters on the poles, the window boxes, the towers and the parklet and finally the wooden planters on Main Street. The second team spent over an hour watering the planters at Eastgate and also the planters at the Welcome to Ballincollig signs.
Between both teams we used over 2000 litres.
To put things in perspective this is a list of what we water each week:
• 31 planters at Eastgate
• 2 planters on the Welcome Signs
• 27 window boxes on the railings
• 11 single pole planters
• 46 double pole planters
• 4 Tiered Towers
• 8 Wooden Planters on Main Street
• The Parklet
