Projects/Work Nights

Ballincollig Tidy Towns are proud of the dedication of their Volunteers and the selfless giving of their time throughout the year. From April to September and sometimes even later in the year, weather permitting, several Volunteers come together every Tuesday and Thursday night at 7pm. We undertake new planned projects throughout Ballincollig while still doing jobs like clearing kerbs, cleaning traffic islands and watering the many flowers in tubs, planters and hanging baskets around town. These Work Nights are important in helping us maintain a certain standard for our town. 

Projects are undertaken during these Work Nights and at other times during the week throughout the year.

There is a great sense of camaraderie while we work. We have some Volunteers who come out solely for these work nights every year and it’s always good to see them. We chat as we work and often stop for a cold drink, ice cream or cuppa.

We could always do with more Volunteers for our Work Nights. We meet at 7pm for an hour or two Tuesday and Thursday. If anyone can spare some time, please come out and join us.

 

WORK NIGHTS 2022

• 4th January 2022 Cleaning of the gum/butt bins on Main Street

• 4th January 2022 Washing the Wicks from the Eastgate Planters

• 5th January 2022 Cleaning up around the allotment and weeding at Cleburne Mews bed

• 6th January 2022 6 Ton Bags of Leaves removed from Coolroe Meadows

• 6th January 2022 10 bags of Suckers removed from the trees in Coolroe Meadows

• 9th January 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 22 Volunteers & 4 Transition Year Students

• 9th January 2022 Transition Year students collected 10 bags of leaves 

• 10th January 2022 Completion of planting of Fruit Tress for DC for Bees Project

• 12th January 2022 Compost was all turned in Bay 2 

• 13th January 2022 Commenced work on cleaning wall at Sunningdale Removed 4 ton bags of overhanging briars and leaves 

• 13th January 2022 Completion of removal of Suckers from the trees in Coolroe Meadows 8 Bags Removed

• 16th January 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 24 Volunteers & 4 Transition Year Students

• 17th January 2022 Volunteers completed staking the fruit trees and Adrian emptied the Butt/Gum Bins

• 19th January 2022 We commenced cleaning the path from Westgate to Community Drive – Took 2 Mornings

• 23rd January 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 25 Volunteers & 5 Transition Year Students

• 24th January 2022 Sorting Litter and litter pick 

• 25th January 2022 Commenced a Tidy Up of the large flower bed at the entrance to Fr Sexton Park

• 25th January 2022 We carried out a big clean up on the Fairy Trail

• 26th January 2022 Adrian finished our work at Fr Sexton Park

• 27th January 2022 Volunteers put new planters on the poles to the Western Side of Main Street

• 30th January 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 27 Volunteers & 5 Transition Year Students

• 31st January 2022 Adrian sorted Sunday’s rubbish and carried out a litter pick and then emptied the Butt/ Gum Bins

• 1st February 2022 Tidy up at Coolroe Meadows 4 Bags of Leaves removed. Tidy up of bed at Greenfields Entrance

• 2nd February 2022 Working on Cleaning the Fairy Trail. Lots of old battered doors and rubbish removed 

• 3rd February 2022 All planters checked, and 9 bags of plastic collected from Ballincollig Community School

• 6th February 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 22 Volunteers & 1 Transition Year Student

• 7th February 2022 Rubbish sorted at allotment and then commenced Dead Heading/cutting back the hydrangeas at Carrigrohane.

• 8th February 2022 Repainting of Watering Unit commenced and work on Hydrangeas continued

• 9th February 2022 Graffiti removal after blitz overnight

• 10th February 2022 Work on Hydrangeas continued 

• 11th February 2022 First coat of paint on Watering Unit completed

• 12th February 2022(Saturday)Start of work on Biodiversity Area on Old Fort Road. 

• 12th February 2022 Ballincollig LGFA Under 14’s did a Litter Pick around the GAA Club and on Short Range and Long Range

• 13th February 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 23 Volunteers & 4 Transition Year Students

• 14th February 2022 Sorting Rubbish at allotment and emptying of Butt/Gum Bins

• 15th February 2022 Cork City Council Cease using Glyphosate – Excellent

• 15th February 2022 Ballincollig Men’s Shed delivered 20 Bird Boxes and 20 Bat Boxes for Old Fort Road Biodiversity Area

• 16th February 2022 Dead Heading of Hydrangeas completed

• 17th February 2022 Dead Heading and Tidy Up of flower bed at An Caislean

• 19th February 2022 All Cycle Lane reflective bollards were power washed

• 19th February 2022 Ballincollig LGFA Under 14’s did a Litter Pick around the GAA Club and on Short Range and Long Range and up to Community Care Unit

• 20th February 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 18 Volunteers & 2 Transition Year Students

• 21st February 2022 Sundays Litter segregated and commenced staking Fruit Trees at Biodiversity area

• 22nd February 2022 Painting of Steel on Watering Unit Tanks and weeding of flower beds in allotment

• 23rd February 2022 Turning Compost in Bay 1 and then Dead Heading Hydrangeas at Cleburne Mews and at allotment

• 26th February 2022(Saturday) Volunteers started removing dead foliage from Poulavone Roundabout. Bags and Bags were removed. 

• 27th February 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 17 Volunteers & 6 Transition Year Students

• 27th February 2022 Ballincollig Tidy Towns and Gaelscoil Ui Riordan are Television Starts on TG4 in Cleas Act

• 28th February 2022 Sundays Litter segregated, and Gum/Butt Bins emptied

• 2nd March 2022 All planters delivered to Nursery for planting 

• 2nd March 2022 6 Bags of Green Waste removed from Leeview and 6 Crates of glass taken to bottle banks

• 3rd March 2022 Major clean up of tiered bed at Rugby Club 4 Half Ton Bags of green waste removed

• 5th March 2022 Ballincollig LGFA Under 13’s did a Litter Pick around the GAA Club and on Short Range and Long Range and up to Community Care Unit

• 6th March 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 23 Volunteers & 7 Transition Year Students

• 6th March 2022 Rubbish from Sunday segregated 

• 6th March 2022 36 Bags of Plastic and 1 large wheelie bin of cans frollected from our allotment by Green Dragon

• 13th March 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 22 Volunteers & 5 Transition Year Students

• 14th March 2022 Rubbish from Sunday segregated 

• 14th March 2022 All geraniums pruned 

• 15th March 2022 Damaged Stone Wall at An Caislean repaired by one volunteers who is a mason 

• 16th March 2022 Prepare Van and Trailer for St Patrick’s Day Parade

• 16th March 2022 Planters at Welcome to Ballincollig Signs weeded and replanted 

• 16th March 2022 Parklet on Main Street weeded and replanted 

• 16th March 2022 Wooden Planters  on Main Street weeded and replanted 

• 19th March 2022 Ballincollig LGFA Under 13’s did a Litter Pick around the GAA Club and up to Community Care Unit

• 20th March 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 15 Volunteers & 8 Transition Year Students

• 21st March 2022 “Nappygate” started. Volunteers collected a number of nappies dumped on Barry’s Road.

• 22nd March 2022 Rubbish from Sunday segregated 

• 22nd March 2022 Cleaning of West Village from Quish’s Supervalu to Coolroe

• 22nd March 2022 VMwear Staff join us to Volunteer. Working on DC 4 Bees orchard

• 24th March 2022 Cleaning of West Village from Quish’s Supervalu to Coolroe 28 Bags removed

• 26th March 2022 Ballincollig LGFA Under 12’s did a Litter Pick around the GAA Club and up to Community Care Unit

• 27th March 2022 Sunday Morning Litter Pick 21 Volunteers & 1 Transition Year Student

• 28th March 2022 John turned Compost in Compost Bay 1

• 29th March 2022 Rubbish from Sunday segregated, and Butt/Gum Bins emptied

• 30th March 2022 “Nappygate” continues. Volunteers collected several nappies dumped on Barry’s Road.

• 30th March 2022 Edging of Killumney Road and removal of edging Grass Cut.

• 1st April 2022 Collection of plants from Tesco Ballincollig – Intensive Care.

• Poulavone Roundabout – Project 2022

  Like everyone else our movements were restricted in 2021 and while Poulavone Roundabout looked well, it was far from where we wanted to be for 2022. We had a plan for 2022. We wanted to make it even more attractive for the bees. 

  On Saturday 26th February a large group of volunteers set about removing a lot of dead foliage and cutting back more. Numerous bags of green waste were removed from the Roundabout and taken to our allotment for composting.

  Once everything was removed, we left the shrubs and grass on the roundabout develop naturally. Grass started to become a show piece for Clover, daisies, and Buttercups.

  Saturday 14th May a large group of volunteers started weeding and edging removing 20 bags of green waste.. 

  On our Worknight on Tuesday 17th we cut the grass again and removed weeds from the centre section of the roundabout.

  The morning of Thursday 19th VMware volunteers were on the Roundabout and after weeding and edging removed 25 bags. The evening BTT volunteers finished off and prepared the beds for planting

  On Thursday 26th May with the fantastic assistance and guidance of Stephen and Alan from Clockhouse Nurseries we planted 150 perennials all of which were Pollinators. These included Verbena, Campanula, Rudbeckia, Shasta Daisy, Hardy African Daisy, Lupins, Oestrum and buddleia.

  On 30th May as part of our commitment to the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan we are cutting the grass less frequently and have left 4 areas unmown. The less frequent cutting allows the clover etc to come back and it is very evident to see the numbers of bees feeding on it. On 8th June a number of our volunteers planted 60 perennials in the centre of the roundabout and started to cover the area in Bark Mulch. An amazing nights work done despite horrendous rain. 

  On Sunday 12th June the grass was cut high and mulched and a general clean-up of the edges was carried out. Over 2 nights 14th and 15th June we spread over 5 Tonnes of Bark Mulch around the centre bed and all the flowers were watered using 1000 litres.

•  

PROJECTS FOR 2021

The Spray Free Town initiative was our main focus. Huge progress has been made on this. We have been guaranteed the support of Cork City Council going forward.

2022 will be the year Ballincollig will finally be completely spray free.

 

• 26th March 2021: Replanting of Allotment Flower beds with Recycled Flowers from Tesco

• 30th March 2021 Weeding of Hydrangeas and Heathers in Carrigrohane Started but took a number of days given the length of the area

• 31st March 2021 Commenced programme of Washing all signage throughout Ballincollig Carried out over a few weeks in April 

• 1st April 2021 Revamping / Pruning of Flower Bed at Cleburne Mews and painting of timbers

• 1st April 2021 Revamping / Pruning of Flower Bed at Coolroe and painting of timbers 

• 2nd April 2021 Beehives were removed from Poulavone Roundabout and taken to Ballincollig Community School where the Transition Year students and teachers will strip them down decorate them and then repaint them 

• 4th April 2021 Revamping / Pruning of Flower Bed at Rugby Club and painting of timbers

• 11th April 2021 Early morning start to clean all around the traffic islands at the Carrigrohane Junction. 

• 12th April 2021 Welcome to Ballincollig Signs Cleaned and the planters at each repainted and replanted 

• 13th April 2021 Joint initiative with An Caislean Residents to carry out a major clean up in the estate and surrounding area

• 18th April 2021 Graffiti removal in Classis following an overnight attack 

• 24th April 2021 Washing of Traffic Island signage throughout Ballincollig

• 27th April 2021 Cutting of Grass under Coolroe Beech Hedging and removal of bindweed

• 27th April 2021 First Cut of the grass on Poulavone Roundabout. Delayed leaving the Dandelions bloom for the Bees. All grass removed put in our compost bays

• 4th May 2021 All Winter Planters removed from railings and brought to allotment for storage during the summer 

• 5th May 2021 Power Washing of Statue at Poulavone 

• 5th May 2021 BTT Committee Member and Horticulturist working with students of Ballincollig Community School in developing a school garden. 

• 6th May 2021 Cleaning and Painting of Benches around Ballincollig 

• 6th May 2021 Upcycling. A child’s bicycle and a TV stand were both removed from the rubbish collected cleaned and painted and used for floral displays in our allotment

• 12th May 2021 new Bicycle Stands installed on Main Street

• 25th May 2021 The Transition Stone Bed in Fr Sexton Park overhauled and planted for the summer

• 25th May 2021 Operation Summer Planters begins with all planters being prepared to be put in place

• 29th May 2021 Summer Watering begins and continues 2 nights a week at least until October

• 29th May 2021 An Caislean Residents Part 2 working with residents cleaning up around the surrounding area

• 30th May 2021 Tidying up faded daffodils and weeding of the Hydrangea/Heathers at Carrigrohane

• 3rd June 2021 A new Parklet is put in Place on Main Street (joint initiative with BTT Cork City Council and Benchspace)

• 5th June 2021 Joint Clean Up with Residents of Greenfields 

• 5th June 2021 Work on Evening Echo bed at Killumney Road – Weeding and grass cutting

• 10th June 2021 Following a Major graffiti attack in the playground our members spent a lot of time removing all of the graffiti

• 12th June 2021 Painting of Post Boxes throughout Ballincollig

• 15th and 17th  June 2021Major Clean Up of the centre of Poulavone Roundabout and cutting of the grass 

• 15th June 2021 Group of Volunteers commenced weeding the raised bed at Westcliffe. Took 4 nights 

• 16th June 2021 Planting of our allotment beds using last year’s plants and plants from Tesco (Reuse and Recycle)

• 19th June 2021 tidy of Bed at Classis 

• 27th June 2021 Grass Cutting on Poulavone Roundabout and watering of new plants 

• 29th June 2021 Grass Cutting on Bakers Road 

• 1st July 2021 Cleaning of Traffic Islands at West Village

• 6th July 2021 Cleaning of Traffic Islands at Innishmore

• 7th July 2021 Annual Clean up of flower bed on Inniscarra Road

• 8th July 2021 Painting of Bollards in Town Centre

• 8th July 2021 Commence work on Barry’s Road ditch and ground area

• 9th July 2021 Cleaning of Traffic Islands at Muskerry Junction 

• 11th July 2021 Cleaning of area near stone wall at Sunningdale

• 13th July 2021 Major clean-up of Traffic Islands at Poulavone Roundabout 

• 15th July 2021 Cleaning of Main Street and Old Square  under benches and around trees

• 20th July 2021Dealing with Graffiti

• 20th July 2021 Cleaning of Main Street under benches and around trees

• 27th July 2021 Removal of Suckers on Trees in Coolroe Meadows and Greenfields

• 27th July 2021 Washing of Signs at Recycling Area and Recycling Bins

• 27th July 2021 Clean up at eastern section of Main Street near Bank of Ireland and Sliced

• 2nd August 2021 Cleaning and revamping of pedestrian entrance to the Regional Park in Innishmore. This involves cutting back and then putting down blinding and whacking same 

• 5th August 2021 Commence edging and all along the Link Road over 4 nights 

 

2021 WORK NIGHTS

Work nights returned on Tuesday 8th June and planting an assortment of Plants, many of which are Pollinator Friendly at the new Ballincollig Parklet, was one of the first projects undertaken. Thirty-seven bags of our own compost from the Allotment Compost Bays were used.

      

EASTGATE TIDY UP

Despite the wet weather several Volunteers were out.

Henry, Ferghal and Declan tackled Eastgate tidying up the base of the large wall. They also brushed the stones back in to the gravel area.

   

FLOWERBED AT WESTCLIFFE

Due to lockdown and government restrictions the long, raised flowerbed that runs along Westcliffe’s front wall had gone unattended. However, on Tuesday during the Work Night Kitty, Mary and Carmel cleaned this bed. Gay joined them after carrying out a Litter Pick with Maureen. Although the work will continue what was achieved on the Tuesday Work Night has already made a difference.

    

Kitty, Maureen and Mary continued work on the flowerbed in front of Westcliffe and seventeen bags were collected for recycling.

Eleven bags were collected from An Caislean Residents who were busy again. 

Henry, Gay and John were working on the Western side of Ballincollig and cleaned in front of a derelict house in Coolroe and along the stone wall. Four bags were collected from them. 

The two Pats watered and fed all the Window Boxes, Pole Planters, Wooden Planters, Eastgate Planters, and the Towers on Main Street. After two hours they had only used six hundred litres due to the rainfall of the past few days.

Fearghal went around Ballincollig putting Cork City Council stickers on the Heritage Signs.

Poulavone Roundabout was the main focus and ten Volunteers spent the best part of two hours weeding, edging and strimming. The Roundabout had become somewhat overgrown while we were in lockdown.    

The Volunteers also started cutting the grass on the Roundabout. After more than an hour and a half three one-ton bags of Grass and three one-ton bags of Green Waste were collected.

   

Eight Volunteers worked on the Poulavone Roundabout the following Work Night and it is great to see it looking good again. They worked for two hours and gathered six one-ton bags of Grass and six bags of Green Waste.

The grass has now been cut and the Flower-beds on the perimeter have been edged and weeded.

The centre section has been partially weeded and planting will be sorted in the coming week.

  

The rain on Tuesday night did not deter seven Volunteers from weeding the Flowerbeds at Poulavone Roundabout and getting them ready for planting. The work took a couple of hours to complete and fifteen bags of Green Waste were filled.

The newly painted bee boxes made a welcome return to the centre of the Roundabout.

We were back on the Roundabout on Thursday night.

The final stage of the initial work on the Poulavone Roundabout concluded with the planting of one hundred Pollinator Friendly plants. Five Volunteers planted a selection of plants in the five outer beds and the large bed in the centre. 

Cosmos, Calenduia and a variety of coloured lupins were among the selection.

      

Four Volunteers cut the grass on the Poulavone Roundabout during Tuesday’s Work Night.

Eight one-ton bags of Grass were collected and it took an hour and a half to complete.

The intention going forward is to mulch the grass when we cut it.

On Thursday’s Work Night, three Volunteers were out dead-heading the Planters near Maxol and the Inniscarra Road Junction. They spent one and a-half hours on this work. Meanwhile three more Volunteers were cleaning the Traffic Islands in the same area.

 

Tuesday Work Night

Ten Volunteers were out for Tuesday’s Work Night. While one went Litter Picking the remainder took on various jobs. The Flowers in the Planters on the Railings were deadheaded by three of them. The other six were cleaning Traffic Islands. 

Our Crew cleaned around the Bus Stop and the base of the crossing at The White Horse and also cleaned the West Village Traffic Island at the Innishmore Junction Traffic Lights.

Thursday Work Night, three Volunteers continued deadheading. This is vital to keep the Planters looking well. Picture shows Christine busy at the West Village.

Ger worked his trusty weed remover at Muskerry Junction. Other Volunteers were also very busy.

Three Volunteers were doing some Litter Picking.

Thursday Work Night

On Thursday evening the two Pats spent two and a half hours watering as the warm weather made the flowers extremely thirsty. They used thirteen hundred litres of water but only got the North side of Main St. and the Planters at Eastgate watered. They will continue again on Friday evening.

There were eight Volunteers our on Main Street for the Thursday Work Night. Some were Litter Picking while others were clearing the weeds and sweeping kerbs. Volunteers were also dead-heading the Planters. 

TUESDAY WORK NIGHT

Tuesday Work Night was another busy night. We had six Volunteers assisting in clearing the weeds on the street. One Volunteer was dead heading the Planters. The Waterboys were out for the second night watering and we had one Volunteer cutting the grass on Poulavone Roundabout.

THURSDAY WORK NIGHT

We had seven Volunteers out for the Thursday Work Night. They were Litter Picking and cleaning along the footpaths and kerbs on a section of Main Street.  We took time out in the sweltering heat to enjoy an ice cream together.

Ten Volunteers were out for the Tuesday Work Night. The area beside the Bank of Ireland was tackled along with the footpaths out front. We cleaned under the railings, cleaned the kerbs and did the edging.

The result was incredible.

Another crew were picking Litter while some more were watering the Planters.

Denis was busy washing signs at Inniscarra Junction.

Christine and Maureen were deadheading the Planters. Unfortunately, due to the heavy downpours Thursday’s Work Night was cancelled.

There were seven Volunteers our for the Tuesday Work Night. We worked on the area near the Wildflower Meadow on the Link Road.

Before we cut the grass back slightly, we edged beside the footpath and it made a wonderful difference. This was such a positive step. Using spades and brushes and despite the fact it took an hour, it was so much better than spraying.

All the sods that were removed will be recycled and used to fill in areas that need building up.

There were also Volunteers dead heading flowers and litter picking.

Thursday’s Work Night found us on the Link Road where we cut a strip of grass alongside the footpath below the Wildflower Meadow. Efforts to finish the edging were interrupted due to a torrential downpour. Next Tuesday’s Work Night will see this area completed.

While the edging was being done another one of our Volunteers spent time removing suckers from some trees. 

Two more Volunteers were litter picking and another was busy dead heading the flowers.

Tuesday Work Night we had eight Volunteers working at the Innishmore entrance to the Regional Park. This was the first of two nights cutting back overhanging hedging and pulling weeds beside the Pedestrian Path to the Park.

While we were there, we also took the opportunity to clean the kerbs and do a general tidy up. Next week we hope to return to finish this work.

Everything we cut back was Green Waste and was all put into our Green Waste Skip.

   

 

Students will be returning to school in the coming weeks so Thursday Work Night we decided to tackle the area from Gaelscoil Ui Riordan to the traffic lights at the Link Road Junction.

There are Wild Flowers (Pollinators) planted in this area. The edging takes a little more effort but it is definitely better than spraying.

The project was completed the following week.

                

TUESDAY WORK NIGHT

We were back on the Pathway again this week having cleared much of it during last week’s Work Night. On Tuesday’s Work Night with the kind support of Finbarr O’Neill, we managed to get the blinding down on the path.  

There were nine Volunteers working on this project and it certainly worked out well.

THURSDAY WORK NIGHT

Our Volunteers managed to get three quarters of the grass on Poulavone Roundabout mulched, edges brushed and some of the Flowerbeds weeded. 
The evenings are beginning to close in quickly so we will have to return to complete the job early next week. 

WORK NIGHTS

There were eleven Volunteers working on the Tuesday Work Night. Three were dead heading the Planters earlier in the day while two more were litter picking.

Six Volunteers cut the remainder of the grass on the Poulavone Roundabout. They then started on another project in the area which had been identified earlier.

At the top end of the Cycle Lane from Carrigrohane to Poulavone we noticed briars and over hanging branches that needed to be cut back.

Our volunteers spent the remainder of the night cutting back and tidying this area making it safer for cyclists. More work needs to be done to complete this project.

Thursday Work Night saw six Volunteers completing the work that was started on Tuesday’s Work Night. The kerb on the cycle lane from Carrigrohane to Poulavone was cleared. This has made the cycle lane much safer for its users.

         

TUESDAY WORK NIGHT

Tuesday’s Work Night, nine Volunteers were working near Poulavone Roundabout. Briars and bushes on the footpath were cut back in front of Bridgewater. We had to go back there on Thursday to finish this work.

On Tuesday 31 August, the day we take as being the ‘last day of summer’, the grass on Poulavone Roundabout was cut and mulched.

Despite the hundreds of vehicles driving around the roundabout, the many bees were oblivious busy flying from flower to flower.

Ballincollig Tidy Towns Volunteers, in association with McDonalds Ballincollig, have maintained the Roundabout to a high standard and we are already planning additional Pollinators for next year.

TUESDAY WORK NIGHT

Ten Volunteers worked on the Footpath from Gaelscoil Ui Riordain to Limeworth on Tuesday Night to try and finish off the work started two weeks ago.

They worked flat out and filled five one-ton bags with Green Waste.

However, the darkness and rain got the better of them and they had to abandon the work.    

TUESDAY WORK NIGHT

Eight Volunteers were out for the Tuesday Work Night and they finished off the job near Gaelscoil Ui Riordain as it was rained off last Thursday.

The Edging Machine was working it’s magic and it really made such a difference.

All the sods that were removed will be recycled at the Allotment.

As there is a selection of new Graffiti around Ballincollig, one Volunteer was kept busy trying his best to remove it from several signs etc.

A further two Volunteers were kept busy Litter Picking.

   

TUESDAY WORK NIGHT

Tuesday’s Work Night began somewhat earlier at 5.30pm when Tony started cutting the grass on Poulavone Roundabout. Seven more Volunteers joined him and between them all they managed to cut the whole lot of the Grass and also cut back and weed the five perimeter Flowerbeds.

The grass is mulched as it is cut. It takes approx. two hours to cut the entire Roundabout and in doing so the person will have walked three and a half miles.

THURSDAY WORK NIGHT

There were six Volunteers out on the Poulavone Roundabout for the Thursday Work Night. The centre section was given an overhaul for the autumn. The flowers were cleaned up and cut back.

Darkness cut the work short but in that time four one-ton bags and six small bags of Green Waste were collected and removed to be taken to the Allotment for recycling.

It will be necessary to spend some more nights on this project to get it finished.

   

WORK NIGHTS

Tuesday’s Work Night began at 5pm with the Volunteers managing to avoid the rain.

There were eight Volunteers working on the Poulavone Roundabout and they continued to trim the many shrubs.

Seven one-ton bags of Green Waste were taken away for the Compost Bays. The Grass was also cut and the edges strimmed.

Some more Volunteers were busy doing Litter Picks on the streets.

The light was fading as the Volunteers were tidying their stuff away.

This is the last Tuesday Work Night for this year.

Ten Volunteers gathered on the Poulavone Roundabout on Thursday for what was the last Work Night for 2021.

Everyone worked really hard to get this project completed.

We were delighted with the Poulavone Roundabout this year and the plan is to make it even better in 2022, with the support of McDonalds Ballincollig who are it’s sponsors.

Twenty bags of Green Waste were taken from the Roundabout and these will be put in the Compost Bays at the Allotment.

We also had some other Volunteers picking litter in the Town Centre, as part of the Work Night.

Although the Work Nights have now come to an end, Ballincollig Tidy Towns will be organizing Saturday Mornings in the coming weeks to tackle some more projects.

   

 

 

2019 WORK NIGHTS

Our Work Nights are back in Full Swing and this week we were involved in cleaning Main Street and The Old Square. This week bins were washed, weeds removed, traffic islands cleaned and a full litter pick around the the town centre . 

This evening 15 volunteers including 3 new people came out and worked on cleaning Main Street. Work included power washing litter bins and the “phone box” as well as litter picking and cleaning kerbs. 

This week’s work nights both concentrated on Main Street, washing street furniture and power washing bins. In addition, 2 of our volunteers were preparing ground with edging machines for collection by VMware Staff.

It was nice to welcome some new volunteers to assist us this week.

As part of our work night we had to use the jeep to try to straighten this bollard.

 

The Regional Park was the venue for this Work Night. We washed benches, bins and dog fouling bins. 

 

Baker Street links Station Road to the Car Park behind Quish’s SuperValu. It is a small street but one of the busiest in Ballincollig. We tackled this and it is amazing how much of a difference an hour made.

On Tuesday night 4 of our ladies took their spades and brushes and headed to Station Road. They worked their magic and what a difference. While most people thought the place was alright as it was, our ladies felt that it could be improved and worked at it until they were satisfied. It certainly looks great.

We have had a number of complaints from pedestrians about low hanging branches at Coolroe near Hodders Villas. We tackled them on Tuesday night and what an incredible difference two Volunteers, Liam and Neil, made. Afterwards, they also took the opportunity to clean weeds away from outside some business premises in the area.

   

We were delighted to welcome two new Volunteers to assist us on our work night. We tackled the traffic islands at the West Village. This was one of four projects that we had going on. In addition, we had a group Watering, another group Litter Picking and a group cleaning Main Street. 

With all the ongoing projects, the painting of the traffic islands was pushed back. We began painting them ourselves as the Council had advised that they would not be able to get to them. This will take a few nights to complete as we cannot start until the traffic has eased.

Last Tuesday we arranged for the Traffic Islands at the Greenfields entrance to be swept. Tonight, with the assistance of John O’Donovan of O’Donovan Agri, we decided to power wash the islands and the difference was absolutely amazing.

 

Sunningdale is an area near the top of Station Road. It has a lovely natural stone wall in place and over time it needed to be weeded and tidied up. On Tuesday night a large group of volunteers started to do this and Thursday night another group of volunteers finished completed it. The difference was incredible and well worth the effort. 

On Tuesday the Work Night focused on the Killumney Road and on the bridge near the entrance to Greenfields. The Volunteers returned there again on Thursday night in order to complete it. 

Watering of the planters and hanging baskets was also carried out by more Volunteers while others did litter picking in several areas.

Bridgewater

The Volunteers tackled the hedge outside Bridgewater which was overrun with the dreaded Bindweed. One Volunteer went ahead cutting the hedge while the others came along and cleaned up. While this was being done two more Volunteers were painting kerbs. Others were litter picking and cleaning in the town centre.

  

Cleaning the Cycle Lane from Carrigrohane to Poulavone.. Watering and litter picking were also carried out.

On Tuesday night twenty members from both Ballincollig Tidy Towns and Ballinora Tidy Towns came together for a Work Night to clean the area around Maglin Bridge.

There was a great sense of camaraderie and even though the area is outside the Ballincollig area, we were glad to assist.

It is so true that many hands make light work. What was achieved over an hour and a half was amazing and was a very worthwhile exercise. It was all about Community and lending a hand.

 

Nine Volunteers headed to Poulavone Roundabout and started edging the footpaths beside the roundabout.

The group feel that a clean-cut edge is better than the burnt brown look and from the pictures we think we are correct. Despite promoting not spraying it is still being done in places but we are addressing this. 

Edging is difficult but looks so much better, more importantly, it is so much better for the environment.

Tuesday’s Work Night Volunteers concentrated on cleaning kerbs on Main Street and at Eastgate. In addition, there were two crews out watering the planters and flower beds. In total 15 volunteers were out. 

       

PROJECTS FOR 2020

The most important Project we undertook was moving ahead to make Ballincollig a Spray Free Town. A public meeting was held in early March where we outlined plans on how we wished to move forward with this project. 

Unfortunately, the pandemic put everything on hold as the country went into lockdown and everyone was stepped down. 

Project 2 – Work started on the footpaths leading to the Powdermills. Overhanging hedges were cut back and the footpaths cleaned.

Project 3 – The footpath stretching from the old Gaelscoil Ui Riordain to the Regional Park pedestrian entrance was cleaned.

Project 4 – John Buckley pruned the Hydrangeas at Poulavone. He also sorted out the Transition Stone Bed in Fr Sexton Park.

Project 5 – An area at Poulavone that runs along the length of road opposite the Hydrangeas was cut back to tidy it up and to allow for a two phase planting.

Planting is part of the Ballincollig Pollinator Corridor. Two phases – phase 1 planting the seeds and phase 2 hopefully there will be a lovely wildflower show in the coming year.