HYDRANGEAS AT POULAVONE / CARRIGROHANE
This year the Hydrangeas are looking wonderful. They have matured so much in the past twelve to eighteen months. The beautiful coloured blossoms are a lovely sight along one of the roads entering Ballincollig.
LITTER PICK
On Sunday morning there were at least sixteen Volunteers out for the weekly Litter Pick. We do know there were others as we collected more bags of rubbish from our various collection points.
It was another beautiful sunny morning and twelve bags of Litter were collected in total.
We collected several bags of Grass Cuttings and Kerb Cleanings from Carrigdene.
Two further bags of Grass Cuttings were collected from Leo Murphy Terrace.
Several bags of Weeds collected after Residents weeded the roundabout at Coolroe Meadows.
Four bags of Litter, one bag of Glass, one bag of Plastic and one bag of Cans were collected by our Volunteers during their daily Litter Picks.
During the week some of our Volunteers were deadheading the Planters at the West Village.
THE UPCYCLE CHALLENGE 2021
This is an annual challenge that encourages people to give your once loved objects a new lease of life. With a €6,000 prize fund the challenge couldn’t be easier. Take something you no longer have a use for and transform it into something new. Then submit each new creation to the competition across a range of different categories to be in with a chance to share in the prize fund.
The Upcycle Challenge helps to highlight how easily and creatively reused items can be applied to everyday life. Ireland is consuming at a rate that is unsustainable. By keeping items in circulation for longer it extends their lives, and this helps reduce the environmental burden on the planet.
Launched by the Minister of State with Responsibility for the Circular Economy, Ossian Smyth TD, he stated “The Upcycle Challenge is an opportunity for people to tap into their creativity and to take on the challenge of making something unique. There is a wealth of materials already in circulation in our homes, second-hand shops and many resale websites. Taking these existing items and upcycling them allows us to make something truly unique. Projects like this demonstrate the value of the circular economy in meeting climate action ambitions and provide an opportunity for us all to be part of the solution.”
Southern Region Waste Management Office Coordinator, Philippa King stated, “The Upcycle Challenge is in its fifth year, and it just keeps getting better. Each year I am astounded by the level of creativity and ingenuity from the applicants. I particularly enjoy seeing the journey that they took to create the finished product. We have secured some great prizes for this competition and it is open to applicants from all over Ireland. I am looking forward to seeing this year’s submissions and being inspired once again by the upcycling talent that is in all of us.”
The competition opened for applications on Monday 5th July 2021 and remains open until Friday 15th October 2021 on http://mywaste.ie . To successfully showcase the creation of the upcycled item, participants must include before and after pictures along with some information about the inspiration behind the finished product.
Winners will be announced at the Upcycle Challenge Awards Ceremony, which will be held on Thursday 18th November 2021. Prizes are sponsored by the Regional Waste Management Offices and the Environmental Protection Agency.
WATERING
The ‘Support Watering Crew’ with the assistance of O’Donovan Agr watered the Planters at Eastgate and Fr. Sexton Park on Sunday morning.
In total one thousand litres of water were used.
Despite the recent heavy rain, the Plants were all very thirsty Tuesday night.
The twenty-seven Railing Planters alone, stretching from the White Horse to Maxol and Inniscarra Junction took five hundred litres in total or eighteen litres per Planter.
All the Planters on the Northern side of Main Street and back as far as Tudor Rose Florists on the Southern Side of Main Street were watered. This included the Parklet and one of the Towers. A total of fifteen hundred litres of water were used. But the water ran out on the second Tower. It took the lads two and a half hours in total to get the job done.
The remainder of the watering was completed on Wednesday night. The second Tower on Main Street was watered along with the Planters at Eastgate which were also fed.
COLOURFUL DISPLAYS
Ballincollig Tidy Towns Volunteers feel thankful for the many kind words from passersby with regard to the gorgeous displays of colourful flowers in the town.
ONGOING WORK
John cut the grass on the Killumney Road on Monday morning and also did some work on Barry’s Road.
The grass on this stretch of road is cut less frequently. Each time only a small amount is cut back in order to allow the natural growth of the vegetation and to leave food for Pollinators. It also gives cover to wildlife as they move. This is clearly evident from the trails in the high grass.
He also did some more work on Barry’s Road preparing the bank.
John turned the compost in the Compost Bays 1 and 2 at the Allotment.
There will be another batch of Compost ready soon for use in the coming months.
Adrian finished the work on the An Caislean flowerbed.
He also began the job of removing the suckers from the trees on Community Drive / Old Fort Road.
Two one ton bags of Green Waste were collected from Highfield after a work night by Residents.
We received a call from Aldi at Eastgate.
They kindly donated several plants that had passed their ‘best before’ status. They are now in the Allotment being cared for.
WORK NIGHTS
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.
