ONE STEP BEYOND
Denis has done a fantastic job making the new steps in the Allotment. They are much safer than the ones that were previously there and certainly look a great deal better.
A WELCOME SIGHT
It was great to see a new Volunteer litter picking on Old Fort Road on Wednesday night. Thank you so much. Welcome aboard.
TUESDAY WORK NIGHT
Tuesday night 10 Volunteers did a great job cutting back overhanging briars affecting pedestrians in Sunningdale. Once this was done the base of the stone wall was cleaned.
We also had 2 Volunteers working in the town centre dead heading plants in the various window boxes.
Adrian and Ger cleaned up the weeds in front of the vacant house at Coolroe.
Two bags of greenery were collected from the roadside opposite Fr Sexton Park.
HERE’S HOPING
The Hydrangeas at Carrigrohane have been a pet project of ours for the past number of years. While the majority of them are growing and thriving some have not been as fortunate and we have, on a number of occasions, taken slips and grown them on in the Allotment. When they are strong enough, we have then transplanted them to the beds along Carrigrohane in the hope that they too will thrive.
This week our workers brought 6 such slips and planted them, covering the soil with our bark mulch which is of great quality. Hopefully they will now grow big and strong and add to the beauty of the road.
NATIONAL HERITAGE WEEK SUCCESS
The Heritage Council extended a huge ‘thank you’ to everyone who contributed to National Heritage Week. A variety of heritage activities took place over the week. With over 1800 events and projects from across Ireland the Heritage Council was thrilled to have been able to celebrate natural and cultural heritage in-person once again. You can still browse through all the event and project listing on the Heritage Week website.
Heritage Awards – There’s still time to apply for a Heritage Award. If you organised a stand-out event or project, you or your organisation are invited to apply for a Heritage Award. This year, following the full return of in-person events, rather than be automatically entered, organisers must put their event or project forward for consideration for an award. There are six awards for 2022, including the new Sustainable Heritage Award, the Biodiversity Award, and the Sustainable and Inclusive Event Award.
People are also invited to nominate an individual or organisation for the Heritage Hero Award, to be given to someone who has, over a substantial period of time, made an outstanding contribution to the protection and promotion of heritage. Nominations for the Heritage Hero Award are from the public and are not-self nominating. Is there a person or organisation you know who you believe should be considered for this award?
Applications and nominations for the Heritage Awards are now open and will close on Monday, 5th September. To learn more about the Heritage Awards and access the application and nomination forms visit the website.
Irish Landmark Trust Competition – Time is almost up to enter the Irish Landmark Trust competition! Irish Landmark Trust is an official partner of National Heritage Week 2022. For thirty years, Irish Landmark Trust has found interesting and unusual historic properties, ranging from lighthouses to castles to gate lodges, and given them new life as special holiday accommodations, conserving the heritage sites as living buildings. To celebrate, Irish Landmark Trust is offering one lucky winner a voucher for a two-night break in one of its unique heritage properties. To enter the competition, visit the competition page. The competition closes at midnight on Wednesday, 31st August 2022.
ALLOTMENT OPEN DAY
As part of Ballincollig’s Programme for Heritage Week 2022, Ballincollig Tidy Towns’ Allotment was opened to the public last Saturday. An immense amount of work went into preparing the Allotment for this event and we were proud of how well it looked.
We were delighted with the turnout. Volunteers were on hand to show people around and explain the various aspects of the Allotment to them. The Chairman of Ballincollig Tidy Towns gave a talk on the compost bays, our recycling and a selection of the plants growing there. He also explained the workings of the water harvesting operation.
Thankfully we even got some new Volunteers from those who came along.
LITTER PICK
Eighteen Volunteers turned out for Sunday’s litter pick. Because of the large number of people, we were able to cover a wide area. Unfortunately, due to the wayward crows the town centre was in a bad way and needed some extra work.
As is usual litter picks were carried out by some of our Volunteers during the week. When all the litter collected was added to Sunday’s collection, and later segregated, it yielded 1 bag of plastic, 1 bag of glass and 1 bag of cans.
We also collected 1 bag of grass cuttings from Leo Murphy Terrace and 4 bags of kerb sweepings from Inniscarra View.
Also on Sunday morning two of our Volunteers, Tom and Tony, watered the planters at Eastgate (outside Aldi) where 1,000 litres of water were used.
Denis was busy working at the Allotment.
CLEAN AIR TOGETHER
This week Councillor Deirdre Forde, Lord Mayor of Cork, launched the Clean Air Together (Cork City) Citizen Science project. This is an initiative of the Enviornmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Enviornmental Education Unit of An Taisce to gather new data on the quality of the air in Cork City.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and An Taisce’s Environmental Education Unit are looking for 1,000 people in Cork City to become citizen scientists and measure air pollution as part of the initiative. Selected participants will receive a small tube that will measure Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) in their local area.
Nitrogen Dioxide, an air pollutant that comes mainly from cars, vans and trucks can have very harmful effects on heart and lungs. Sampling will be carried out over the month of October and participation is free.
For more information, and to register, visit the Clean Air Together project website www.cleanairtogether.ie.
The results will also be used to inform Cork City Council’s Air Quality Strategy.
Lord Mayor of Cork City, Councillor Deirdre Forde said:
“I am delighted to represent Cork City Council at the launch of this amazing Clean Air Together initiative, which highlights the importance of air quality in our city. This initiative also offers citizens the opportunity to directly engage in the collection of air quality information; thereby raising awareness of this matter and increasing community involvement in improving the quality of air that we breathe.”
EPA Senior Scientist David Fenton said:
“We are delighted to be bringing this exciting project to Cork City to measure nitrogen dioxide (NO2) – a major traffic pollutant which is known to be harmful. By taking part in this Clean Air Together project, you will measure NO2 is in your area and your measurement – together with all of the other data collected – will give us a detailed picture of air pollution in Cork City. Participation in the project is open to everyone who is a resident of Cork City. You can visit www.cleanairtogether.ie to find out more information and register as a participant.”
pics from week –