DATE FOR THE DIARY
OFFICIAL LAUNCH OF BALLINCOLLIG PARKLET
Following the success of the Parklet on Douglas Street and as part of the ‘Reimaging Cork’ Programme, Cork City Council sought to provide more Parklets in the City Centre and beyond.
To date, in 2021 there have been eight Parklets installed in Cork City.
Converting a few on-street parking spaces into public open space, the Parklets are a cost-effective way to create more vibrant streets, promote economic vitality, and provide an inviting green space for residents and passers-by to sit, relax, and interact.
Two key elements of the Parklets Project are providing greenery on urban streets and encouraging biodiversity. The intention is for plants to be maintained in the Parklets at all times, and the majority (if not all) of these plants should be “pollinator friendly”.
In May of this year, the Council announced that it was looking to provide up to six more new Parklets in the greater metropolitan area. The applications for these additional Parklets are currently being assessed.
The City Council is planning to have a public launch of each of the installed Parklets by the Lord Mayor, Cllr Colm Kelleher.
Ballincollig’s Parklet on Main Street will be officially launched next Thursday 2nd September at 9.30 am with Parklet Partners: Ballincollig Tidy Towns & Tudor Rose Florist.
PUMP IT UP
Denis, one of our Volunteers, took on the task of cleaning down and repainting the pump located in the Old Square. He spent time stripping it down and finished it off with special metal paint. The result was excellent.


LITTER PICK
Sunday morning last fifteen Volunteers gathered for the Sunday Morning Litter Pick.
The whole of Main Street, including side streets and approach roads from Poulavone to Ballincollig Rugby Club were covered. Barry’s Road and the Link Road were also covered. One of our Volunteers carried out a big clean up around St Oliver’s cemetery.
Fourteen bags of Litter were collected in total.
We also collected two bags of Grass from Leo Murphy Terrace.
Several of the Volunteers carried out Litter Picks during the week and collected several bags of Litter, Plastic and Cans.
CHARITY DAY SUCCESS
Margaret Griffin of Griffins Garden Centre shared a video with Ballincollig Tidy Towns of an area perfect for bees and butterflies to thrive naturally. This we found to be very informative.
She sent a Thank You notice for the Griffins Charity Day which was held recently. This was a wonderful success. Well done to all involved.
SWEET TALKING
Beekeeper Shane Lehane created quite a buzz with his lecture entitled ‘Bees Are More Than Honey’. This took place in the Regional Park Ballincollig as part of Heritage Week 2021. His talk on bees was both informative and interesting and was enjoyed by a great number of people who attended.
If you missed out on this or if you would like to hear it again, press the following link https://vimeo.com/591256293
The link is also posted on our Website’s Biodiversity Page.
For the best experience, get the Vimeo app:
Android – https://bit.ly/vimeo_android
iOS – https://bit.ly/vimeo_ios



SPECIAL BIRTHDAY
Kitty O’Callaghan and Tom Butler of Ballincollig Tidy Towns presenting Pat Clarke with a gift to mark his recent special birthday.

WATERING
The ‘Waterboys’ spent two and a half hours watering on Monday night. Twelve hundred and fifty litres of water were used. The Towers, the Parklet and all the Railing and Pole Planters were watered.
On Tuesday night they went back to water the Planters at Eastgate and used another five hundred litres of water.
On Thursday nineteen hundred litres of water used were used to water all Pole and Railing Planters, the two Towers, the Parklet and the Eastgate Planters. It took the lads three and a quarter hours.
For the first time they had to go to the hydrant for six hundred litres of water to finish the job.
WEEKS WORK
On Tuesday John and Anthony cut back some of the overhanging branches along the Carrigrohane Road. As a result, more light will be let into the area around the Hydrangeas.
Hopefully this work will help to enhance the approach road to Ballincollig.
It is our intention to do some work on the weaker Hydrangeas later in the year in order to bring them along and make them stronger.



Adrian started working cleaning the steps from behind the Westgate Foundation to Community Drive. It is timely having it cleaned before students return to schools in the coming days.
The substantial work done on the steps made a big difference.


John continued the work on Barry’s Road. Although time-consuming John tends to this area and the result speaks for itself.


Pat and Rosaleen gave the Plants in the Parklet a makeover.



Two of our Volunteers also did some cutting back and dead heading.
Green Waste was collected from the Residents of Carrigdene, Rosewood and Inniscarra View. We recycled six ton bags and twelve small bags of Green Waste in association with Cork City Council.
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.







