Meath's Tidy Towns lead the way in climate action and biodiversity
While many still picture Tidy Towns volunteers as simply planting flowers and tidying streets, today's groups have evolved into community engagement and support.
From running circular economy initiatives to supporting homeless people and promoting local environmental resilience, the volunteers aim to make a difference in their communities.
In Trim, the five-time winners of the overall competition, Trim Tidy Towns is pioneering innovative projects like the recently launched returnable coffee cup scheme, cloth nappy libraries, and reusable party kits – initiatives aimed at reducing waste, cutting carbon emissions, and saving families money.
They also partnered with Birdwatch Ireland Meath to build a Sand Martin Wall along the Boyne River in August 2024, providing 72 nesting sites to protect this important bird species.
Councillor Ronan Moore, Vice Chairperson of Trim Tidy Towns, highlighted the evolving role of the group: 'More and more people understand that the Tidy Towns Competition has long since moved past the simple aesthetics and litter-picking that it was once associated with.'
The community group has been active since the mid-1960s and is currently chaired by Brian Hefferman.
Mr Moore added: 'Through our involvement in multi-stakeholder initiatives such as the Trim Sustainable Energy Community and the Urbact SDG Global Goals project, as well as partnerships with schools, Men's Sheds, youth projects, and residential estates, more residents now recognise that Tidy Towns encompass everything positive about a community - from sustainability and biodiversity to improved streetscapes and public spaces.'
'We continue to give people hope that they can make a difference. Our message of 'come out and help make a difference' is getting through. We are the extra bit of voluntary workforce that community groups call on when they need a hand.'
In Navan, the Johnstown Tidy Towns group has been working closely with Meath County Council to manually weed cycle paths and footpaths, a natural alternative to pesticides that benefits everyone, from local wildlife to children playing outdoors.
Councillor Alan Lawes, Chairperson of Johnstown Tidy Town, said: 'We wanted to look after our community a little bit better; the manual weeding is something we are proud of. We've prevented thousands of litres of pesticides from being sprayed. That's a benefit for everyone, for the animals, and for the children playing in the area.'
'Everyone is looking for the government to do something for the environment but actually we can do a lot ourselves.'
Meath County Council backs these local efforts through funding schemes, with the latest being €3m Local Biodiversity Action Fund announced this week. Johnstown Tidy Towns also use their funding to support outreach for homeless people in Meath.
'We go out every night to homeless people to bring them something to eat or sleeping bags. I'm hoping that by doing what we are doing, it's shining light on the area that is not being looked after by the government,' said Mr Lawes.
Founded in 1958, the Tidy Towns competition celebrates the tidiest and most attractive communities across Ireland. Judged by independent adjudicators from May to August, towns receive reports praising positive developments and suggesting improvements. Awards cover various environmental categories, culminating in the announcement of Ireland's Tidiest Town each September.
In Athboy, the Tidy Towns group hosts biodiversity talks to teach locals to appreciate and protect nature.
Mary Flood, Chairperson, said: 'Our motto is to improve, protect and enhance our town, so a lot of the work we do is about education — showing people what we are doing and hoping they follow our example.'
'We tend to forget that we are part of nature… we are nature. If we destroy nature, we are destroying ourselves and leaving it in a bad state for future generations. So we have to teach people to love nature.'
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Independent
a day ago
- Irish Independent
Frustration at increase in littering in Enniscorthy in lead-up to Tidy Towns competition
According to group Chairman Jonathon Hughes, members of the group have been greatly dismayed at the recent surge in illegal dumping and littering around the town – not only increasing their workload, but putting them in an unfavourable position before the upcoming judging assessment of the Supervalu Tidy Towns competition. 'We are seeing more and more households and businesses with overflowing bins. Some people are also dumping household waste beside bins.' "This is really disappointing to see and could be the difference between silver and gold in the Tidy Towns competition. If an adjudicator finds this – what impression does this show?' he asked. The Supervalu Tidy Towns competition is adjudicated by an independent panel during the months of June, July, and August. The secret assessments focus on litter control, tidiness, and the physical state of the area's environment. There are eight categories including; Community – Your Planning and Involvement, Streetscape and Public Places, Green Spaces and Landscaping, Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality, Sustainability-Doing more with less, Tidiness and Litter Control, Residential Streets and Housing Areas, Approach Roads, Streets and Lanes, with a total of 550 points possible. Once the winners are announced in September, all entrants will receive their assessment reports. Last year, Enniscorthy Tidy Towns celebrated a historic gold medal win in the competition and are keen to continue that success, while making the area more enjoyable for residents. The adjudicator previously praised the town's initiatives and commented on how they were pleased to find the area very clean and tidy on the date of the visit in their report. In fact, Enniscorthy had jumped significantly by 15 points to 371 points compared to 356 points 2023. "We are appealing to all households and businesses to keep their rubbish in the bin with lids secured and not overflowing. If you can see the black bag – then so can crows and seagulls!'
Irish Independent
2 days ago
- Irish Independent
Residents of Kerry town urged to play part in keeping streets clean after superb Anti-Litter result
The town was ranked third out of 40 towns and cities across Ireland by Anti-Litter League judges. This marks an improvement of one place on Killarney's result in the final 2024 rankings. Chamber co-president and Tidy Towns committee member, Johnny McGuire, said what was most encouraging is that seven of the 10 sites inspected in Killarney received the top A grade. 'You only get one chance to make a first impression and it's great to hear that the impact Killarney gives when approaching the town is a very good one,' Mr McGuire said. He said enormous credit is due to the management and staff of Killarney Municipal District. 'It's not that long ago when Killarney was languishing well down the IBAL league table but the team in the town hall and dedicated volunteers have really turned that around and created a town we can all be very proud of,' the Chamber official said. 'We've steadily climbed up the table and we improved from 10th position at the start of last year to third place overall on this occasion. Thanks must go to the council management, the elected representatives and, especially, the dedicated outdoor staff who can be really proud of their work'. Mr McGuire called on everybody in the town to play their part - no matter how small – as the judges in the national Tidy Towns competition and, more locally, the Killarney Looking Good awards, will make their deliberations in the coming weeks. He said there is no reason why Killarney cannot secure a gold medal in this year's Tidy Towns competition if everybody contributes. 'Cigarette butts and food-related litter were all that held Killarney back this time. We would urge people just to think twice before they discard such items going forward,' he said.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Irish Times
Naas named Ireland's Best Kept Town in all-island competition
Naas, Co Kildare, has been named Ireland's Best Kept Town, beating competition from Derry, Omagh in Co Tyrone, and Carrigaline in Co Cork in the large urban centre category. Towns and villages across the island were assessed on the level of public cleanliness and facilities, the outward appearance of roads and buildings and the quality of local wildlife. Earlier this week Naas was named the cleanest town in Ireland by the Irish Business Against Litter association, a title it has won three times since 2020. The survey, conducted by An Taisce, made reference to a 'spotless' Naas plaza and 'a much cared for' canal bank. This year marks the 30th anniversary of Ireland's Best Kept Town competition, a cross-Border initiative between the Supervalu TidyTowns competition in the Republic and the Northern Ireland Amenity Council's Best Kept awards. READ MORE Buncrana, Co Donegal, was named the island's best kept large town, beating Rush, Co Dublin and Comber, Co Down. Royal Hillsborough, Co Down, won the small town category ahead of Carlingford, Co Louth; Bagenaldstown, Co Carlow; and Randalstown, Co Antrim. Donaghmore, Co Tyrone, was named the best kept village – Eyeries, Co Cork and Riverstown, Co Sligo were nominees in the category. Winners were announced today at a ceremony in Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park, with Minister for Rural and Community Development Dara Calleary saying 'being nominated for these awards is an achievement in itself. It is a recognition of the efforts made by volunteers and local communities'. 'It is a testament to how local volunteers take ownership of their local areas and work to improve them,' he said. Doreen Muskett, chairperson of the Northern Ireland Amenity Council, said 'these competitions continue to demonstrate the great pride that people have in their communities, North and South, and the hard work that is carried out by volunteers'.
