Competition – Biodiversity

What are the Biodiversity strengths of your local housing estate/neighbourhood?

Send a short description of your area to lktidy@gmail.com by Wednesday, 28th August 2024. The below headings will aid your description:

Habitats:

• Do you have woodland and hedgerows of native species are in your area?
• Do you have undisturbed areas of grassland left to nature?
• Do you have wildflower meadows or “Don’t Mow Let it Grow” areas where wildflower meadows are allowed to develop?
• Do you have Freshwater habitats – ponds, streams/burns? These freshwater habitats can be biodiversity hotspots.

Species:

• Tell us if wild species such as bats, hedgehogs, foxes, badgers, swifts etc. live in or visit your neighbourhood.

Pollinators:

Do you have many species of bees, hoverflies, other insects and creatures?

See Ireland’s Pollinator Plan here

Perhaps there are other items you would like to tell us about? Reducing the use of chemicals? Using peat free compost?

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Tidy Towns Spring Talks/Seminars

We have two great garden themed talks this April and May – coming up first is “Garden Birds Through the Seasons” with Aengus Kennedy of NatureNorthWest.

Aengus Kennedy will deliver a talk for approximately 1/1.5 hours on Garden Birds through the Seasons. We will look at some lost sounds to start – birds that were once very common in the Irish landscape and now nearly gone. This will be followed by what the common garden visitors do throughout the 4 seasons. We will finish with a short run down of a few of the more common bird songs.

Register now for this event taking place Tuesday 18th April at 8pm in the Station House Hotel >> https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/garden-birds-through-the-seasons-tickets-597103050297

Our second event takes place in Tuesday 2nd May, again in the Station House Hotel at 8pm with the topic being “Designing Your Garden For Pollinators”.

Joanne Butler of OURganic Gardens will give a talk on:

  • Designing a garden for pollinators , working with the elements in Donegal .
  • A year in our garden and challenges we face (working with nature rather than against it).
  • What best plants to grow that provide food & shelter .
  • Working with the pollinator plan in gardens (they may already do this so we can have a conversation around this).

Register now for this event >> https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/designing-your-garden-for-pollinators-tickets-597276629477

 

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Buy a Pollinator Tree and.. Get Second One Half Price

As part of our Biodiversity initiatives we are bringing back our pollinating tree offer!

We are delighted to be partnering with local garden centre Alcorns on this great biodiversity initiative. Buy a pollinator tree and get second one Half Price. Please note, this offer is while stocks last and you must provide your Eircode on purchase. (Personal details will not be shared publicly.)

List of fruit trees available for this offer:

Apple

  • Elstar
  • Jona gold
  • Golden delicious
  • James greive
  • Apffel
  • Mela

Cherry

  • Early rivers
  • Morello
  • Black cherry

Pear

  • Conference pear
  • Williams pear

Trio apple, pear (3 verities in one plant)

Duo apple, pear (2 verities in one plant)

 

Large selection of fruit trees available ranging from €24 to €36, Irish trees all suitable for cross pollination.

For more information on these trees please contact Craig at Alcorns on 074 – 9121541.

Happy planting!

The Letterkenny Tidy Towns team

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Thankyou To Our Volunteers

The following article appeared in the Letterkenny Leader on 3rd November 2021.

As we come to the end of the year, it will soon be time for the Tidy Towns Results to be announced. However highly Letterkenny scores in the results, we are proud of the improvements that have been made to the town both this year and in previous years. None of which could have been done without our volunteers, who turn out in all weathers to pick litter, tidy up green areas, paint fences, mend fences, plant flower beds and everything else that is done to improve the look of the town.

The volunteers gather at the Brewery

Recently, we held a coffee morning at the Brewery, where co-chair Gerard McCormick and co-ordinator Neil Blockley both spoke to the volunteers to give thanks for all their work. The following is an excerpt from an open letter to volunteers, penned by Gerard.

Open Letter

To all the Tidy Towns Volunteers:

On behalf of the Letterkenny Tidy Towns Committee, I would like to sincerely thank each and every one of you for all your work and efforts that you have given to your town this year.

When Neil came to us with his idea of starting a structured volunteering plan which is based on the famous “table” at the Market Square on Sunday mornings along with promoting the good work done on Social Media, we never thought that it would be such a success.

On reflection, it has been successful for two reasons, firstly, the selfless spirit of all you volunteers who reached out to us and gave your time freely to improve the fabric of the town by making it clean and tidy, secondly the hard work and organisation that Neil has put into this initiative from the very start. These two reasons have been instrumental in the success of the initiative, we salute you all.

We are told by the National Tidy Towns Unit that the Tidy Town results will be released sometime in November and we are excited about this, after the cancelled competition last year.

You never know what will happen in this competition, but we do know one thing, we have all worked extremely hard to have Letterkenny in the best shape possible and we should all be very proud of that as the Tidy Town year winds down.

I would just like to conclude that we hope that you have enjoyed volunteering with Tidy Towns as it is in the giving that we receive the most in life. We look forward to continue working with you all as we strive to improve our beautiful town.

Gerard addresses the volunteers while Neil looks on.

Charlie Grant, organiser of many of Letterkenny Tidy Towns’ projects

Pollinating Trees

In order to promote the planting of pollinating trees, we are working with Alcorns Garden Centre in Kiltoy. Members of the public can go into Alcorns and select 2 pollinator friendly trees. Letterkenny Tidy Towns will pay for whichever is the cheaper of the two. Nine tree varieties are on offer, including rowans, ashes, weeping willows, cherry blossom and many more. To find out more, contact Craig on 074 9121541 or visit www.alcorns.ie.

 

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Pollinator Friendly Areas Register – Buy a Pollinator Friendly Tree & Get Another Free Campaign – NOW CLOSED

This offer is now closed, thank you to all who participated.

As part of our Biodiversity initiatives we are building a register of pollinator friendly areas in Letterkenny!

We are delighted to be partnering with local garden centre Alcorns on this great biodiversity initiative. For every pollinator friendly tree(s) purchase we will provide one pollinator tree completely free of charge (that tree being of lesser or equal value).  Please note, this offer is while stocks last and one free tree per customer only.

If you can please complete a register form at the time of purchase in Alcorn so that we can add your Eircode and tree details to the pollinator friendly area register.  NOTE – your personal information will NOT be displayed in any way or provided to a third party.

The trees on offer are:

  • Prunus Kanzan (Cherry Blossom)
  • Prunus Fugenzo (flowering cherry)
  • Sorbus Nigra (purple leaf plum, pink flower)
  • Sorbus Vilmorini (pink berry ash)
  • Sorbus scalaris (Chinese Ash –  white flower pink berry)
  • Sorbus Comixta (Japanese Rowan)
  • Sorbus Acuparia (sheer water seedling)
  • Pyrus Pendula (weeping pear, white flower)
  • Salix Kilmarnock (weeping willow)
  • Cotoneaster coral beauty
  • Ceonthus Victoria
  • Cotoneaster Cornubia
  • Cotoneaster Pendula
  • Pyrus Chanticleer (celery pear)
  • Malus hyshop ( blue tinged crab apple )
  • Malus Red Sentinel (crab apple)

There will be more tree types available in spring for any more information on these trees please contact Craig at Alcorns on 074 – 9121541.

Happy planting!

The Letterkenny Tidy Towns team

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Tidy Times – August 2021

The following article appeared in the ‘Tidy Times’ article in the Letterkenny Leader in August 2021.

There’s plenty going on this month. Here are a few of the highlights.

Junior Litter Warrior.

During the summer, we have invited our Facebook followers to send in photos of their children helping to keep Letterkenny tidy. We’re firm believers that getting children involved will set up good habits for life, and it also gives them some quality time with the family. Each month we enter the photos in a draw and award a lucky winner a ShopLK voucher. The photos proved very popular with the public – great to see such community spirit! – so thanks to all who have entered so far. Entries close at the end of August so do send in your photos.  

Thiago (4), the Junior Litter Warrior for June

Tommy (9), Lottie (5) and Molly(4), the Junior Litter Warriors for July

Biodiversity.

In recent months we have been focussing on encouraging pollinators via biodiversity. Pollinators are vital because without bees and other insects pollinating wild plants, the plants wouldn’t produce the fruits and seeds that animals and birds need to eat, leading to a downward spiral in wildlife and plantlife population which would ultimately impact us all.

We have a 2-pronged approach to this. Firstly, we are developing various sites around the town which will be designated as biodiversity areas, for example at Ballyboe Park and at both of the town parks. In addition, there will be various spots, such as Sentry Hill, where the grass will be left unmowed, allowing wild flowers to grow in certain areas, all of which encourages our pollinators to do their work. You can also help out by leaving a section of your garden to grow wild.

Secondly, in conjunction with Byrnes Mobile Zoo we have installed a ‘Polly Bug’ caravan at a vacant site on Ramelton Road. The caravan is home to more than 100,000 bees who will be diligently working the plants of Letterkenny. As I look out of the window I can see a gang of them working away on our flowering trees, so they haven’t taken long to settle in.

Our ‘Flight of the Bee’ mural trail, celebrating pollinators, also continues. The trail will consist of 5 murals, from Port Road to the Jim McCormick Memorial Garden by the Century Cinema, which takes the walker on a journey with the bees. The aim is to promote awareness of biodiversity while providing an attraction which will appeal to visitors to the town along with the murals produced by such people as the A-rt Team and the Cathedral Quarter.

Garden Competition.

During the summer months, we are running our annual Garden Competition. If you are proud of your garden, why not send us a few photographs to enter the competition? We have 3 categories – small, large and wildlife friendly, so please indicate which category you wish to be considered for. Judging will be at the end of August, and winners will receive a voucher for Alcorns Garden Centre. Entries can be sent to lktidy@gmail.com, or you can drop printed photos in at Magees Pharmacy on Main Street. We look forward to seeing your pictures.

Last year’s winner of the ‘Wildlife Friendly’ category.

Keeping the town clean.

Since the restrictions on outdoor gatherings were eased, we have been getting back into meeting up on a Sunday morning for litter picks. Everyone is welcome, just turn up at Market Square at 10.30am on any Sunday, and Neil, our coordinator, will show you the ropes. We also encourage Community Clean-Ups, where groups of residents arrange to clean up their local area. Such events are great for community spirit, and for getting to know the neighbours, all while improving the neighbourhood. Tidy Towns and/or the Council can help with providing equipment and bags, as well as clearing the litter away afterwards. Contact us at lktidy@gmail.com for more details.

If you would like to know how you can get involved in helping with the Tidy Towns efforts, please visit our website https://www.letterkennytidytowns.com/volunteer.

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Tidy Times – June edition

The following article appeared in the Letterkenny Leader on June 3rd.

It’s great to see the Leader back after these months of lockdown, and here’s hoping that the gradual opening up of society continues onwards and upwards without any major setbacks! Not surprisingly, the lockdown has impacted Tidy Towns in a number of ways, but we have still been active as much as possible. So what have we been up to?

Perhaps the most visible activity is the litter picks. We haven’t been able to meet up, but Neil, our coordinator, has done a sterling job of keeping all our volunteers (who now number more than 50!) equipped to go out in their own family groups / bubbles and clear litter from their local areas. Looking around the town, there’s a real visible improvement, with special kudos going to John Wilkie who almost single-handedly cleaned up the dual carriageway. Quite the mammoth task, and it’s looking so much better! In the coming months, we hope to be able to get back to the Sunday morning meet-ups in the Market Square, and will also be encouraging community groups to “Adopt a road”. That is, a residents’ association would organise a litter pick of their own area with equipment provided by the council, along with assistance to remove bin bags afterwards. Get in touch with us if you would like to know more about this, at lktidy@gmail.com.

Our new volunteers from Writer’s Square set out on a litter pick.

In addition, there have been a number of local projects, mostly co-ordinated by Tidy Towns stalwart Charlie Grant. For example, there was a clean-up of an overgrown area on Long Lane, and there were also clean-ups at the Famine garden and by the Mart. One project which gained a lot of attention was at Roger’s Burn, which is a very fondly remembered site by many people from their Letterkenny childhoods. Here, our volunteers repaired a wooden handrail to make the site more easily accessible. Having visited there myself for the first time recently, I can say it’s a beautiful spot and anything which makes it easier to visit is to be welcomed.

Janus and Neily work on the handrail at Roger’s Burn.

Charlie has also been working with Transition Year students at Errigal college to set up a polytunnel, for use as a resource for both students and the community. In addition, he worked with the TY students to provide flower boxes for the Cathedral Quarter.

In the coming months we will be focussing on sustainability, with emphasis on biodiversity. There are numerous biodiversity sites around the town (Roger’s Burn being a prime example), and we will be working to keep these in good condition and provide information on how people can keep their own areas biodiverse. Other areas of focus will be on cutting down household waste, and in particular food waste, in which areas we will be providing information in the coming months.

Finally for this month, our “Flight of the bee” Mural trail continues to develop. After delays due to Covid restrictions, Karl Porter has been back in action in recent weeks, with the mural at the Jim McCormick Memorial Garden taking shape. The idea of the mural trail is to create a walking route which highlights the importance of bees in the preservation of ecological balance and biodiversity in nature. It is hoped that an app will be created to highlight the trail and to link in with other local attractions such as the Cathedral Quarter and the other murals around the town, thus providing another good reason for people to come and visit our town.

The new mural at the Jim McCormick Memorial Garden.


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Biodiversity

The following article appeared in the Letterkenny Leader on September 3rd.

One of the focuses for Letterkenny Tidy Towns, and for the national Tidy Towns organisation, is biodiversity. The aim is to encourage pollinators by protecting native hedgerows, encouraging wild flowers to grow, and planting pollen-rich flowers. This is because a third of Ireland’s 99 native bee species are facing extinction, and the knock-on effect of that on our wildlife and plantlife could be devastating. Last year the Tidy Towns National Pollinator Award for Large Town went to Buncrana, so we’re in good company!

There are a number of public sites where we are focussing on biodiversity, but we can all do our bit to help out in our own gardens. Something as simple as letting a small patch of grass grow long, or going easy on the hedge cutting can make a big difference, without necessarily having to look too untidy. As committee member Charlie Grant likes to say ‘There’s no such things as weeds, just plants in the wrong place’. To promote this, we included a ‘Wildlife friendly’ category in our recent garden competition, also known as the May McClintock Memorial Award, kindly sponsored by An Taisce.

Around the town, there are numerous places where biodiversity is being encouraged. On our website, we have a Biodiversity Map, which we are continuously updating – see above. Sites include the Town Park and Ballyboe Park, both of which have small areas which have been set aside to encourage pollinators, along with Sentry Hill where a section of grass is being allowed to grow long.

Another site of interest is the Butterfly Garden beside the tourist office. I for one drove past it for years without even knowing it was there, but it’s a fascinating spot to call in on if you’re passing by. Diverse pollinator-friendly flowers have been planted there, and there is also an insect hotel. There’s certainly plenty of insect activity going on down there!

The butterfly garden

My personal favourite is Ballymacool Town Park. Above the play area, the Nature’s Valley garden has a great variety of pollinator-friendly plants, and up in the woods in the top corner there is a beautiful wildflower meadow, neatly showing that Biodiversity can be either planned or spontaneous. Just take your pick.

Ballymacool Woods


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Garden Competition Winners

Our 2020 Tidy Towns Garden Competition had a very high standard of entry, and it was a very tough decision to pick winners for the three categories. But decisions had to be made nonetheless, and I hope you will agree that all 3 were very worthy winners! Thanks again to all who entered, you are all doing the town, and yourselves, proud.

The May McClintock Wildlife Friendly Category

This went to Bronwyn of Foxhills. The judge was glowing in his praise of Bronwyn’s garden, pointing out how much thought had gone into the design, and into encouraging a variety of wildlife for all seasons.

 

The Sean Higgins Memorial Award for Large Garden

This goes to Anne and Charlie, for their beautifully kept garden.

 

The Charles and Rose Devlin Memorial Award  for Small Garden.

The prize goes to Breege at Wolfe Tone Place. This garden attracted a lot of praise from Facebook followers and committee members and is a very worthy winner.


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Garden Competition Entries

Here is a sample of the entries we’ve had in our garden competition. We’ve been overwhelmed with the quality of the entries, and it’s going to be really tough making a decision!

Large Garden – Sean Higgins Memorial Award

 

Wildlife Friendly Garden – May McClintock Memorial Award

 

Small Garden – Charles and Rose Devlin Memorial Award

 

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