Blog Archives

January to March 2017 with Wexford Tidy Towns

Wexford Tidy Towns were back on the streets of Wexford in January helping keep our town clean and beautiful. We got to try out our new machinery including our new vacuum cleaner which will be a great help in collecting all those cigarette butts. Thanks to the experts for their specialist training. We look forward to using them on our future Action Days, they have been great to use on several of our Action Days so far.

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We returned to Peter’s Square for more planting and weeding and nurturing in this area, that got an extensive make over last year during several of our Action Days, a lovey spot in our town. There was a practical workshop held in the 1798 Street Gardens by Betsy Hickey in March with some of our Wexford Tidy Towns volunteers there and we will be returning here soon to plant lots of bee friendly plants. We encourage everyone to plant something for the bees, for ideas check out our page here.

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Some future Action Days to note are:

  • Saturday April 1st carpark beside Aspel’s Pub, at 10am, for our spring clean Action Days. We will have our new machinery there!
  • Saturday April 8th the rocks lane Maudlintown at 10am. Christy Lane, who is running for Mayor of Maudlintown, will also be there. Every euro Christy gets will count as a vote, the more euros the more votes. Money will go to Mary’s for a new football field so please join us if you can and bring a euro or two with you for the great cause.
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    Please consider joining Tidy Towns we would be delighted to see some new faces. You will meet new friends, get plenty of fresh air and exercise but most of all you will get the greatest satisfaction of keeping the town you love looking the way you always want it to look. Message us on our Facebook Page, or email us at info@wexfordtidytowns.com

    Posted in Biodiversity, Cleanups, Events, Tidy Towns Competition, Tidy Towns News

    Winter Planting 2015

    Wexford in Bloom and Wexford Tidy Towns have been out planting for the Winter and Spring. The winter planting is immediately obvious around town with heathers, ivies, pansies, polyanthuses and daisies flourishing in the Bullring, at the Railway station, the Crescent, on Abbey Street from the Arts Centre to Selskar Abbey and at Wygram. Expect to see lots of yellows, purples, deep reds and pinks interspersed with the rich winter green foliage.

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    Lying quietly underneath the winter flowering plants are daffodil and tulip bulbs waiting for the soil temperature to rise and thence to push themselves up into the world in February and March. Hundreds of bulbs have gone in around the town and hopefully most will appear and give us a real blast of colour this coming Spring.

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    Wexford Tidy Towns is always looking for people to help with planting and pruning and weeding so if you would be interested send us an email to say you are and we will call on you when the time is right. Use any of the following details to get in touch with us we would love to hear from you in relation to anything we do.

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    Posted in Biodiversity, Events, Tidy Towns Competition, Tidy Towns News

    Wexford & All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020

    Press Release From Wexford County Council: Thursday September 17th, 2015

    Today sees the launch of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, which identifies actions to help protect pollinators and the livelihoods of farmers who rely on their invaluable pollination service. Sixty-eight governmental and non-governmental organisations have agreed a shared plan of action to tackle pollinator decline and make Ireland a place where pollinators can survive and thrive.

    The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020, published today, makes Ireland one of the first countries in Europe with a strategy to address pollinator decline and protect pollination services. The initiative has generated huge support and has culminated in agreement to deliver 81 actions to make Ireland more pollinator friendly.

    Under the Wexford County Biodiversity Action Plan 2013-2018 Wexford County Council has already put into action projects such as the ‘Life Lives on the Edge’ biodiversity initiative along national roads in the county. This project has received special mention in the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 . Wexford County Council has agreed to support the Plan with future cost-effective actions planned to help make County Wexford pollinator friendly which in hand will support the livelihoods of farmers who rely on their invaluable pollination service.

    Crops such as apples, strawberries and oilseed rape all benefit from pollination from insects like bees which can improve the quality and quantity of fruit and seeds. Ireland may not be a big producer of fruit, but here locally in County Wexford, some pollinated crops such as strawberries, tomatoes and smaller quantities of apples and berry crops such as blackcurrant are nevertheless important.

    In coming together to support this Plan and protect pollinators we protect the livelihood of farmers and growers who rely on their free pollinator service, and we protect the general health of our environment. If successful, this Plan will ensure that Ireland is a much better place for pollinators by 2020.

    A Pollinator Plan media pack including photographs and brief notes on the Plan has been prepared by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and is available here:
    http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/pollinator-plan

    Posted in Biodiversity, Tidy Towns News

    Ireland buzzing as 68 organisations come together to save pollinators

    Press Release From National Biodiversity Data Centre: Thursday September 17th, 2015

    Today sees the launch of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, which identifies actions to help protect pollinators and the livelihoods of farmers who rely on their invaluable pollination service. Sixty-eight governmental and non-governmental organisations have agreed a shared plan of action to tackle pollinator decline and make Ireland a place where pollinators can survive and thrive.

    The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020, published today, makes Ireland one of the first countries in Europe with a strategy to address pollinator decline and protect pollination services. The initiative has generated huge support and has culminated in agreement to deliver 81 actions to make Ireland more pollinator friendly.

    The Plan identifies actions that can be taken on farmland, public land and private land. These include creating pollinator highways along our transport routes, making our public parks pollinator friendly and encouraging the public to see their gardens as potential pit-stops for our busy bees.

    It is also about raising awareness on pollinators and how to protect them. With the support of organisations like An Taisce Green-Schools it aims to ensure that everyone from schoolchildren to farmers, gardeners, local authorities and businesses know what pollinators need and which simple cost-effective actions they can take to help. The Plan will also support Ireland’s bee keepers in keeping our honeybees healthy.

    “Unfortunately, Irish pollinators are in decline, with one third of our 98 bee species threatened with extinction,” said Dr Úna FitzPatrick from the National Biodiversity Data Centre, who chaired the Plan steering group.

    Dr Jane Stout, Associate Professor in Botany at Trinity College Dublin, who co-chaired the group, added: “If we want pollinators to be available to pollinate our crops and wild plants for future generations we need to manage the landscape in a more sustainable way and create a joined-up network of diverse and flower rich habitats as well as reduce our use of chemical insecticides. This doesn’t just mean in the countryside, but in our towns and villages as well.”

    The Pollinator Plan is not just about protecting bees but also about protecting the livelihood of farmers and growers who rely on their ‘free’ pollinator service, which allows consumers to buy Irish fruit and vegetables at an affordable price. This service is worth over £7 million per annum for apples in Northern Ireland, and €3.9 million for oilseed rape in the Republic of Ireland.

    Additionally, about three-quarters of our wild plants also require insect pollinators, so without pollinators the Irish landscape would be a very different and less beautiful place. Their value to tourism and branding our produce abroad is enormous but has never been assessed in a monetary sense.

    Responsibility for delivering the 81 actions has been shared out between the supporting organisations, which include the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Teagasc, Bord Bía, Northern Ireland Environment Agency, Heritage Council, Fáilte Ireland, An Taisce Green Schools, Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations, Iarnród Éireann, National Trust, RSPB, Tidy Towns, Transport NI, Ulster Farmers’ Union, Ulster Wildlife and Waterways Ireland.

    In coming together to protect pollinators we protect the livelihood of farmers and growers who rely on their free pollinator service, and we protect the general health of our environment. If successful, this Plan will ensure that Ireland is a much better place for pollinators by 2020.

    A Pollinator Plan media pack including photographs and brief notes on the Plan has been prepared and is available here: http://www.biodiversityireland.ie/pollinator-plan.

    Posted in Biodiversity, Tidy Towns News

    Get Involved! – Future Proofing Project

    “Get Involved” is a sustainable communities initiative whereby local communities hook up with local media. It offers local communities all over Ireland an opportunity to work together to improve their own lives, create local jobs, and protect the environment. The local communities do the work, while local media devotes column-inches to reporting on their efforts. There are prizes for the best projects.

    Wexford Tidy Towns, through its Biodiversity Committee, has launched a campaign, with media partners Wexford Echo, aimed at encouraging more people to try household composting and rainwater harvesting. The aim is to provide both online and physical assistance to those wanting to get started with either or both.

    There are loads of websites which can help you get started with composting at home. Try this one for starters: Eartheasy – Grow Compost

    Likewise with rainwater harvesting. EcoIreland.ie has a nice intro on its site outlining what is involved: Eco Ireland – Rainwater Harvesting Systems

    Main thing if you are just starting into either composting or harvesting rainwater is KEEP IT SIMPLE!

    Also see the article in the Echo by Anna Hayes – “Echo Backs Future Proofing Project”

    Posted in Biodiversity, Tidy Towns News

    Future-Proof Wexford 08/09/2015

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    Posted in Biodiversity, Events, Tidy Towns Competition, Tidy Towns News

    Future-Proofing Wexford

    Thanks to a local group, who are looking at setting up a Transition Towns Movement in Wexford, for sending in this information about their launch event on the 8th September at 7.30pm in the Wexford Library. A group from Wexford town have been putting their heads together to see if they can sow the seeds of a local Transition Town Movement. This is viewed as an important first step in the process of future-proofing Wexford. The idea is to start with Wexford town and hopefully follow with similar initiatives in New Ross, Enniscorthy and Gorey.

    A launch meeting takes place at Wexford Library 7.30pm, Tuesday, September 8. The purpose of this meeting is to introduce the concept to Wexford and to highlight its importance. The guest speaker on the occasion is Davie Philip of the organization Cultivate and one of those behind the Cloughjordan Eco-village. He will outline the importance globally, and the benefits locally, of ‘future-proofing Wexford’. This will be a catalyst to launching the initial projects, which involve providing (1) A practical service to help with installation and maintenance of rainwater harvesting devices and (2) A service to assist householders to make good compost.

    Following the launch the plan is to organise a short calendar of follow-up events to build further awareness of, and interest in, the Transition Towns concept. Among those events planned for the future are a home-grown BBQ at the Riverbank House Hotel in late September, transition-themed films at Redmond Park and Wexford Arts Centre and collaborative events with local organisations already working to preserve our environment, our heritage and bring communities together like Wexford Tidy Towns. Wexford already has a very dynamic and successful Tidy Towns group. Transition Towns, apart from sharing the same initials, is also about bringing people together to show what can be achieved by working together.

    The process of future-proofing Wexford is not about creating another organization to make it all happen, it is about getting existing organisations, groups and individuals to do what they can to nudge us along in the right direction. The project is about saving money and the Earth’s resources and, more specifically, helping to ‘Future–proof the Model County’.

    Facebook Event Page Link:
    Future-Proofing Wexford

    Posted in Biodiversity, Events, Tidy Towns News