Tidy Towns Pollinator Award

Congratulations 

KILLESHANDRA IS BUZZING

Killeshandra wins TidyTowns Local Authority Pollinator Award 2018

Killeshandra has won a Pollinator Award at the TidyTowns awards on Monday September 24th, at the Helix in Dublin, recognising all that has been done by the town to help pollinating insects.

One third of our 99 bee species are threatened with extinction from Ireland. This is because we have drastically reduced  the amount of food (wildflowers) and safe nesting sites in our landscapes. The All Ireland Pollinator Plan was launched in 2015 as a shared plan of action to try to reverse these declines and work with communities, businesses, parks, schools and farms to make an Ireland where pollinators can survive and thrive.

The Local Authority Pollinator Award aims to encourage TidyTowns groups to implement pollinator-friendly actions in their towns and villages as part of the TidyTowns competition. It supports the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and is co-ordinated and sponsored by the Heritage Offices and Biodiversity Offices of Local Authorities across Ireland, in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre. There were 66 entries, from 22 counties, for the Pollinator Award this year and the standard of entries was extremely high.

To take home this award, Killeshandra took a whole range of pollinator-friendly actions. The TidyTowns Group adopted a whole-village approach, mapping and pinpointing areas that can provide food and shelter for pollinating insects.

Killeshandra Tidy Towns created pollinator-friendly raised beds in the Recreation Garden area as well as planting a new native hedgerow, including hawthorn, guelder rose, and spindle. They also helped to raise awareness of the importance of pollinators by running talks for the local ICA, local schools, Elderly Day Care Group and Killeshandra Focus Centre. They also developed interpretive panels to explain the importance of bees.