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Environmental Campaigns

By Waterford City & County Council

Pledge your Garden for Pollinators

So many homeowners are beginning to see their gardens in a new light. They want to make their gardens more wildlife-friendly and contribute small patches of pollinator-friendly habitats to our landscape.

This new guide explains how anyone can make any garden – big or small – more pollinator-friendly. By taking simple steps in your garden, you will help to provide much-needed food and shelter for our pollinating insects, while at the same time creating a beautiful, colourful garden for you and your family to enjoy.

By Waterford City & County Council

GIY aim to get half a million people growing food with Grow It Forward

In partnership with Healthy Ireland and Libraries Ireland, GIY today announced the launch of Grow it Forward. Through this initiative, 50,000 free food growing kits will be given away, participants are asked to use the kits to share the experience with ten people, enabling half a million people across Ireland to enjoy the wide range of benefits that come from growing food at home.

Budding GIYers are invited to claim a Grow it Forward pack at giy.ie/growitforward or by contacting their local library, as all 330 branches nationwide are helping to drive the effort. As part of the Government’s Keep Well programme, this campaign is designed to help the nation eat well by inspiring and supporting people to grow some of their own food at home while connecting with friends and family to join them.

Each food growing pack includes seeds for beetroot, carrots, salad leaves, peas and tomatoes; a guide to help grow them and a postcard and gift tags to help share them. Those who sign up will also receive regular e-mails with growing support, video clips and ideas for how to ‘grow it forward’ by passing on seeds, seedlings or produce in accordance with social distancing guidelines.

Speaking at the campaign launch, Michael Kelly, Founder of GIY said:

“The pandemic has seen a record number of people turn to growing their own food and discovering the joy and pride that brings. The process of seeing a seed turn into a seedling and eventually food you can eat is full of magic and no shortage of optimism. Grow it Forward is all about sharing that feeling as far and wide as possible at a time when we need it most. That’s why we’re inviting people to get free seeds and do good deeds.”

Speaking in support of the campaign, Frank Feighan TD, Minister of State for Public Health and Wellbeing said:

“During these challenging times, it is vital that we do everything we can to look after our wellbeing. Right now there is a great need for positive, outdoor activities and creativity in how we stay connected to one another. Evidence suggests that being out in nature, spending time in green space or growing some plants at home can help lift our mood and have a positive impact on our health and wellbeing. I would like to congratulate GIY for this Grow it Forward project as part of Healthy Ireland’s Keep Well campaign – this simple idea can really bring great joy, foster wellbeing and can also help revive community spirit. I encourage everyone to get involved.”

On behalf of local authorities and libraries, Colette Byrne, Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council said:

“Local authorities and libraries are delighted to partner with GIY on the GROW It Forward programme. As the days brighten all of us are looking for things to do and what better way than growing your own healthy and nutritious food from seed? When you sign up, you’re not just getting seeds, you’re getting a whole programme

of support and the opportunity to share your new knowledge along with seedlings, plants and produce with friends and family. This could be a lovely intergenerational project where grandparents share seedlings with grandchildren and keep in touch and share photos as their vegetables grow. Library staff will be available to support and guide you through your growing journey so contact your local library today to sign up and get started. You don’t have to be a library member but this is a great chance to join because as well as a free Grow It Forward e-book, you’ll have access to thousands of gardening and cookery books and magazines so you can continue to develop your new hobby.”

Calling on people of all ages to join the campaign, GIY’s Director of Development Karen O’ Donohoe added:

“We encourage everyone to take part regardless of your experience in growing or the space you have to grow. Packs will be given out on a first come, first served basis and we will then teach people how to grow, whether on a windowsill or a large garden. We will also show a wide range of ways to share seeds, small seedlings, plants in pots or the produce at harvest time, to make sure your Grow it Forward experience is as easy as can be.”

Register for a Grow it Forward pack while supplies last by emailing your name and address to tramorelibrary@waterfordcouncil.ie or by calling 0761 102594.

#GrowItFoward

#KeepWell

By Waterford City & County Council

Anti Dog Fouling campaign launched

Photo Sean Byrne

Have you stepped in it lately?

Waterford City & County Council together with Carlow, Kilkenny & Wexford Councils are launching a new Anti-Dog Fouling campaign asking dog owners to clean up after their dog. The campaign promotes a simple theme… “Bag it & Bin it”.

Launched on 22nd March, this campaign is set to run for the remainder of 2021 and is set to firmly emphasize that dog fouling is your responsibility as a dog owner. The campaign will address a range of issues surrounding dog fouling, from its effect on the public who use our streets, parks and beaches, to attitudes to cleaning up as dog owners, from health issues to civic pride. The campaign will reach across social media, local newspapers, radio, community groups and schools.

Speaking at the launch of the Anti-Dog Fouling campaign Mayor of the City and County of Waterford Councillor Damien Geoghegan explained that “Currently there are some dog owners who do not clean up after their dog and some who clean up but leave the bag on a wall, tree or ground when nobody is watching. We believe that a relatively small proportion of dog owners behave badly in this way but it has a big impact on others who use our public spaces; children, walkers, wheelchair users, runners, ball players, etc. Whether you walk your dog on a street, in a park or on a beach, the message is simple… Bag it & Bin it. “

Cllr Geoghegan went on to say that “We regularly receive complaints about dog fouling from around the county, ranging from owners not picking up after their dog, to those who bag it but leave it on a nearby wall or corner when nobody is watching or to those who simply look the other way as their dog fouls on a green area. The message to anyone who walks a dog couldn’t be simpler… Bag it & Bin it.” If you don’t pass a bin on your walk home, then simply put the bag in your black bin when you reach your house. It may not be the most glamorous part of owning a dog, but it is part and parcel of it all the same. In this campaign we are asking all dog owners to Bag it & Bin it.”

By Waterford City & County Council

National Tree Week 2021 : Webinars

National Tree Week 2021 has a series of free online webinars taking place 21st – 27th March. See more info on the webinars at  https://www.treecouncil.ie/national-tree-week-webinars

Click for full details of National Tree Week

By Waterford City & County Council

Upcoming Webinar Series for Coastal Communities

This series is for coastal communities adapting to climate change and is being hosted by the Atlantic Seaboard North CARO (Mayo Co. Council) in conjunction with their constituent local authorities and NUIG.

The series will provide an introduction to nature based solutions that can be implemented at community level.

By Waterford City & County Council

2x Tidy Towns webinars : United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Waterford City and County Council is hosting two additional FREE Tidy Towns related webinars in 2021. Top tips in how to succeed in the competition will be on offer for community groups, organisations, and individuals who register.

The aim is to support groups with their ongoing work in their Tidy Towns groups along with advice for their application for the 2021 national competition.

The next two webinars will focus on sustainability category and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (new to the competition this year) and also on writing the application itself. Due to Covid restrictions this year judges will not be able to visit your town/village and so your judging will be based solely on your application form. This means that it is more important than ever to showcase all of your work to the judges via your application form. Hear advice about how to gain marks for your work through your application form alone.

Sustainability – Doing More with Less

7pm on Monday 22nd March

Register for this event: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/sustainability-doing-more-with-less-tickets-143106093177

TidyTowns Adjudicator Debbie Nesbitt

Writing the Application

7pm, Tuesday 13th April

Register for this event:  https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/143281024401

TidyTowns Adjudicator Fiona MacGowan

By Waterford City & County Council

Let Dandelions Bee!

Let Dandelions Bee!

A campaign to let dandelions bloom for a short few weeks to help feed bees this Spring. They are our wild bees’ most favourite food. Help halt the bee decline by simply leaving dandelions to grow in your garden this March and April. The best way to help our bees this year is to do nothing! For more information, see www.letdandelionsbee.ie or https://pollinators.ie/resources

The competition is to take a photo of dandelions in bloom and send it to letdandelionsbee@gmail.com, like and share this post. Closing date: 5pm 30th April 2021. Prize: the winner can choose either a €100 Dungarvan Chamber gift voucher or €100 Waterford Chamber gift voucher.

By Waterford City & County Council

Biodiversity on Your Doorstep series – Learning from Nature

Biodiversity on Your Doorstep – Learning from Nature

22nd – 26th February. All events Free and online

Discover biodiversity in your own back yard whether it is in your own garden, the local Nature Park or Greenway. Learn how to protect and improve our local ecosystems. Join Europe Direct, Waterford, Waterford Libraries and Waterford Environmental Department for a week of FREE events from 22 – 26 February. All Events are online.

For more information check out www.waterfordlibraries.ie/biodiversity-on-your-doorstep

The EU’s biodiversity strategy for 2030 is a comprehensive, ambitious and long-term plan to protect nature and reverse the degradation of ecosystems. The strategy aims to put Europe’s biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030, and contains specific actions and commitments.

It is the proposal for the EU’s contribution to the upcoming international negotiations on the global post-2020 biodiversity framework. A core part of the European Green Deal, it will also support a green recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic.

Keynote

Giving your Garden back to Nature – A Talk by Mary Reynolds

Monday 22 February 7pm – 8pm

Join Mary Reynolds, Chelsea Gold medal winning Irish landscape designer, bestselling author and nature activist who encourages us to change the way you think as a gardener. Stop fighting nature and go against the controlling instinct and instead encourage those weeds, encourage untidiness, encourage life to return. The more biodiversity you can establish in your patch of earth, the more complex a food web that is restored.

Booking:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/giving-your-garden-back-to-nature-a-talk-by-mary-reynolds-tickets-140064224867

Webinars

Bees, Birds & Trees – Biodiversity & Waterford Council

Tuesday 23 February 11am – 12noon

Join staff from Waterford City & County Council who will tell us about Kilbarry Nature Park, planting for biodiversity, actions to help pollinators, opportunities for schools and Tidy Town Groups as well as the Let the Dandelions Bee Campaign and some exciting Biodiversity Projects planned for 2021.

Waterford City & County Council Panel:

Ella Ryan, Environmental Awareness Officer, Bernie Guest, Heritage Officer, Eoin Dullea, Horticulturist.

Claire Hartley, Head of Communications (Chair)

Booking: https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/bees-birds-trees-biodiversity-waterford-council-tickets-140106740031

Discover the new Digital Wildlife of Ireland Map!

Wednesday 24 February 11am – 12noon

Neil Tarrant, along with Mairéad Ní Chiaruáin, is the co-creator of Ireland’s first Digital Wildlife Map! This new online learning tool has been created especially for primary school students to help them and their families learn about the wildlife they can help protect in their communities. The interactive map is a fun way to learn all about the birds, mammals and fish native to Ireland. Children can explore the island of Ireland at home on the phone, tablet or computer, learn about which species are native to which areas, and test their knowledge with quizzes as they complete activities.

With everyone staying home during the current restrictions, and home-schooling ongoing, the Digital Wildlife of Ireland Map offers another resource for parents to engage children in learning and is accessible to anyone with an internet connection and a device. The map can be accessed on the Libraries Ireland website at www.nature.librariesireland.ie.

Booking:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/discover-the-new-wildlife-of-ireland-map-tickets-139955642093

Learn how to spot Spring Flowers and become a Citizen Scientist with Oisín Duffy from the Waterford’s National Biodiversity Data Centre

Friday 26 February 11am – 12noon

Discover how to spot 20 easily identifiable spring flowers and how you can become a Citizen Scientist and learn how to record your findings and contribute to furthering plant conservation in Ireland. Also find out more about the National Biodiversity Data Centre which is based in Waterford and how Biodiversity data is a key requirement for understanding our natural surroundings.

Booking:

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/learn-how-to-spot-spring-flowers-and-become-a-citizen-scientist-tickets-139945491733

By Waterford City & County Council

Munster students invited to learn more about water with new Stay Home resources

February 4, 2021 – Green-Schools, in partnership with Irish Water, are supporting students and their families during lock-down with a series of Stay Home resources aimed at helping them learn more about water, one of our most fascinating and precious resources.

With students and their parents adapting to the challenges of home schooling, these online resources are designed to be fun, entertaining and easily accessible. From water-themed videos to quizzes, experiments and much more, there is a host of activities for students of all ages to enjoy doing at home.

The programme includes 13 weeks of activities targeted to three different age categories of Junior Primary (Infants to 2nd Class), Senior Primary (3rd to 6th class) and Secondary School. So there is something for all age groups to enjoy and learn from.

All the experiments are designed to be simple enough to carry out at home using easily available materials. For example, students can learn all about how evaporation works using just some empty jam jars, a saucer, paper, scissors and a marker. Or they can make their own water filter with an old plastic bottle, sand and gravel.

Other activities include a chance to view chapters from The Story of Water, a documentary that focuses on the critical value of this precious natural resource and explores the ongoing threats to its future – both globally and in Ireland. Chapters included in the Stay Home resources cover topics such as water treatment, pollution and wastewater.

Irish Water’s sponsorship of the Green-Schools Water Theme is in its eighth year and in that time over 2,000 schools have attended interactive Water Workshops and Walk for Water Events. Last year alone, Green-Schools saved over 600 million litres of water. As well as running workshops and Water Ambassador training for students in participating schools, Green-Schools also runs an annual poster and video competition on a water theme. Due to Covid 19 restrictions and school closures, the Green-Schools programme has successfully moved much of its interaction online for the current school year, with new content and innovative virtual events.

Cathy Baxter, Green-Schools Manager, said: “With home schooling now the norm for the vast majority of students and their parents we are pleased to be able to do our bit to help by providing these free resources to help everyone learn more about water and how precious it is. Since making the Stay Home resources available via the Green-Schools website and on social media we have had an incredible response from all over the country. So far close to 10,000 people have engaged with the Stay Home water resources alone online”.

Colm Ward, Irish Water’s Regional Communication Specialist, added: “We are delighted to partner with the Green-Schools Water Programme in supporting students and their families at this time. Irish Water is proud to be sponsoring the Green-Schools Water Theme for the eighth year in a row – a programme which has seen tens of thousands of Irish students learn more about the value of water and how we can all help to safeguard this precious resource for the future.”

The Green-Schools Stay Home activities are available on the Green-Schools website at https://greenschoolsireland.org/green-schools-stay-home-water/. They can also be found on the Green-Schools social media channels with the hashtag #GreenSchoolsStayHome. The Story of Water documentary is available to view in its entirety or as individual chapters on the Irish Water website at www.water.ie/storyofwater

ENDS

By Waterford City & County Council

‘Stories from the Waterside’ website launch

‘Stories from the Waterside’ was a national story writing competition, organised LAWPRO in partnership with The Heritage Council and the Heritage Officers Programme, Waterways Ireland and Inland Fisheries Ireland.  It celebrates the connection between people and their local waterbodies through stories. Entries were received from across Ireland in both English and Irish. In total there was almost 500 entries in the competition, which ran throughout the period of the first COVID-19 lockdown The winning stories were published in a book called ‘Stories from the Waterside’.

The new website, which will be launched on Tuesday 02 February, will provide ongoing access to this unique collection of stories. Details of event are as follows:

Event:             ‘Stories From The Waterside’ online readings and reflections (in Irish & English) from the national story writing competition and launch of new dedicated website with all the stories.

Date:                Tuesday, 2nd Feb 2021 (World Wetlands Day)
Time:               7pm
Register:         https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/world-wetlands-day-2021-tickets-137399318059

The event will include readings and reflections on our local waterbodies and will see the launch of a new website to capture all the stories entered into the story writing competition. It will make all the stories available on a theme / county basis and the association with a local water body. The event is free to attend and open to all but registration is required (see above link).

Ends

By Waterford City & County Council

Waterford Council Celebrates World Wetlands Day

This year celebrates  the 50th anniversary of  the Ramsar Convention  on Wetlands -the first modern day environmental treaty signed in Iran on February 2nd in 1971. The Ramsar Convention was established to raise awareness about the value of wetlands  in our environment. Two of Ireland’s 45 Ramsar Sites are in Waterford– Dungarvan Harbour and Tramore Bay.

You  can also put your photographic skills to the test and enter the Irish Ramsar Wetlands  Committee Photo Competition.  Find out  more on irishwetlands.ie

By Waterford City & County Council

Primary school litter-picking programme inspiring and empowering the next generation of environmentalists

Inspiring young environmentalists, one litter picking adventure at a time

Primary school children in Waterford are taking a stand against litter in their area, through a unique school based litter-picking programme called Picker Pals. The programme, run by environmental NGO VOICE (Voice of Irish Concern for the Environment) motivates and equips children with “Picker Packs” containing everything children need to go litter-picking. At the end of Picker Pals’ first year in operation, 6 Waterford schools, along with 109 schools from 9 different local authority areas are involved in the programme. “VOICE is delighted that Waterford City and County Council are funding the programme locally and supporting this very exciting journey, which aims to see a Picker Pack in every classroom in the country over the coming years,” says Mindy O’Brien Co-ordinator of VOICE.

Using upcycled and fully reusable packaging, Picker Pals provide each classroom with bespoke story and activity books, in both Irish and English, and picker-uppers which are taken home by a different child every week. Each child goes on a litter-picking adventure in their local area with their family and reports back to their classmates on their activity.  The Picker Pals song helps spread the message about tackling litter in a fun and upbeat manner to motivate children to get involved in this important social and environmental issue. “It’s not just about learning about litter. It’s not just about becoming aware of litter. It’s about actually getting out there and picking up litter. Picker Pals gets children onto the first rung of the environmental ladder,” says Patrick Jackson, Picker Pals Creator.

Since the start of the pandemic, there has been a marked increase in the amount of litter in our towns and cities. Waterford City and County Council are working hard to address the issue of litter. “We make litter picking equipment available throughout the year to schools, community groups and individuals carrying out a clean-up of their local area. The Picker Pals programme supplements our litter programme and has been especially valuable during the last few months. It has helped to strengthen our environmental message in schools at a time when we are unable to visit them ourselves. It also helps children to understand how they can make simple, positive changes in their own neighbourhood. The initiative is not about cleaning up the whole neighbourhood but to pick up a few items of litter and engage in conversation around the issue of littering,” said Ella Ryan, Environmental Awareness Officer at Waterford City and County Council.

St Mary’s Primary School in Dungarvan is seeing many of the same benefits. “The girls in our school are really enjoying being involved in the Picker Pals programme. They are very keen to play their part in looking after their local environment and are having great fun with their families while doing so. We are delighted to be part of this great new programme,” said Fiona Fitzgerald, Principal at St. Mary’s.

Despite the fact that schools are out for the next few weeks, Picker Pals can still provide the perfect break from online learning and home schooling. Litter-picking can become part of people’s home schooling experience and give everyone a good reason to get out of the house, to get some fresh air, and to make the world better.

Litter-picking can provide many benefits. In Waterford, the combination of the council and concerned groups’ actions sees Waterford City ranked 8th in terms of cleanliness out of 37 towns and cities across Ireland, in the latest IBAL litter survey.  Angela Kenny, Picker Pals Project Manager talks about other benefits from litter-picking activities. “Litter-picking can have a really positive impact on our mental health and wellbeing, getting people out of the house, relieving stress and anxiety and giving a great sense of achievement and empowerment. It is a perfect lockdown activity.”

By Waterford City & County Council

Recycling of natural Christmas trees

Natural Christmas Trees will be accepted for recycling free of charge at Kilbarry, Waterford, Civic Amenity Site and at Ballinamuck, Dungarvan, Civic Amenity Site until 9th January 2021.

By Waterford City & County Council

Recycling of natural Christmas trees

Natural Christmas Trees will be accepted for recycling free of charge at Kilbarry, Waterford, Civic Amenity Site and at Ballinamuck, Dungarvan, Civic Amenity Site until 9th January 2021.

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