IBAL – Kilkenny City 4th in 2023

After a  year of  extensive work  to keep Kilkenny  beautiful by all  it is wonderful to be acknowledged by IBAL  with a   fantastic result for Kilkenny City in  2023. “Cleaner than European Norms” and 4th in Ireland.  This is    a reflection  on the tremendous work undertaken by  our volunteers, our community, our businesses  and  Kilkenny CoCo.  Congratulations also to Maynooth  who took the  No. 1 position in 2023

An Taisce Report – IBAL Anti-Litter League, Survey 2, 2023
Kilkenny: 4th out of 40 towns / cities surveyed. Cleaner than European Norms.
As always, a very strong performance by Kilkenny with eight out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade and no heavily littered sites. Top-ranking sites included Bottle Bank at St Canice’s Car Park, St. Kieran’s Street, The Mall, High Street and Kilkenny Castle Park – these sites weren’t just good with regard to litter, but the overall presentation and maintenance of same was excellent. A fairy recent addition to Kilkenny is the lovely Riverside Garden and Skatepark site – it has been very attractively laid out but not nearly as clean as neighbouring sites.
R712 Approach Dublin Road direction: Grade A. There were no obvious litter issues along this busy approach, creating a positive first impression of Kilkenny.
R712 from Castlecomer Roundabout: Grade A. Road surface, markings and signage were all in very good condition along this tree lined route. Footpath / bicycle track were freshly presented. All was in good order with regards to litter.
Canice’s Car Park: Grade B. There was a virtual absence of litter on the main surface of the car park. It was the litter in the surrounding shrubbery which brought down the litter grade – as well as isolated items, there were a couple of bags of discarded rubbish. Care needs to be taken that this doesn’t build up even further.
Bottle Bank, St. Canice’s Car Park: Grade A. This small facility was excellent in terms of overall presentation, with an absence of litter. The individual recycle bin units and the signage associated with the use of same were in very good condition.
High Street: Grade A. A pristine street. High Street is very attractively laid out with lovely paving, wooden seating, bicycle parking, bollards, extensive visitor information notices and some lovely colourful planter boxes. It’s well served by litter bins and the street cleaner was very thorough as it was exceptionally clean.
Kilkenny Castle Park: Grade A. A wonderful resource and lovingly tended – it is such a tribute to the users of this vast expanse of green space that it was so so clean. All aspects within the park were in very good condition e.g., litter bins, visitor information signage, playground equipment, life-belt at the pond feature etc. As well as the typical visitor information signage, one of the notices related to ‘Dignity in the Workplace’.
St. Kieran’s Street: Grade A. This narrow, pedestrianised shopping street was very much deserving of the top litter grade. Clearly a careful eye is kept on the closed down premises as there was no litter directly associated with them. A colourful mural takes away the bare look of one site and the ‘’Food for Life’ premises has taken great care to enhance their shopfront with some lovely wall paintings.
The Mall: (the Parade) Grade A. Preparations was underway for the Christmas Market. The area was surveyed at a busy lunchtime with plenty of lunchtime outdoor dining. Despite the activity, it was a very clean site. The Mall is a very freshly presented environment with plenty of seating, ‘olde’ style street lamps, bicycle parking, visitor information signage and plenty of litter bins throughout.
Riverside Garden and Skatepark: Grade B. This is a fairly new addition to Kilkenny (June 2021) and has been very attractively laid out, with great care taken at the older, historic waterfront buildings. The paving, seating, planted areas, ‘olde’ style street lamps etc. were lovely. There were plenty of combined litter bins / recycle bins throughout the long stretch of pathway leading to the Skatepark. Overall, the area was very mixed with regards to litter – some parts were spotless, others were far from spotless, resulting in an overall Grade B status. This could easily slide to a seriously littered site if allowed to build up any further.
Dunnes Stores Shopping Centre: Grade A. There was a virtual absence of litter at his busy shopping environment. Some of the pedestrian pathway paint was beginning to wear away.

 

 

 

Happy Christmas 2023 to all – and Keep Kilkenny Beautiful

What an exciting year we had  in  Kilkenny City and  for  our Keep Kilkenny Beautiful team and all our volunteers and supporters.

We hope you enjoyed keeping up with all our activities  in 2023 on our  website and also on  our facebook and whats app pages. Why not contact us  in the new year and join us  in our  work to create  a  sustainable Kilkenny  city in 2024 and beyond!

Best wishes to all for Christmas 2023 and the new year of 2024!

 

 

Santa welcomed to Yule fest in Kilkenny by KKB

Santa arrived  at Canal square by boat from  the river Nore on the 25th November  to  great excitement. KKB were on hand  to  provide a cycle escort for Santa on his short trip to  the Parade where the Kilkenny Yulefest  Christmas  fair has commenced.

Mayors walk full of activity

Maria, KKB chairperson awaits  Santa as part of the  cycle escort

 

KKB Submission to the 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan

we set out under KKB Submission to the 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan:-

 

4th National Biodiversity Action Plan

Response to Draft for Public Consultation. Thank you for the opportunity to consult on the above matter. We would be grateful if the following points could be considered for future drafts.

 

Whole of government and whole of society approach

·         Effective communication and buy-in are critical to delivering the national biodiversity strategy. Increasingly, sectors like agriculture, industry and conservation are becoming more siloed and oppositional as policy and financial pressures increase and mutual understanding decreases. In order to deliver a truly ‘whole of government and whole of society approach’ all sectors of government, business and society need to be included in the delivery of the biodiversity strategy. Effective solutions to biodiversity issues can often emerge from within a community, sector or industry when engagement is meaningful and non-confrontational.

 

·         There is potential to introduce pilot projects that bring different communities and sectors together to deliver tangible on-the-ground solutions to specific issues in areas such as agriculture, energy and community development in a collaborative way. These pilot projects could be used to promote, not just the solution, but the collaborative process that delivered change and models conflict resolution strategies.

 

Biodiversity Net Gain

 

·         The Plan should set out objectives that enable each sector to achieve Biodiversity Net Gain on new plans and projects. Mandatory BNG has recently been introduced in England and Wales and adopted voluntarily in other areas and sectors. Good quality baseline information is critical to delivering and monitoring BNG along with adequate resources within the consenting authority to review applications and long-term delivery.

 

·          Planning and Development requiring planning permission should be linked to the achievement of good ecological status in associated water courses prior to planning approval and after completion of projects

 

Communities

·         Community empowerment is one of the most effective means of delivering change and is necessary for societal buy-in. Bottom-up initiatives like the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan have proven successful in harnessing community energy by undertaking  clear evidence-based, targeted actions on a very specific topic. Similar initiatives could be developed through organisations on the ground once they are adequately resourced to develop targeted strategies. This can can help avoid stagnation in the delivery of top-down policy.

 

Education and research

·         It is estimated that there is as much biodiversity below ground as above ground, but soil ecology and biodiversity is often completely overlooked, outside agricultural fertility parameters. Healthy soils are critical to food production, carbon sequestration, medical treatments and a range of other services that are beginning to be recognised. This is a growing area of research in light of both the biodiversity and climate crises and would benefit from acknowledgement and support within the NBAP.

 

·         Further emphases should be given to delivering sustainable education programmes at Junior, TY and Senior cycles to introduce ecological literacy and ensure that children and young adults have a good understanding of biodiversity issues and actions needed to protect it. Increasingly, more of us are living in urban settings and have lost connections to nature and our basic understanding of food production and other ecosystem services. There is potential to develop projects that link schools with the farming community or other individuals and groups that work with nature. While many programmes, such as Green Schools, have achieved excellent results, there is still significant potential to bring nature and sustainability into schools and the curriculum as a whole.

Resourcing and waste management

·         Food production and food waste are critical issue for biodiversity both globally and nationally. Globally we waste one-third of all food produced annually. This equates to approximately 16% of habitable land on the planet. In Ireland, we waste approximately 1 million tonnes of food per annum. By changing this one issue, we could divert the wasted land resources to biodiversity use and reduce GHG emissions from production and decomposition. The Plan clearly acknowledges the devastation impacts climate change will have on biodiversity and the irreversible effects on ecosystems. Targeted programmes to engage communities on the ground to tackle specific issues around food production and waste could be considered for support within the Plan.

 

·         An engaged society, targeted actions and adequate resources are needed to deliver an effective strategy. Funding along with people’s time and energy are all limited resources and should be spent wisely. Ineffective and wasteful spending should be identified within Departments and programmes and re-routed to bodies and programmes that can deliver. Examples of this occur in agricultural schemes where participants are financially incentivised to take actions that have no demonstrated benefits, or in some instances, they have negative effects on biodiversity. These schemes are sometimes developed without the appropriate input from relevant experts and groups that could guide a meaningful programme. In other instances, it can occur where new actions or programmes are trialled but proved ineffective, but continue to be implemented by Departments.

 

Lessons learned

·         Globally and nationally, we have failed to deliver on successive plans and actions to protect biodiversity. Our food, energy and consumption models are broken and need transformative change. Learning is an iterative process and mistakes are part of that process. It’s important that we build in effective review processes, learning from previous successes and failures and change course as required.

 

 

Congratulation to all KKB 2023 annual awards winners

Congratulations to all who received a KKB 2023 awards   at the Rivercourt Hotel  on  Monday 23rd October 2023.

 

Many thanks to our  Keynote speaker
Catrina Corr, Kilkenny CoCo cycling officer.

The event could not have  taken place without  the hard work of our volunteers and judges who helped to  make such a successful event.

For photographs of the event see Kilkenny live with following link “link to photographs of event on Kilkenny Live website”

The award winners are set out under, see also additional posts with photographs of winners:-

Hidden Gems
• Tommy Larkin,  Reade Terrace, Roberts Hill
• Lynch family, Kennyswell
• Breda Hennessey,  Upper Patrick Street
• Mary Armstrong,  Assumption Place
• Brendan Slattery,  St Kieran’s Crescent
• Mr & Mrs Bourke , Hebron Park
• Martin & Breda Cleere,  Connolly Street
• Niamh O ‘ Donoghue,  John’s Quay
• John & Pauline Purcell,  The Parade

Fitzpatrick Shield for Community Effort
Rothe house

Private garden pollinator award
Runner up
• Donal Croghan  The Fairways
Winner
• Madeleine Carroll  Beech Park

 

Community pollinator award
Glendine Estate residents association

 

City centre pollinator award (certificate)
Butler Gallery, Johns Quay

Commercial pollinator award (certificate)
Kilkenny Retail park, Loughboy

Best Commercial Flower Display

Highly commended:- Tynan’s Bridge House (certificate)                                              Winner:- Hibernian (Trophy & certificate )

Most improved commercial premises
Winner:- Bridge House, 89 John Street Lower ( Rivercourt hotel)
Highly commended:- Club House Hotel, Patrick street
Best Shop front
Winner::- Tower & Castle, 60 John Street Upper


Highly commended:- Billy Byrnes, 39 John street Upper
Best signage
Winner:- Siopa Cuinne Grincell, 9 Irishtown
Highly commended:- Murphy Bespoke Jewellers, 86 High street
Best hospitality
Winner:- Kytler’s Inn, Kieran street
Highly commended:- The Book & Coffee shop, William Street
Special award
Market Cross shopping centre (Certificate)
In recognition of IBAL judges remarks 2023
“The cleanest shopping centre this surveyor has ever seen!. There wasn’t even a cigarette butt to be seen. Some of the bins provided the opportunity to separate waste into recycling………..”

Certificate Presentation for Excellence in Environmental Service
To Kilkenny CoCo for conservation of the Shee Alms house and the Historic Well at Canal walk both completed in 2023

Private Garden awards
Highly Commended
• Breda Slattery,  Meadow Hill
• Susan Wallace, Meadow Hill
• Jacinta Burke,  Meadow Hill
• Noreen Corcoran,  Aylesbury
• Mary & Pat Walsh, Crannog, the Weir
• Ailse & Brian Barry,  Garringreen \ Whitewood
• Gill Leo The Fairways
• Maureen Mc Cormack,  Melville Heights
• Linda Sweeney,  Haltigan Terrace
• 4 Westfield Drive
• Fanaghan Barry,  Walkin Street
• Ann Tynan,  Fr. Murphy Square
• Brigid Breen,  Dean Kavanagh place
• Edward Healy, spring mount, Waterford Rd
• Denis O’ Reilly, Mayfield
• Betty Wall,  the Paddocks
• Noel Frawley,  Cashel Avenue
• Kevin Brennan,  Riverview
• Catherine Duffe, Auburn Dr. Glendine
• Michael Conroy, Dunamase, Kennyswell Road
• Maurice Roche  Clarnwood
• Ewelina Wieliezko, Lintown court
• TJ & Tim Martin,  Talbots Gate

Runner Up :- Private Garden awards
The Cuffe Family,  Dukesmeadows Avenue,

Overall Winner:- Private Garden awards (trophy)

Paddy Brennan, College Court

Residential Estates – Highly Commended

• Outrath court
• Lintown
• Newpark Lower
• Roberts Hill

Best estate runner up 2023 (trophy)

Talbots Gate, Freshford rd.

Best overall estate 2023 (trophy)

Sycamores & Aylesbury

Fantastic Result for Kilkenny City Tidy towns 2023

Congratulations to all our volunteers, community groups, businesses and Kilkenny county council on  the receipt of a fantastic result for Kilkenny city in the 2023 national tidy towns competition .

Kilkenny is the  2023 recipient of the County award, a gold medal and the South East regional award.

To see the detailed  adjudicators  report  2023 with  link on separate page to  tidy towns site press link Kilkenny City report 2023

Kilkenny received 274 point a rise of 12 points on our 2022 results. Congratulations to Ballincollig  who pipped Kilkenny by one point to win the national tidiest large urban centre 2023 and to Abbeyleix  the 2023 overall winner 2023,

A great cheer from  some of our 20k pollinator  planting challenge  &  environs saturday clean up   work groups!