Knocknacarra Tidy Towns

Great news for McGrath’s playground on Shangort Road. We have requested bike parking both at the playground and pitch, so hopefully these are incorporated into the upgrade 🙏🏻

Upgrade Works in 4 Galway City Playgrounds

Upgrade works are due to commence in the months of December and January on four playgrounds; Children’s Millenium Park, McGrath's Field, Claude Toft Park and Coole Park.

This involves the following refurbishment works; Children’s Millenium Park will be expanded by the addition of a sand play area, a tunnel linking the existing to the new, and a wheelchair accessible area with sand tables.

McGrath's Field playground upgrade will involve installing a zip line, extending the playground and replacing the timber fencing with galvanised powder-coated bow top steel.

Claude Toft Park involves installing an inclusive ‘we go’ swing which is accessible for users of all abilities and Coole Park will benefit from the upgrading of coloured surfaces, the addition of stencil games on the ground and sensory panels & seating.

Sustainability is a key category and goal of Tidy Towns.

♻️♻️♻️BATTERIES♻️♻️♻️

Joyce's Supermarkets have a large battery recycling bin in store which is part of the WEEE Ireland programme. WEEE collected 6 million batteries from supermarket chains in 2020!!!

Do you know what happens to batteries that are thrown in the bin?
They end up in landfill. Over time when the outer casing breaks down, the chemicals inside (which can include lithium, cadmium, lead, mercury, nickel etc.) leach into the surrounding soil. These can eventually make it into our water supply. Lithium in particular has also been known to cause underground fires that can burn for long periods, which in turn, releases toxic chemicals into the air.

It’s important that you dispose of your batteries correctly and not in your household rubbish or recycling bins.

Well done to Galway City Council and the Parks Dept for tidying up the footpaths that lead into the playground at McGraths. Looks so much better. Go raibh míle maith agaibh 🤩

Some litter picks over the last week on Kingston road, Clybaun road, and Shangort road 🚮🚮🚮

It’s worth noting that most of the litter from Kingston was on the side without a footpath which means it must have been thrown from moving cars. There is absolutely no excuse for this sort of behaviour!!! Please bring your rubbish home and dispose of it responsibly.

If you are interested in keeping a small patch close to your home litter free, please get in touch and we can provide equipment and collection of litter.

***Spring Bulb Planting***

Over 100 Crocus bulbs planted just off the Shangort road (next to the crèche).

Crocus bulbs are a great flower to plant in the grass as they are early bloomers and their flowers and foliage will have died out before it’s time to cut the grass. Because they come early (Jan/Feb), they provide important food for bees after the long winter when most foods are still scarce 🐝🐝🐝

Hopefully over the years they will naturalise and spread to provide a feast for the bees as well as a feast for the eyes 😍

Thanks to one of the local neighbours who provided welcome cups of tea ☕️☕️☕️

➡️➡️➡️Swipe to see what a crocus looks like - we have planted a variety of colours 💐💐💐

Watch this space 👀

Thanks Cllr. Clodagh Higgins

All go at Knocknacarra Park this morning & onto Cartur Mor next!💡

Delighted that 2️⃣ projects I proposed & submitted requests for funding for lighting have gotten the go ahead.

This will mean a lot to residents in the area as the laneways will be a lot safer for all.

October Bank Holiday Weekend and lots of jobs done 🤩
Swipe for photos ➡️➡️➡️

1. Estate sign painting on Clybaun Road

2. Sign washing at the pedestrian crossing on Shangort Road.

3. Some litter picking at the pedestrian entrance to Joyce’s (1kg).

4. & 5. Graffiti removal from signs at the roundabout on WDR at Bothar Stiofan.

6. Litter pick along by Altan and St. John’s school (4kgs of litter and 1.5kgs of glass bottles).

7. Great to see the council have erected a proper fence and resurfaced the walkway next to the school leading into Whiteoaks.

8. Litter pick on the roundabout on WDR leading into Dunnes and An Logan (5kgs).

9. Our lovely volunteer Anne working hard, even through the rain shower!

10. Litter pick at the roundabout on the WDR at the Clybaun Hotel (3.5kgs).

We are so delighted to share that we now have personalized hi-vis vests for our volunteers to keep us safe and raise awareness. Don’t they look great? 😍

Thank you so so much to Joyce's Supermarkets, specifically to Pat Joyce for his generosity and to Bernie Reidy for organising.

It’s so great to engage with local businesses and to receive their support. Joyces are brimming with ideas for future collaborations. Watch this space!!! 🤗🤗🤗

Please reach out if you have some spare time and are eager to help out 🤩

Painting projects of the City Direct bus stops on Shangort road done over the last few months.

The difference a bit of soapy water and paint can make 😬
Swipe for before and after photos ➡️➡️➡️

Quite a few more to go, so if you’d like to volunteer your painting skills, please get in touch 🙃

Love a good Before and After reveal😊
Swipe for photos ➡️➡️➡️

These two beds opposite Seacrest Shops were given a huge overhaul and the difference is amazing!

Thank you so much to Galway City Council for their hard work and also a big thank you to Cllr. Donal Lyons for his efforts in petitioning the council to get it done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

🌼🌸🌻Even in October, the wildflowers are in bloom and bring some much needed colour to the dreary weather we’ve been having. Thank you to Galway City Council ‘s Parks Department for their hard work. 👏🏻👏🏻
Have you seen the wildflowers at McGrath’s Field, Shangort Park, and Ros Ard? 🌼🌸

Litter pick at McGrath’s on Sunday - 5kgs of glass bottles and 2.5kgs of litter. This was just the playground, tennis courts, and trees, not even the pitch!

The amount of dog bags was both disgusting and so disappointing. People don’t even seem to bother trying to hide them anymore, literally just dropping them in plain sight on footpaths 🙄

Please put your rubbish in the bin or bring it home with you 🚯🚯🚯

Been a bit quiet on here lately, but there’s lots going on in the background that we hope to share with you soon.

A few sore backs and legs today after some weeding yesterday 🥴The ramp walkway across from Seacrest Shops was spruced up and looks a million times better 🤩

August Bank Holiday Clean Ups 🧹🚮🧽

1. Sign washing on Shangort Road.

2. Name painting at Garraí Coirce on Clybaun Road.

3. Graffiti removal from the playground and benches in McGrath’s followed by a litter pick on the walk home (0.5kg).

4. Litter pick on the Clybaun Road from Joyce’s to Cartúr Mór (2.5kgs).

5. Litter pick behind the wall at the bus stop at Joyce’s (1.5kgs).

6. Litter pick from the green at Joyce’s (3kgs of rubbish and 2kgs of glass bottles).

Very productive weekend 🤩🤩🤩

Some cleanups from last weekend ...

1. Litter pick of McGraths (2kgs)

2. Graffiti removal from the bus stop opposite Ashwood & Seacrest estate

3. Litter pick of Shangort Road (2kgs of litter and 1kg glass bottles)

Upgrades to Knocknacarra NS footpath getting underway - Galway Daily Children attending Knocknacarra National School, and pedestrians in the area, will benefit from upgrades to the pathway outside the school.

One of the main categories in the Tidy Towns competition is Sustainability.

It’s so important because the planet’s resources are finite and we are definitely seeing the result of single use plastic/items. Be it using fossil fuels to create them, or litter clogging up waterways and green spaces, we simply have to change our lifestyles.

A big shout out to Joyce's Supermarkets for their recent reuzi section 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

Swipe to see some of the items available, as well as the refill station 🥰🥰🥰

This is so great to see and hopefully will become the norm in all shops/supermarkets.

Joyce’s have also implemented some additional sustainable practices. Their reusable bags are now 100% compostable 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻

Did you know that single bananas are one of the biggest food wastes as people don’t want to buy them.

Joyce’s have highlighted this and we hope you reconsider some of your future choices the next time you’re out shopping 😊

Have you seen the new wildflower bed beside the playground at McGrath’s.

It’s part of the Healthy Green Spaces Initiative and links in with the All Ireland Pollinator Plan.

The bed was manually cut, sod lifted, seed bed prepared and grass verge strimmed. Zero chemicals were used which is so important.

Thanks to the Parks Department in Galway City Council for their continued hard work.

Due to the heat, we gave a helping hand watering the bed today to ensure they thrive. ☀️☀️☀️

Can’t wait to see the end result in a few weeks times 🌺🌻🌸😊

It’s great to see when residents take care of their estates. Some examples include Seacrest, Oldfield, Glenvale Court, and Carrigeen. Well done 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

We would love to collaborate more with the many Residents’ Associations around Knocknacarra.
Feel free to get in touch with us 😊

Thank you so much to everyone who came out and gave a helping hand at our litter pick at Rusheen yesterday. The weather started off fab, turned a bit ominous, and then brightened again 😎

Unfortunately, the majority of litter picked was broken pieces of glass, and we randomly found a mattress that was half disintegrated/half reclaimed by the soil (photo 6) 🤦🏼‍♀️

A special thanks to Tiarnan from Galway City Council and Ray from Clean Coasts for organising Love Your Beach Week. Ray gave a great talk on marine litter and water pollution to wrap up the event.

Rusheen is such a beautiful area and we’re lucky to have this local amenity.

Wildflowers on Barna Road overlooking Rusheen Bay 🥰🌸🌼🌺
Native wildflowers are so important to bees and other pollinators who have all been in decline in recent years. It’s so important to try and provide food sources for them.
Bonus points for looking pretty too!!! 😉

We are delighted to team up with Galway City Council and Clean Coasts as part of the Love Your Beach Campaign.

Knocknacarra’s day is next Thursday 15th July at 5pm. Meeting point is Rusheen next to the Windsurfing School. We will be litter picking and then straight afterwards, there will be a talk entitled “From the River to the Sea” hosted by Conor Ruane (Community Water Officer).

Bags, gloves, and litter picks will be provided.

Contact us with any queries.
Hope to see you there 🏖🚮😎

If you’re waiting at any number of the bus stops around Knocknacarra ... please don’t do this!! 😢
Also, don’t have a tantrum with your hot chocolate 😂

Graffiti removal from the playground this morning.
➡️➡️➡️swipe for before and after photos.
Also filled a bucket of litter on the short walk home - 1kg of litter and 0.5kg of glass bottles.

The can in your hand can be recycled and back on the shelf in just 60 days 🙌♻️
That's 📅 x2

Friday evening litter pick on Millers Lane (Kingston to Western Distributor Road). 2.5kgs 🚮🚮🚮

Unfortunately, whilst litter picking at the weekend, there was a lot of dog fouling around. These signs were recently erected at the playground on Shangort Road as part of Galway City Council’s new campaign.

🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶🐶

Please be a responsible dog owner and clean up after your dog. Even more importantly, clean it up AND dispose of it in a bin or bring it home. Please please please don’t throw it into bushes, leave it on football pitches, hang it from a tree, or toss it behind a wall.