It is clear from your entry form that there has been a strong focus on energy savings over the past year - with the upgrade of the windows and external doors of the Community Hall. You are commended for completing an article for your tidy towns newsletter in which you have identified the energy savings and benefits that have resulted from the upgrade. We were also very interested to hear that the popularity of the home energy evaluation kits (sourced from the Ballyhoura Development Company) led directly to a home energy seminar being organized by Murroe Community Council. These are excellent awareness raising activities and we are delighted to read that another is planned for later on this summer. Given that there is a strong interest in energy saving in your area, we would encourage you to document the experiences of householders who are retrofitting their homes and be sure to make information material available on the SEAI home improvement grants. Perhaps the topic of financial supports should be included in your upcoming seminars? Your committee should also consider joining the SEAI sustainable energy community network as a means of sharing your experiences with others (for details see www.seai.ie). It is pleasing to see that your committee has continued to make leaf mould (for mulching) and we wondered if you have engaged in other projects that avoid the generation of unnecessary waste - such as making your own compost, growing your own plants and seeds and harvesting rainwater. We are delighted to read that bus services from Murroe to Limerick have improved and it is hoped that this will lead to a greater usage of them by residents. Like the adjudicator in 2023, we are also interested in hearing more about active travel usage. Given that it is a government priority to significantly boost the number of active travel journeys in Ireland, we would appreciate if further details on transport behaviour in Murroe could be provided. Noting that bike racks have been provided outside the school, why not ask the school to undertake a survey of their pupils to see how many are walking or cycling to school each day? We would appreciate if the results of the survey could be included in your entry form next year.
You are harvesting rainwater for plant containers and using compost as a weed suppressant. Lights at the hall are sensor activated which saves on electricity and you plan to install a bicycle rack in the Wood Park to encourage people to make more use of their bicycles.
This category is about tackling the growing waste mountain that is creating problems of pollution, unwanted land use, and the use of dwindling resources. It is a global and a local problem. To save the Earth we need to move quickly to a zero-waste society. Your town can play its part by first looking at the volume of waste that is generated. The emphasis here really needs to be on reducing the volume of waste produced rather than recycling (which is taken for granted). At this level of the contest the adjudicator wants to see innovation in tackling bigger issues of food waste, plastic disposal and energy use. What are homes and businesses doing to tackle these?
There are several other measures that your town can take in regard to sustainability. Contact your waste contractors and try to find out what is being thrown away and armed with this information you can start to think about how waste can be reduced. Examine the waste pyramid and note the recycling is only the fourth most preferred option after avoidance, reducing and re-using. One third of our waste is organic in nature, such as grass clippings. You can avoid collecting mown grass by more frequent cutting and using mulching mowers which shred the clippings and facilitate faster decomposition. Regarding water usage, self-watering hanging baskets are a help in reducing the amount of water used and also the task of watering. Other waste minimisation projects might include working with retailers to cut down on packaging, reminding people to re-use shopping bags, discouraging junk mail, encouraging the re-use of water bottles and coffee mugs at school and at work. In response to an overuse of chemicals for weed control, many useful products of the past are no longer available and therefore communities are encouraged to use other means such as hoeing to maintain weeds. In some cases, allowing wildflowers to develop is an acceptable alternative. These activities will highlight the fact that you are focussing on this category and when you develop more projects in the future your marks will increase.
For more helpful tips and case studies from other Tidy Towns entrants please take a look at http://localprevention.ie/tidy-towns/
For more information on project ideas for this criterion, we advise consulting the revised handbook which is available at the following link:
https://www.tidytowns. ie/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Sustainability-Doing-More-with-less.pdf Green Spaces and Landscaping / Spásanna Glasa agus Tírdhreachú: Nature and Biodiversity in your Locality / An Dúlra agus an Bhithéagsúlacht i do cheantar: Sustainability – Doing more with less / Inmharthanacht - Mórán ar an mbeagán:
We are delighted to see that you have embraced this category. Many communities find this category difficult but really it isn’t! The category is about getting a community to think before rejecting an item and throwing it away – it’s about ‘doing more with less’. Well done on collecting the leaves and using them as mulch on you flower beds. We also noted that you have a composting area behind the Muintir na Tire hall. The barrel collecting the rain water from the roof of the service station was noted – do you use this to water the plants? You mentioned ‘our harvested water’ but we didn’t know where to see the tank(s). Make contact with the Environment Officer in LCCC for ideas regarding projects you can undertake in this category or to attend seminars on this topic organised by the council.
Composting is the way forward and you could further educate the people on how best to do this by, for instance, holding a workshop that demonstrates that to achieve the best results we must mix green kitchen waste with brown waste like hedge clippings and also by turning it regularly and you can get more information on this from the County Council. Composting reduces the amount of waste going to landfill and producers good material for the vegetable gardens and flower beds.The biodegradable bags are very useful for the handling of waste. The litter bins were spotlessly clean outside Muintir na Tire.
Do not despair. The rest of the country is finding it a struggle to come to terms with the demands of the sustainable living idea. You have come a long way with your awareness of the need for management of our waste and our energy resources. You are composting. You are conserving water. Your school has a green flag as well as a blue one waving away proudly like this is Croke Park and that flag represents a lot about the curriculum and the priorities of the staff in your school. So well done to all involved. But all of this sermonising is of little value. Contact the EA0 in Limerick County Council after your next committee meeting and discuss your wildlife and your waste management worries with that person.