2024
Snapshot News
Help us to make Johnstown a better place in which to live, work and visit.
Click on the snapshot images to view details and if you're looking for things to help us with view our Upcoming Activities
May
Students Re-Use
From Coláiste Na Mí
Huge shoutout to our amazing school community for rallying behind our recent thrift shop event! Thanks to your generous support, we were able to make it a huge success. All proceeds are going to SVP, making a real difference in the lives of those in need.
A special round of applause to the incredible students of LCA 2 for their dedication and hard work! From organising to sorting, bagging, folding, and even building rails, your efforts were truly outstanding. We not only made great memories but also had a blast doing it together. Let's keep spreading kindness and making a positive impact in our community!
Tidy Towns Competition 2023/24
Our latest entry is being prepared. Thankyou to all the volunteers and contributors for giving up their free time and helping to keep Johnstown clean and tidy.
Delay The First Spring Cut
Do your bit for the environment by DOING LESS this bank holiday weekend.
Enjoy your gardens this weekend without the interruption of thunderous lawnmowers and leave them in the shed instead. Even Sir David Attenborough wants you to delay mowing until mid July and we don't doubt that he's right.
On Your Bike 2024
Not long to go until Bike Week 2024, taking place May 11-19! Check out all the great events happening throughout Co Meath.
Blitz
Saturday morning's team effort from members of The Lighthouse Church achieved 80 manhours of work from 20+ volunteers attending to litter pick, weeding, and painting over graffiti. We hope this will become a monthly feature that gathers the community to show their pride in our area.
Plastic Waste Avoided?
Local Councillor Elections are expected June 7th. We ask potential candidates not to erect street posters along Johnstown's Green Km.
County Meath Biodiversity Action Plan
Wild About Navan together with Ben Malone, the Meath Biodiversity Officer, on the Biodiversity Action Plan on May 8th, Wednesday evening at 7.30pm at the Solstice.
Actions Against Food Poverty
Volunteers prepare to deliver food hampers to families living in food poverty in Co Meath.
Biodiversity Inspection
As part of our Johnstown Community Biodiversity Action Plan we engaged Ecologist Fintan Damer to create a baseline and the report and proposed action plan is in.
We're not short of potential study areas such as the River Boyne, wooded, grassed, and even wild pocket areas within estates. Our aim is to develop a series of positive biodiversity actions that members of our community can implement and develop in the coming years.
We've already started recording our projects, we need to record our native wildflowers, and continue mapping our trees, we need to record our visiting garden wild birds, and later this spring after dusk you might get a chance to see some of our local bats.
📷Adaptation of Meath Photography
Cuckoo Flowers
Cardamine pratensis, commonly known as the Cuckoo flower, Lady's Smock, or Meadow Foam, has appeared for the first time in one of Johnstown's green spaces.
It should be considerably more widespread but only if we delay cutting the grass.
April
Outreach
Looking after a homeless couple in downtown Navan this afternoon.
Steps Litter Cleanup
Out litterpicking this morning and came across a lot of litter scattered around the steps at the back of Spireview Way.
All cleaned up now and looking a lot better.
Other areas cleaned today included Metges Road Bothair Sion and from the Roundabout up to the school campus.
Remember its Pride of Place and Tidy Towns competition time, so help us keep Johnstown Tidy.
Illegal Dumping
Unfortunately while cleaning up the area today we found rubbish bags illegally dumped in Johnstown Peoples' Park Not only that lots of dog walkers felt it was ok to dump their bags of dog waste on top of the rubbish bags making an absolute mess at the entrance to the park near Millbrook.
The last time we experienced people illegally dumping in the park we found out who they were and reported them to Meath County Council who then dealt with the culprits.
I would ask everyone living around and using the park that if they see someone illegally dumping or throwing their dog waste in the park to please report them to me on 085 1757216 or by sending a PM to the page.
The rubbish bags dumped were very heavy and had to be transported by car to the park. The community's help in stamping this out would be welcome.
We also collected over 30 large nitrious oxide containers in the area in a place where local youths are hanging out. Just recently another woman in the UK died after inhaling gas from one of these containers. Parents need to talk to their kids advise them of the dangers.
Bee Food
North Metges Road is providing a bounty of fast food for emerging pollinators with a sea of yellow dandelions.
Less than one week
Whilst out litterpicking this morning in Johnstown we picked up a bike and a scooter just abandoned. Have a look at the amount of litter picked up by our volunteers over the last few days alone.
Imagine what our community would look like if our volunteers in partnership with @meathcoco didn't clean the area each week.
We have the Pride of Place and Tidy Towns competitions coming up soon, so I would ask everyone in the Johnstown Community to make an extra effort over the next few months.
Outreach
Got a call last night from a young couple sleeping rough in town. Was able to bring them a tent sleeping mat sleeping bags and some food and drinks.
Visited another man sleeping rough in the north of the town and brought him a delicious hot dinner from @smiths_supervalu_navan .
We now have 8 people sleeping rough in Navan this weekend, and as most of you know, @meathcoco don't provide an out of hours or weekend homeless service. Even when we have a yellow weather warning covering the whole country.
We have called for an out of hours homeless service many times, but Meath County Council says it's not needed.
The numbers sleeping rough on the streets in Navan this weekend would suggest different.
March
Outreach
Delivered a delicious hot dinner from @smiths_supervalu_navan to a rough sleeper in Navan this evening.
If your read our posts regularly, you will already know that @meathcoco don't provide an out of hours homeless service after 5 pm. Monday to Friday or over the weekend.
So, for this homeless man and two other rough sleepers in Navan, this weekend, there will be no help until Tuesday morning from Meath County Council.
Community Suppport Service
Our @johnstowntidytowns1 volunteers delivered food hampers with plenty of Easter eggs lovingly prepared and donated by Athboy's People Who Share Care Group and @aoifebradleywellbeing to families living in food poverty all over Co Meath today.
Happy Easter to all our clients, friends, and supporter's.
We're not quite full.
Bordering on the boundary with The Johnstown School Campus the apartment block is the final accommodation building for the Dunvile Estate.
Image Meath_photography
We're interested in supporting theTús initiative.
The TÚS initiative is a community work placement scheme providing short-term quality work experience opportunities for unemployed people. The work opportunities are to the benefit of the community and are provided by community and voluntary organisations in both urban and rural areas.
Take a look at our video for more information or visit our website www.meathpartnership.ie
Outreach
The TÚS initiative is a community work placement scheOn outreach tonight, delivering a delicious roast dinner from @smiths_supervalu_navan and a hot water bottle, etc, to a homeless man sleeping rough in Navan. me providing short-term quality work experience opportunities for unemployed people. The work opportunities are to the benefit of the community and are provided by community and voluntary organisations in both urban and rural areas.
Take a look at our video for more information or visit our website www.meathpartnership.ie
Found In Johnstown Too!
Attention Parents in Meath!
Community Workers in Meath are finding upward of 360 empty Nitrous Oxide (Laughing Gas) cannisters per week across Meath. The image shows just some that were found in Navan, Kells, Stamullen, Donore, and Duleek in the last week alone.
IF YOU SUSPECT YOUR CHILD IS USING NITROUS OXIDE, PLEASE ADVISE THEM TO STOP IMMEDIATELY!
Nitrous Oxide, aka Laughing Gas, Whippets, Balloons, Hippie Crack is No Laughing Matter…..It can kill! Mixing it with alcohol and other drugs is extremely dangerous!
Effects include Dizziness, Hallucinations, Shortness of Breath, Frostbit Injuries, Nerve Damage, Loss of Consciousness, Suffocation, Heart Attack, and Death.
For more information see https://bit.ly/DrugWarning
February
'Re-turn' Starts
The money-back scheme came into effect today and we expect to see a dramatic reduction in the litter on our streets!
A refundable fee of 15 or 25 cents has been added to the normal price of plastic drink bottles and aluminum cans stamped with the 'Re-turn' logo.
We understand that these stores currently have reverse vending machines :
Supervalu (Johnstown)
Tesco
Lidl
Aldi
Lituanica
Dunnes Stores
Navan DUOs
From Wild About Navan
The Navan DUOs (Dispersed Urban Orchards) are spreading throughout our town, and enhancing biodiversity in our estate greens! Following our popular tree planting workshop in November, we are hosting a free workshop in the Solas Glan community garden on fruit tree maintenance and tree pruning later this month.
Join us in Solas Glanto learn how to look after your fruit trees to ensure a healthy orchard, and productive trees for all. This free event takes place on Saturday 24th February 2024, from 2 pm to 4 pm, and you can secure your place by registering via this link: https://forms.gle/8qoKwy4oqqAC63579
A big thank you to our funders:
The trees are funded by the Community Foundation Ireland
The workshop is funded by MCC Heritage Small grants scheme.
This project is also supported by Municipal District Allocation by Meath County Council
See our website www.WildAboutNavan.ie for more info on our other projects, and how to get involved.
Dail Eireann Visit
A big thank you to Deputy Johnny Guirke TD Meath West for inviting a group of Johnstown Tidy Towns volunteers to Dail Eireann today.
We were able to witness leaders questions then had lunch and finally we were treated to a tour of the Dail and Seanad.
January
Clean Sweep
Clearing debris from the footpaths and cycle lanes from the IDA up go Smiths SuperValu making them safe for pedestrians and cyclists.
In fairness to the council, crews are flat out clearing roads footpaths and cycle lanes across the county after our two recent storms.
So Johnstown Tidy Towns as a local group are glad to help the Council keep our Johnstown Community safe and clean when needed.
Green School Talk
From Coláiste Na Mí
'Today our Green Schools Committee welcomed Councillor Alan Lawes, Ben Malone (biodiversity officer with Meath County Council) and Robin (Johnstown Tidy Towns) to our school.
Our guests spoke to students on all things biodiversity. During this visit students learned about pesticides and the effects that they can have on our wildlife and water. Huge thanks to Alan, Ben and Robin for taking time out of their busy schedule to come in and chat with us. '
Clean Sweep
A very blustery and windy morning in Johnstown for litter picking. We want to draw your attention to the amount of litter picked up by our volunteers this week - 6 bags!
In addition that does not take account of the amount of litter Meath County Council pick up as well.
Imagine the state of Johnstown if our volunteers and the council didn't make the effort to litter pick, all the rubbish you see there in the bags would be blowing around the area.
Let's make that extra effort to bin our litter going forwards as I know we can do better.
St Brigid's Day, Navan
Johnstown Tidy Towns has sponsored 2 tables for chunks of art and artist Monika Hajcsar at the St. Brigid's Day Festival on 5th February.
School Thrift Shop
From Coláiste Na Mí
To encourage sustainability, we are going to run a Colaiste na Mi Thrift Shop. We are looking for students to donate any preloved clothing to us. All donations must be in good condition.
Bags can be dropped to class C142. There will be spot prizes for classes who donate the most clothes. Donations are being accepted now, so now is the time to clean out your wardrobe!
Icy Roads
Johnstown Tidy Towns volunteers are ready to respond if needed over the next few days at the critical points that brought the roads to a grinding halt in Johnstown today.