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in their own back yard. The participants were very
enthusiastic and engaged during the workshops and
by the end of the day had plenty of things to take
home with them including their ‘homemade’ bird
feeders and young wildlife investigators kits which
were raffled at the end of the day.
Cast Railing Project
The cast iron railings to John F Kennedy park (The
Promenade) in Cobh are a very visible and prominent
feature of the town’s Victorian architecture. They
were put in place when the Columbine Quay was
transformed into a park over a century ago. By 2008
they had fallen into a state of disrepair with extensive
rust and many missing elements. This restoration
project was divided into three phase. As well as
being visibly pleasing, this project is showing that
restoration is possible and preferrable to replacement
and that a small group of committed individuals
can make a very positive impact. This project has
received support from the Heritage Council in 2008
and 2009. The Tidy Towns Committee also entered
“The Railings project” into the Cork Muintir na Tire
“Pride in our Community” competition in 2009 and
was delighted to win Category 3.
Biodiversity Day event in Ballymun 2009.
‘BioBlitz’ - Biodiversity Day Event for Ballymun
2009
Global Action Plan Ballymun (GAP) aims to provide
people with practical tools to build and strengthen
sustainable communities by empowering local people
to make a difference to their local areas, socially,
economically and environmentally. Successful
applications to the Heritage Council Grants
Programme has meant continued support for their
various activities. In 2009 their project, ‘BioBlitz - a
Biodiversity Day Event for Ballymun was the first
event of its kind to be held in Ballymun and was
attended by 22 young people. Workshops included
making your own bird feeder from recycled materials,
making your own cress heads and planting recycled
containers. There was also a workshop on creating
various arts and crafts from recycled material. During
the workshops participants had an opportunity to
investigate a native hedgerow to identify invertebrates
(collected in the grass verges and hedgerows nearby
- all of which were released afterwards!) using the
microscopes and identification charts provided.
Also habitat boxes were on display to demonstrate
to young people how they can encourage wildlife
The Cast Iron Railings project was entered into the Cork Muintir na Tire
“Pride in our Community” competition in 2009 and took first place in
Category 3.
THE HERITAGE COUNCIL 2009 ANNUAL REPORT 21