DCSDC Britain In Bloom Portfolio 2019
Council's 2019 BIB Portfolio
Council's 2019 BIB Portfolio
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Derry City and Strabane<br />
District Council<br />
<strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong><br />
<strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council 1
<strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong><br />
<strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong> Content<br />
Subject<br />
Cover 1<br />
Contents 2<br />
<strong>In</strong>tro 3<br />
Page<br />
Section A<br />
Horticultural<br />
achievement 5-6<br />
Residential and<br />
community gardening 6-7<br />
Sustainable food growth 8<br />
Green spaces 9<br />
Section B<br />
Environmental<br />
Responsibility 10<br />
Climate Project and<br />
Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure 11<br />
Biodiversity activities 12-13<br />
Water everywhere 14<br />
Recycling 15<br />
Zero Waste Circular<br />
Economy Strategy 16<br />
Reusable Nappy Scheme,<br />
Use of Peat,<br />
Sustainable travel and<br />
local heritage 17<br />
Projects in pics 18<br />
Calendar of activities 19<br />
<strong>In</strong>troduction<br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council are shaping<br />
the city with horticulture; setting sterling standards<br />
in terms of the organisational, aesthetic and<br />
productive potential of green spaces. The first local<br />
authority on these islands with a focused Green<br />
<strong>In</strong>frastructure Plan, the Council ranks environmental<br />
development and sustainability as a top priority.<br />
They have managed to mobilise a movement of<br />
local eco warriors; making waves to normalise<br />
sustainability by helping and inspiring local people<br />
to live in a more environmentally friendly way<br />
through a range of initiatives and campaigns.<br />
They have received recognition for their work over<br />
the last couple of decades, yet remain dogged in<br />
their desire to improve their horticultural offering,<br />
to reduce pollution on the streets and rivers<br />
making the District a place where people are proud<br />
to live and visit.<br />
This portfolio highlights some of the areas we have<br />
been focusing on over the last year.<br />
Section C<br />
Community Participation 20<br />
Youth-led clean-up, Take<br />
back the streets 21<br />
Our Future Foyle, Local schools,<br />
St Columb’s Park 22<br />
Funding and support 23<br />
Other partners good work 24<br />
Social media and Press Clippings 25<br />
2 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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Section<br />
Section A<br />
Horticultural achievement<br />
Derry really is a blooming gorgeous city. Every day<br />
we strive to keep this urban hotspot clean, preened<br />
and dazzling. Horticulture is a key part of this<br />
process; whether it be developing or maintaining<br />
the vast network of flowers and shrubbery, creating<br />
striking floral and plant presentations, grass cutting<br />
or cleansing our spaces.<br />
Visually, our River of Flowers on The Quay has<br />
injected colour and vibrancy to this 1.5m stretch<br />
overlooking the River Foyle and is a magnet for<br />
tourists, especially during the summer season.<br />
Throughout the year, we have a focused planting<br />
schedule investing in 118,000 spring and summer<br />
bedding plants, bulb planting in autumn with<br />
42,000 bulbs planted on roundabouts, main arterial<br />
routes and parks.<br />
Teams at work<br />
Horticultural<br />
Achievement<br />
Brooke Park<br />
Our Grounds Maintenance Team are highly skilled<br />
and take great care creating and maintaining our<br />
horticulture displays and grounds. Our flagship<br />
horticultural site is Brooke Park, The People’s<br />
Park, a 20-acre urban Victorian Park, which has<br />
recently been regenerated to the tune of £5.6m<br />
and has achieved Green Flag Status. This space<br />
includes a dedicated Horticulture Training Centre<br />
which is a hub of activity with Conservation<br />
Volunteer programmes upskilling the unemployed<br />
in horticultural practice and the Be Well, Grow Well<br />
Project which aims to teach Council staff how to<br />
sow, propagate, look after and grow vegetables.<br />
We also employ an eminent horticulturalist who<br />
manages and cultivates this magnificent<br />
green space.<br />
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Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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We invest a lot in this urban sanctuary with:<br />
• 15,000 summer and winter bedding plants<br />
• 36,000 new plants in shrub beds maintained<br />
• 225 trees nurtured<br />
Habinteg Housing Association have been involved<br />
in excellent projects with children, particularly, in<br />
Hazelbank Estate, with weekly workshops teaching<br />
children about the journey of food and how to<br />
plant, grow and ultimately cook their own food.<br />
• Ornamental pond developed with aquatic plants<br />
and goldfish<br />
Our team also maintain the grassland, the bowling<br />
green, hard landscaped areas and the play garden<br />
at the café.<br />
Residential and<br />
community gardening<br />
Community pride of place is abundant in Derry<br />
which is a very green city complimented by many<br />
residential gardens. Over the last year, people<br />
living in one pocket of the city have completely<br />
transformed their terraced street, Harding Street,<br />
located on an interface, with flowers, plants and<br />
paint. The project was instigated by a recently<br />
married couple who used their honeymoon savings<br />
to buy flowers for every neighbour on their street<br />
with the view to making where they live beautiful<br />
all the time rather than going on holiday for a short<br />
time. This has enhanced the sense of community in<br />
Harding Street and has led to the residents getting<br />
regional recognition for their community gardening<br />
effort.<br />
<strong>In</strong> comparison to other urban spaces, Derry is very<br />
green. The city has a lot of social housing and the<br />
housing associations that manage these properties<br />
are very active in encouraging people to be greener<br />
fingered.<br />
Spring bedding at Brooke Park<br />
The transformed Harding St, Derry<br />
Apex Housing also run an annual gardening<br />
competition encouraging local tenants to up the<br />
stakes in looking after their gardens.<br />
Northern Ireland Housing Executive do a lot of<br />
grounds maintenance work in many of the city’s<br />
estates assisting with grass cutting and planting.<br />
They have done sterling work helping residents<br />
create community gardens at Caw Estate, Fountain<br />
Estate and Nassau Crescent making a concerted<br />
effort to increase the proportion of herbaceous<br />
perennials and shrubs in its panting schemes.<br />
Older People’s Charity Age NI run a very popular<br />
annual gardening competition celebrating the work<br />
of the older generation in developing their gardens,<br />
floral displays and vegetable plots. Not only does<br />
this help our environment, but it brings people<br />
together too tackling loneliness and isolation.<br />
Action Mental Health and the Men’s Shed are also<br />
very active in encouraging community participation<br />
in local gardening initiatives and Council regularly<br />
support them with free green waste compost<br />
and advice to nurture green spaces while helping<br />
improve people’s mental health.<br />
Additionally Londonderry and District Floral<br />
Art Society put great effort into preparing<br />
arrangements for flower festivals all year round<br />
including two local events at All Saints Clooney and<br />
Steelstown.<br />
Summer bedding<br />
Children growing their own as part of<br />
Habinteg Housing Association’s Project<br />
3 year old Rossa McCallion enjoys<br />
making his own window box at Brooke<br />
Park Spring Open Day<br />
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Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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Sustainable food growth<br />
Business areas and premises<br />
The Acorn Farm food<br />
innovation project<br />
Derry has ambitious and exciting plans to be a<br />
sustainable city; a municipality that feeds itself.<br />
We have received planning approval for a food<br />
technology centre of excellence, Acorn Farm, which<br />
will be located in St Columb’s Park. This centre<br />
of food innovation will empower communities to<br />
feed themselves through education, research and<br />
development.<br />
All Council-run allotments are filled to capacity<br />
and we have an extensive waiting list. Community<br />
groups and social enterprises also run allotments,<br />
which are popular especially in the Fountain,<br />
Leafair, Playtrail, Gasyard, Caw Estate and<br />
Nassau Crescent areas.<br />
Derry has a thriving street art scene where derelict<br />
buildings and local business premises have<br />
embraced this culture. Many of the murals also<br />
have strong environmental messages, which have<br />
strategically been created in areas where litter levels<br />
are high to encourage people to have more pride of<br />
place.<br />
Local businesses also compete every year for the<br />
coveted City Centre <strong>In</strong>itiative Floral Competition<br />
title. This encourages local enterprises to make<br />
a real effort to improve the presentation of their<br />
premises.<br />
Green spaces<br />
The Stag in the Bag<br />
Our Council manage 350ha of green spaces at over<br />
70 sites ranging from community greens to large<br />
parks and cemeteries. Key sites include:<br />
• St Columb’s Park (29ha)<br />
• Brooke Park (8ha)<br />
• Kilfennan Valley Park (20ha)<br />
Cathedral Gardens<br />
These parks are linked to our expanding greenway<br />
network, which will see 140km of traffic-free paths<br />
developed, 39km of which will be cross-border<br />
linking Derry-Buncrana, Derry-Muff and<br />
Strabane-Lifford.<br />
Bishop’s Gate Hotel<br />
Council allotments<br />
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Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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Photocredit: Gary McFeely,<br />
Park Life Photography Competition<br />
Section<br />
Section B<br />
CLIMATE Project<br />
CLIMATE Project<br />
We are the first Council in Northern Ireland to<br />
develop a Climate Adaptation Plan. This involves<br />
promoting, improving climate change awareness<br />
in European peripheral rural communities through<br />
a knowledge based approach, and community led<br />
sustainable resource planning to mitigate against<br />
future climate impact. We are incorporating<br />
transnational collaboration through a best practice<br />
model, which will improve preparedness for<br />
sustainable environmental management in future<br />
years. See www.derrystrabane.com/climate for info.<br />
Environmental<br />
Responsibility<br />
Creggan Country Park<br />
Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure<br />
We have developed the first Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure<br />
Plan <strong>2019</strong> – 2032 in Northern Ireland, www.<br />
derrystrabane.com/GI linked to our Local<br />
Development Plan & Community Plan. <strong>In</strong> developing<br />
this strategy, we held an eight-week public<br />
consultation to engage with the public and obtain<br />
feedback. The four key strategic themes are; People<br />
and Place; Economic Prosperity; Biodiversity and<br />
Climate Change. Council’s Local Biodiversity Action<br />
Plan will be delivered under the ‘Biodiversity’ theme<br />
of the GI Plan. <strong>In</strong> March, we held a sold out Green<br />
<strong>In</strong>frastructure and Climate Change Conference<br />
with 150 delegates. This aimed to raise awareness<br />
of Council’s GI and Climate adaptation plans as<br />
well as providing a platform to share knowledge<br />
with interested parties in the public, private and<br />
community sector of biodiversity providing nature<br />
based solutions.<br />
10 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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Photocredit: Dancing Daisies<br />
by Sharon Williams,<br />
Biodiversity activities<br />
• <strong>In</strong>stalled bird and bat boxes at Brooke Park<br />
• Planted wildflower seeds at Bay Road Park,<br />
removed dead trees and left the wood for<br />
wildlife habitats.<br />
• The draft Local Development Plan 2032<br />
incorporates green infrastructure and updates<br />
to the natural environment and open spaces<br />
planning policies to protect biodiversity. Also<br />
we provide advice on planning applications in<br />
relation to ecological issues, to ensure there is<br />
minimal habitat loss or fragmentation, which is<br />
the main threat to biodiversity.<br />
Building bird boxes in the<br />
Creggan community<br />
Curlew at Culmore Country Park<br />
Bat Awareness Training<br />
• Tree management system - Council have<br />
appointed a Tree Officer, to manage its tree<br />
estates. <strong>In</strong>itial surveys involved mature sites,<br />
which had dead or diseased sites. We are<br />
currently developing a tree management<br />
system, to manage our estate in the long term.<br />
<strong>In</strong> addition, we are currently developing a<br />
protocol for tree removal.<br />
• We conducted an updated invasive species<br />
survey of all Council owned sites, developed<br />
management plans and continued its ongoing<br />
control programme to manage Japanese<br />
knotweed, Giant hogweed and Himalayan<br />
balsam.<br />
• We have completed bird and vegetation<br />
surveys at Culmore Country Park, following the<br />
restoration of this landfill site, to a green space,<br />
adjacent to Lough Foyle. We created lagoons,<br />
islands and saltmarsh, which provides a habitat<br />
for 900 over wintering birds.<br />
• Boom Hall Conservation Management Plan<br />
- involves stablising the historic Boom Hall<br />
building & associated stables. Several trees and<br />
vegetation have been removed to secure these<br />
structures. Bird and bat surveys have been<br />
commissioned to protect these species during<br />
the building restoration works.<br />
Dancing Daisies at Culmore<br />
Country Park<br />
Tree planting at Drumahoe as part of<br />
The Life Project<br />
Greenway network at Bay Road Park<br />
• Life Project – We issue a tree for every<br />
birth, death and marriage within the district.<br />
<strong>In</strong>dividuals who do not wish to plant their<br />
tree, can have it planted on Council owned<br />
greenspaces to create new woodland under<br />
Northern Ireland Priority Habitats.<br />
• Planning permission has been granted for the<br />
Acorn Farm development at Acorn Farm, to<br />
promote food growing, health & well-being<br />
& re-connection to nature. As part of the<br />
development, we will create Open Mosaic<br />
Habitat to ensure this Northern Ireland Priority<br />
Habitat is managed and promoted.<br />
• The greenway extension from Bay Road to<br />
Buncrana in Donegal, involves extensive<br />
ecological surveys to ensure there is no loss to<br />
biodiversity during the construction stage of the<br />
development.<br />
• We are currently conducting a range of<br />
ecological surveys to prevent any loss of habitat<br />
or impact on species for the following proposed<br />
projects: Melvin Sports Grounds in Strabane;<br />
Drumahoe Greenway and Sion Mills Play<br />
Provision.<br />
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Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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Resource Management<br />
Recycling<br />
Water Everywhere<br />
• Following the drought of 2018, Council have<br />
researched how they can become more<br />
resilient and have purchased equipment<br />
to extract water from Creggan Reservoir<br />
for watering plants, during periods of high<br />
pressure on water demand, without impacting<br />
the habitat.<br />
• Recently planning permission was granted<br />
for the Acorn Farm development, which will<br />
enable us to harvest rainwater for flushing<br />
toilets etc.<br />
• Our extensive greenway development<br />
encourages people to reconnect with nature<br />
and our waterways.<br />
• At the Horticultural Training Centre at Brooke<br />
Park, we are utilizing water butts to collect<br />
rainwater for watering plants.<br />
• We have created a green roof at Brooke Park<br />
to store water and reduce the risk of flooding<br />
• The Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure plan has a priority to<br />
develop high quality blue spaces.<br />
Image: City2Sea<br />
Plastic Pollution Conference<br />
Our Council has one of the highest dry recycling<br />
rates in Northern Ireland. Over the last year, we ran<br />
several marketing campaigns including Let’s Talk<br />
Rubbish, We Do. Because It Matters, Christmas<br />
Recycling, Sort and Separate, and Peelings to<br />
Plants in a drive to boost our recycling rate. We<br />
have also introduced new bin contamination<br />
tagging procedures to bring the message home<br />
to householders on how to recycle right and have<br />
secured funding for three recycling inspectors who<br />
have been doing door-to-door engagement offering<br />
tips and advice to people on recycling best practice.<br />
We have also introduced recycling bins at all<br />
Council run community and leisure facilities and<br />
Council-led events. We were the first organisation<br />
in Ireland to run a sustainable sporting event at<br />
the Waterside Half Marathon last September.<br />
This yielded much publicity and we hope to build<br />
further on its success this year.<br />
<strong>In</strong> July <strong>2019</strong>, we will deliver a further 13,000 green<br />
waste recycling bins to homes in the Derry area<br />
as part of a pilot into segregated green waste<br />
recycling. This material is then turned into compost<br />
which we use local cemeteries, gardens and<br />
allotments. We also give free home compost away<br />
during Compost Week each May to local people at<br />
our recycling centres as a thank you for recycling<br />
food and garden waste.<br />
14<br />
<strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council 15
Zero Waste<br />
Circular Economy Strategy<br />
We are one of the first Councils in Europe to have a<br />
dedicated Zero Waste Circular Economy Strategy.<br />
This strategy aims to create jobs while reducing<br />
waste and improving sustainability. We are also<br />
committed to abolishing single use plastics in all<br />
Council facilities by 2023. <strong>In</strong> June we launched our<br />
Be Sustainable brand encouraging people to live in<br />
a more eco-friendly way and have teamed up with<br />
NI Water in support of their Re-fillution initiative<br />
to encourage people to re-fill reusable bottles with<br />
tap water from participating local businesses and<br />
buildings when out and about.<br />
Our Council is also a partner in the EU funded<br />
EMERGREEN Project, which aims to improve<br />
technology relating to sustainability for people<br />
living in peripheral areas. As part of this project,<br />
we will build a chatbot on our website to field<br />
sustainability-related queries and will develop a<br />
Karma app, which will be used to resource match<br />
materials for local businesses e.g. rescuing unsold<br />
food so members of the public can purchase a<br />
restaurant quality meal at cost price just before<br />
kitchen closing time. This will reduce food waste<br />
while being economically beneficial to local<br />
restauranteurs. We will use this platform to give<br />
people eco-living tips e.g. encouraging local<br />
hairdressers to compost hair, which will be good for<br />
our environment and will reduce their overheads.<br />
Council launched a Nappy Voucher<br />
Scheme in February <strong>2019</strong><br />
Council’s Nappuccino Event<br />
GREENER<br />
COMMUNITIES IN<br />
REMOTE AREAS<br />
FINDING<br />
SUSTAINABLE<br />
SERVICE<br />
PROVISION<br />
MODELS<br />
SHARING<br />
SOLUTIONS<br />
FOR QUALITY<br />
PUBLIC<br />
SERVICES<br />
INTRODUCING<br />
NEW EMERGING<br />
TECHNOLOGIES<br />
The EMERGREEN www.emergreen.interreg-npa.eu<br />
sustainability through<br />
technology project”<br />
€<br />
1.6M<br />
Oct 2018<br />
Sept 2021<br />
Re-usable nappy Scheme<br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council introduced a<br />
re-usable nappy scheme in March of this year following<br />
several successful nappuccino mornings with local parents.<br />
The Nappy Voucher Scheme aims to help the environment<br />
while saving families money. It allows local householders<br />
to apply for a £30 refund when they spend £50 or more<br />
on reusable nappies. Parents can purchase them from any<br />
retailer of their choice, including those online.<br />
Use of Peat<br />
We have replaced a substantial amount of peat with<br />
compost from recycled food and garden waste using<br />
it as an ameliorant. However, we have not yet found an<br />
adequate peat substitute for our hanging baskets in<br />
particular. <strong>In</strong> keeping with our circular economy ethos,<br />
all spent hanging basket compost is donated to the Sow<br />
and Grow Project where they are rejuvenated and used to<br />
help plants for sale.<br />
Sustainable Travel<br />
We are committed to reducing carbon emissions and have<br />
a fleet of electric and hybrid cars for staff to use for work<br />
purposes. We also hope to develop a public bike scheme<br />
in the near future. We also have an Active Travel Officer<br />
who regularly runs events encouraging people to walk and<br />
cycle more.<br />
Local Heritage<br />
This year we are celebrating 400 years of our unique<br />
Walled City with our Walls 400 Campaign. To mark this,<br />
our horticulture team have created a bespoke design<br />
forming the campaign branding with plants at the City<br />
Hotel welcoming tourists to the city and marking this<br />
milestone.<br />
<strong>In</strong> June, we officially opened the Gate lodge at Brooke<br />
Park with an exhibition about the rich history of Brooke<br />
Park. This is the first time that this historic building has<br />
been open to the public.<br />
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Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />
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Calendar of activities<br />
2018-19<br />
September<br />
• Recycle Week 2018. Community<br />
engagement to encourage recycling<br />
best practice and launch of<br />
the We Do. Because It Matters<br />
Campaign.<br />
• Go Green for Waterside Half<br />
Marathon. The region’s first<br />
sustainable sporting event<br />
involving over 2000 competitors.<br />
• Bikes for Africa Re-use Scheme<br />
October<br />
• Recycled sculptures installed<br />
as part of Derry Halloween<br />
Festival highlighting society’s<br />
throwaway culture and the<br />
power of reuse.<br />
November<br />
• City to Sea Pathways to Litter<br />
Conference highlighting the<br />
impact of plastic pollution on our<br />
waterways and local environment<br />
• Life Project Tree Planting at<br />
Drumahoe District Park with over<br />
1000 saplings used<br />
• Don’t Mow, Let it Grow<br />
presentation to Foyle College<br />
December<br />
• Festive Tree Planting at<br />
Creggan Country Park<br />
• Christmas Recycling<br />
Campaign<br />
January<br />
• Park Life Photography<br />
Competition<br />
• STEM Education day at Foyle<br />
College<br />
• Big Bird Watch at St Columb’s<br />
Park<br />
February<br />
• Doorstep engagement<br />
recycling campaign begins<br />
with three recycling inspectors<br />
targeting households in areas<br />
of poor recycling.<br />
• Nappuccino Events in Derry<br />
to promote nappy voucher<br />
scheme<br />
March<br />
• Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure & Climate<br />
Change conference at the Guildhall<br />
• Brooke Park Spring Open Day<br />
• TAEIX Peer to Peer Capacity<br />
Building Workshops in Leuven,<br />
Belgium, on circular economy led<br />
by <strong>DCSDC</strong>.<br />
• Bat Awareness Training for<br />
Parks, Building Control, Capital<br />
Development and Planning Staff<br />
April<br />
• Sort and Separate Recycling<br />
Campaign launched at local<br />
recycling centres<br />
• <strong>In</strong>vasive species Awareness Training<br />
for Grounds Maintenance staff<br />
• Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure Plan <strong>2019</strong>-<br />
2032 keynote speech by Council’s<br />
Biodiversity Officer, Dr Christine<br />
Doherty, at the European Urban<br />
Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure Conference,<br />
London<br />
May<br />
• Launch of Compost Week Giveaway<br />
Campaign at local recycling centres<br />
• Nectar Café Launch with local<br />
schoolchildren<br />
• Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure Plan <strong>2019</strong>-<br />
2032 keynote speech by Council’s<br />
Biodiversity Officer, Dr Christine<br />
Doherty, at Local Government<br />
Technical Advisory Group’s<br />
Conference, Belfast<br />
June<br />
• Launch of Gate Lodge Exhibtion at Brooke<br />
Park<br />
• Coca Cola Clean Coasts Week Clean-up at<br />
Longfield Embankment, Eglinton, with the<br />
Loughs Agency and St Columb’s Park House<br />
Youth Group<br />
• Bike Week; Launch of District-wide online<br />
cycle map<br />
• Clean Air Day community engagement<br />
activities to raise awareness of air pollution<br />
and how to use green infrastructure as<br />
a measure to reduce the impact of air<br />
pollution<br />
• Green <strong>In</strong>frastructure Plan <strong>2019</strong>-2032<br />
keynote speech by Council’s Biodiversity<br />
Officer, Dr Christine Doherty, at Public<br />
Health Agency’s Making Life Better<br />
Conference, Craigavon and APSE’S<br />
Conference in Belfast<br />
July<br />
• Launch of One Path, Share –<br />
Respect – Enjoy Project<br />
• Launch of Peelings to<br />
Plants Recycling Campaign<br />
promoting food waste<br />
recycling<br />
• Rollout of new garden waste<br />
recycling scheme to 13,000<br />
homes in Derry area<br />
18 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
Derry City and Strabane District Council 19
Photocredit: Jonny Delaney,<br />
Park Life Photography Competition<br />
Section<br />
Section C<br />
Community Participation<br />
Development and Continuity<br />
Youth-led Clean-up<br />
This is the year of youth for our city and this is being<br />
promoted through our exciting Youth 19 Programme<br />
which aims to engage and highlight the<br />
positive work of young people in our city and district.<br />
<strong>In</strong> June, we had a really successful youth-led<br />
community clean-up at Longfield Embankment, Eglinton,<br />
a popular coastal beauty spot with 30 young<br />
people. This marked Coca-Cola’s Clean Coasts Week<br />
and collaboration with the Loughs Agency’s Foyle<br />
Ambassadors, St Columb’s Park Youth and Keep NI<br />
Beautiful to highlight the damage of littering and<br />
pollution on local waterways.<br />
Youth-led Community Clean-up along<br />
River Foyle<br />
Take back the streets<br />
As part of Youth 19, <strong>In</strong> Your Space Circus has<br />
teamed up with UV Arts, JumpNI and Create Dance<br />
to bring Derry-Londonderry an exciting new Street<br />
Arts Festival to our city. This involves engaging<br />
young people in graffiti art, revamping disused<br />
spaces and encouraging our youth to take pride in<br />
their area.<br />
The Bee Keeping Club at Brooke<br />
Park’s Apiary<br />
Community<br />
Participation<br />
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Our Future Foyle<br />
“Our Future Foyle” is a transformative, innovative cultural<br />
and health intervention focused on the River Foyle in<br />
Derry/Londonderry. The project originated over the past<br />
two years through extensive community and stakeholder<br />
engagement under the Helen Hamlyn Centre for Design<br />
and Public Health NI. It aims to improve the health and<br />
social well-being of everyone using the riverfront of the<br />
River Foyle, through rejuvenation and animation of the<br />
banks and bridges as a shared positive space.<br />
Funding and support<br />
The work outlined in this portfolio could not have<br />
been achieved without financial support. Council<br />
has committed up to £20,000 per year to be solely<br />
used for horticultural excellence, environmental<br />
responsibility and community participation. We<br />
also received support from the Department<br />
for Communities and have secured £31,700 in<br />
roundabout sponsorship over the last year.<br />
An artist’s impression of Our Future<br />
Foyle Project<br />
Local schools participation<br />
Local schools participation<br />
We run a really successful Nectar Café planting<br />
programme each year with local schools where each<br />
school is responsible for creating and customising a large<br />
box planter. This year’s participating schools included;<br />
St Anne’s PS, Rosemount PS, Broadbridge PS, Cumber<br />
Claudy PS, Newbuildings PS, St John’s PS, Bunscoil<br />
Cholmcille PS, Culmore PS, Greenhaw PS, Londonderry<br />
Model PS.<br />
Our Recycling and Waste Minimisation Officer also delivers<br />
a Schools Education Programme throughout the year<br />
increasing education and awareness about how to live<br />
more sustainably.<br />
St Columb’s Park<br />
St Columb’s Park Derry<br />
We have been working to restore the old Walled Garden<br />
through partnership working with St Columb’s Park House<br />
and launched the first phase of this project in June. We<br />
have employed a member of staff to develop the new<br />
garden as a shared space for a range of activities with<br />
the entire community. We also have plans to re-create a<br />
tree-lined avenue through the park and hope to create a<br />
lavender garden at the front of the house.<br />
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Other partners are<br />
doing great work<br />
Social Media and Press Clippings<br />
NIHE property whereby tenants have<br />
completed the Garden <strong>In</strong> a Box project<br />
Older people enjoy environmental<br />
workshops by Creggan Country Park<br />
Our River of Flowers,<br />
Queen’s Quay, Derry<br />
• NIHE and the Gasyard Trust are running the<br />
‘Garden <strong>In</strong> a Box’ project supplying portable<br />
growing containers and support to residents with<br />
mental health issues advising them how to grow<br />
their own produce.<br />
• Caw/Nelson Drive Estate have transformed<br />
derelict land into a community growing space<br />
to allow people to grow their own vegetables,<br />
learn where their food comes from and build a<br />
better sense of community. It also helps improve<br />
physical and mental health, reduces anti-social<br />
behavior and gives people a greater sense of<br />
ownership of green spaces.<br />
• Karen Healy in Creggan Country Park is bringing<br />
the natural environment to nursing homes<br />
helping older people connect with nature while<br />
benefiting their health and wellbeing.<br />
• Apex are developing allotments to encourage<br />
tenants to grow their own and embrace green<br />
spaces.<br />
• The Conservation Volunteers are a key Council<br />
partner delivering environmental improvement<br />
projects and events across the city. They are in<br />
our Horticultural Training Centre in Brooke Park.<br />
• Department for Communities continue to help<br />
us transform public spaces through multi-million<br />
pound public realm and greenway schemes. This<br />
has improved our city’s character, look and has<br />
helped provide a new offering for tourists and<br />
locals alike.<br />
• Department for <strong>In</strong>frastructure’s Transport NI<br />
continue to help us develop the main gateways<br />
into our city, maintaining many grassed areas<br />
and ensuring that the best use of green space is<br />
maximized.<br />
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<strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong><br />
<strong>Portfolio</strong> 2018 Content<br />
Subject<br />
Running tot<br />
Cover 1 1<br />
<strong>In</strong>tro 1 2<br />
Section A<br />
Horticultural<br />
Derry City and Strabane<br />
District Council Achievement<br />
<strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong><br />
Impact 2<br />
Horticultural practice 2<br />
Residential and<br />
<strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />
community gardening 2<br />
Business areas and<br />
premises 2<br />
Green spaces 2<br />
Section B<br />
Environmental<br />
Responsibility 10 12<br />
(next spread)<br />
Upta et omnime nostrum ipiet<br />
volorum faccabore molores<br />
secepudae consequ iberunt<br />
utemporest as et molestiae<br />
por sinis del ium coremos<br />
apient, cum dolest unt am, aut<br />
alitaerum id magnisciatae nient<br />
Conservation and<br />
biodiversity 1<br />
Resource management 1<br />
Local heritage 1<br />
Local environmental<br />
quality 1<br />
Pride of place 1<br />
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Derry City and Strabane District Council <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong> 26