02.07.2019 Views

DCSDC Britain In Bloom Portfolio 2019

Council's 2019 BIB Portfolio

Council's 2019 BIB Portfolio

SHOW MORE
SHOW LESS

Create successful ePaper yourself

Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.

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 />

3


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 />

4 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

5


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 />

6 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

7


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 />

8 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

9


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 />

11


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 />

12 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

13


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 />

16 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

17


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 />

20 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

21


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 />

22 <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council<br />

23


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 />

24<br />

<strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong><br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council 25


<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 />

26<br />

Derry City and Strabane District Council <strong>Britain</strong> <strong>In</strong> <strong>Bloom</strong> <strong>Portfolio</strong> <strong>2019</strong> 26

Hooray! Your file is uploaded and ready to be published.

Saved successfully!

Ooh no, something went wrong!