Green and pleasant towns and villages throughout Ireland are gearing up

Green and pleasant towns and villages throughout Ireland are gearing up for this year’s Tidy Towns competition (www.tidytowns.ie), with loads of new prizes up for grabs for green-fingered initiatives from trees to pollinator-friendly plantings.

The competition is now in its 58th year of encouraging volunteers and community groups to join forces and spruce up their local area.

The competition gives marks to towns and villages under a number of categories. Competitors can gain points by promoting and protecting wildlife areas and habitats; and including well thought out planting in open green spaces from parks to roundabouts.

This year’s new awards include the Let’s Get Buzzing Local Authority Pollinator Award, with a prize fund of €10,000 up for grabs for TidyTowns groups which provide food and habitats for pollinating insects by leaving wildflowers to grow along roadsides and using more pollinator-friendly plantings in parks and gardens.

The Tree Council of Ireland is also sponsoring a Tree Project Award, offering a prize of €1,000 to the town or village which takes the best care of its trees. The award recognises the huge impact that properly positioned trees can have and the importance of managing them properly.

The closing date for entries for this year’s competition is 20^th May.