Category Archives: News

IBAL success for Kilkenny – Cleaner than European Norms 2023

Posted on by

A great result for Kilkenny city achieved  in the Summer 2023 IBAL survey released 26th June 2023. Kilkenny was ranked  3rd in Ireland. congratulation to Maynooth   for a 1st in this round.

This result reflects all the hard work undertaken by all our volunteers, community groups &  organisations and  Kilkenny CoCo.

Our city report is set out under.

Kilkenny:  3rd out of 40 towns / cities surveyed.  Cleaner than European Norms

A very strong performance from Kilkenny, as we have come to expect from this tourist destination of historical note.  All of the approach roads got the top litter grade, setting the tone for the majority of the remaining sites surveyed.  Market Cross Shopping Centre was absolutely spotless, not even a cigarette butt to be seen.  The grounds of Kilkenny Castle Parklands were wonderful – a complete absence of litter throughout.  The approach to Kilkenny Castle, via The Parade was an exceptionally freshly presented and maintained environment with all aspects in excellent order. 

 

 

 Thurles Approach Road:  Grade A. (Area surveyed from ‘Welcome to Kilkenny’ signage just after Texaco filling station) A very good first impression of Kilkenny.  Minimal litter items observed.  Road surface closer to the town was new and fresh looking.

 

N10 Approach Road:  Grade A.  (up to old Dublin Road Roundabout form Harbour Road Roundabout) A freshly presented and maintained main route from the motorway.  Apart from some plastic bags, it was very good with regard to litter.

 

Kilkenny Ring Road:  Grade A.  (including Area by IMC Cinema) Freshly presented road surface / markings / signage.  All appeared in very good order; nice grass area on the right, opposite the cinema – there were no visible litter issues.

 

Mother of Fair Love School:  Grade A.  From the outside of the school, all aspects appeared in good order.  Nice area of tulips / daffodils within the school grounds and colourful planter box at the school gate.  To the side of the building there was more planting of other seeds.  It was very much deserving of the top litter grade.

 

Bring Centre at St. Canice’s:  Grade B.  Very clear and extensive signage relating to the use of this tiny facility.  Just a few bottle / can units and one clothing unit; Packaging had been very deliberately discarded in the corner location. There was also broken glass also at the base of the bins.  With a little extra care this could easily be a Grade A site.

 

Market Cross Shopping Centre:  Grade A.  The cleanest shopping centre this surveyor has ever seen!  There wasn’t even a cigarette butt to be seen.  Some of the bins provided the opportunity to separate waste into recycling.  Lovely, large planter boxes throughout, along with attractive planting underfoot at ground level.  Lovely wooden seating, some with built in planter boxes.  Complete absence of litter throughout.  Clearly a careful eye is kept on closed down premises, (of which there were plenty), as there was no litter associated with any of them.

 

High Street:  Grade A.  An exceptionally clean main shopping street with many lovely features throughout e.g., paving, seating, silver bollards, street maps, planting etc.  It was so very much deserving of the top litter grade.  There were many closed down premises, with no litter associated with them.

 

Kilkenny Castle Parkland:  Grade A.  If Grade A+ was awarded, this site would certainly be deserving of same.  A fantastic amenity which was being enjoyed by many on a sunny day towards the end of Easter holidays.  It is an extensive site, replete with outdoor café / picnic tables / playground / pond and several KM signed walking / running pathways.  It was spotless throughout, extraordinarily clean for such a vast site – a credit to the users and those responsible for the maintenance of same.  Some ‘Bees at Work’ signage in one corner site.

 

River Walk:  Grade B+.  There was no litter along the Horseleap side of the river. Some minor food and cigarette / vaping related items along the side of the river by the library. Lifebelts, paving, colourful planting etc were all in good order.   Picnic table area was clear of litter.

 

The Parade:  Grade A.  This wide expanse of road is exceptionally well served by litter bins.

Picnic tables with built in chess / drafts board; bicycle parking / Bolt Ebike scheme / Public Toilets etc. – all aspects were in excellent condition.  Excellent visitor information signage – interactive as well as various maps etc.  The whole area was very good with regard to litter.

 

 

Bioblitz 2023 at Kilkenny Castle Park & Canal walk

Posted on by

Celebration of National Biodiversity week in Kilkenny

The 24 hour Bioblitz aims to bring budding environmentalists together and led by experts and specialists groups to identify and record as many species as possible within the diverse habitats of Kilkenny’s Castle park and the Canal..

 

There will be a small stream citizen science species identification work shop on Friday afternoon on the canal at the whitewashed well . There will also be a tour and identification talks about the very healthy range of flora that grows on the Canal and Castles and also on the rivers habitat flora.

Also on Friday after noon there will be a guided  walk and talk about the Castle parks habitats and trees and they are now being managed in the face of the Biodiversity and Climate Change Crisis.

After Tea there will be the validation of records and the all important species count which will be followed by a Dusk Chorus and much anticipated Bat identification walk at 8.45. Moth trap setting woll also be happening in the background. Due to a large anticipated demand numbers will be restricted and booking will be through eventbrite.

Saturday Morning starts of very early for the Dawn CHORUS which is not to be missed and meet up will be at the Castle gates at 4.30am.

Following Dawn Chorus identification and recording the Moth traps will be collected and brought back to the Medieval Room for identification.

After Breakfast there will be a grass land and wildflower identification walk which will be followed by a Wild Life Safari identifying pollinators and all sorts of species.

The event will Finish up after lunch which is from 1-2pm and will be followed  by lat call for records between 2-3pm when our Bioblitz ends.

It is hoped that we might be vised by local or visiting ecologists and recorders who might drop in and help spot any gaps.

Bioblitz events enable participants to learn about different types of plants, animals and insects in their local environment. This can help to increase awareness of the importance of biodiversity in the local area.

This  bioblitz event will  encourage members of the local community and other community’s to get involved in the management and improvement of their local environment.

It will also help to gather important data on the local environment, which can be used to inform future conservation efforts.

The Bioblitz events will be a fun and educational activity for people of all ages. They can help to promote a sense of community and encourage people to get involved in environmental projects.

This event aimsto support local biodiversity by identifying areas that need special attention or protection. This can help to improve the environment for wildlife and plants in the local area.

for  further information email mail@keepkilkennybeautiful.com

Www.keepkilkennybeautiful.com

24 Hour Bioblitz

Friday & Saturday26th/27 May

Kilkenny Castle Park and The Canal

 

Friday 26th

Castle Park

3.00 pm Launch at Medieval Room

3.30 pm Woodland Walk to River.   

4.00 pm Tree Walk, talk and Identification with Colm Mangan.

The Canal

3.30 – 5.30 pm Small Stream Citizen Science. Kick Sampling and invertebrate identification and other flora and fauna identification and recording.

6.00pm Dinner Break.

 7.30 pm Validation of records

8.45 pm Dusk Chorus and Bat Walk. (Eventbrite)

11.00 pm Close

Saturday 27th

4.30 am Dawn Chorus. 

6.00 am Moth Trap collection and Identification.

7.30 am Moth release and Breakfast.

 9.00am. Record Validation.

9.30am Grassland species identification and recording.

11.30am Wild Life Safari. 

1.00pm Lunch

2.00 pm Last Call for Records.

3.00pm Close and de-brief.

 

KKB Earth Day 2023 Celebration

Posted on by

All are welcome to come along and support Keep Kilkenny Beautiful’s celebration of Earth Day! McDonnagh Junction, Kilkenny 

There will be a range of  interesting presentations, the launch of the Kilkenny Climate Hero’s Challenge, entertainment for kids, colouring, Mr Picker Pal (ask the young people, they know who he is) and free giveaways of books, bulbs and keep cups.

Young ecologists who impress might be lucky enough to get a converted magnifying glass for hunting mini beasts! All welcome to come and celebrate.

 

👏👏

Speakers schedule for Earth Day
12:00    TD Malcom Noonan:-  launch of Kilkenny Climate Hero Challenge
12:10    Nicky Brennan:- Kilkenny Age Friendly Tips from the older generation
12:20    Cllr David FitzGerald Mayor of Kilkenny City:-                                                      The Path to being first Carbon Neutral City
12:30    Break
12:40    Patrick Jackson – Picker Pals
12:50    Paddy Phelan South East Energy Agency Grants & Supports Economy
13:00    John Carley South East Energy Agency Circular
13:10  Liam O’Brien Bagenalstown SEC Journey to Energy Master Plan
13:20    Seamus Nugent Kilkenny Sport Partnership Environment & Mental Health
13:30    Fergus Horgan KLP Food Waste to Compost
13:40    Break
13:50    Pat Boyd Keep Kilkenny Beautiful Special Project Officer –  Bio Bliz
14:00   Catriona Corr Sustainable Urban Mobility Plan
14:10    Marina DeCosta Sustainable Energy Communities SEC
14:20    Break
14:30    Maria Dollard Chairperson Keep Kilkenny Beautiful – Tidy Towns and SEC’s – complementary synergy towards SDG’s
14:40   Break
14:50    Mijke Jansen Barrow Valley Hub SEC Solar Panel EV Charger KLP LEADER Project
15:00    Breda Maher KCC Climate Action F

Passing of Sean Leahy

Posted on by

KKB are very sad to announce the passing of Sean Leahy.  Sean was a former  Chairman  and founding member  who  worked  tirelessly over many years for the improvement of  Kilkenny city  as a wonderful place to live.

Present and past KKB members formed a guard of honour   as a mark of respect at St Patricks Church   on the  28th March 2023 as Sean passed  to go to his final resting place at Foulkstown cemetery, Kilkenny.

Leahy, Sean (1 Ashleigh Court, College Road, Kilkenny) on 25th March 2023, at St. Luke’s Hospital, Kilkenny, after a long period of ill-health borne with humour and fortitude. Predeceased by his brother Christy. Beloved husband of Betty and much loved father of Johanna, John and Conor. Sean will be sadly missed by his wife and family, son-in-law Jesper, daughters-in-law Margaret and Anna, his adored grandchildren Caoilin, Erin, Aidan, Isobel and Freya, his dear siblings Phyllis, Mary, Willie and Joanne, brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law, nephews, nieces, extended family, neighbours and a wide circle of friends.

May Sean Rest in Peace.

 

KKB & St Patrick’s Parade 2023

Posted on by

What a wonderful day for Kilkenny. What  a great parade!

Fantastic day. Despite the weather there was so much good spirits and camaraderie. So many kids along the route saying to their parents they had Picker Pals in their school.

A thank you to Picker Pals working  to raise awareness of Keep Kilkenny Beautiful  .

Thank you so much the to fantastic volunteers and their children that made the effort to come out in the bad weather and showed how tough we are and how determined to Keep Kilkenny Beautiful

👏👏👏👏👏

you are all amazing

👏👏👏👏👏

.

IBAL – Kilkenny City Joint 2nd in 2022

Posted on by

A fantastic result for Kilkenny City in  2022.  This is    a reflection  on the tremendous work undertaken by  our volunteers, our community, our businesses  and  Kilkenny CoCo.  Congratulations also to Naas who took the  No. 1 position in 2022.

An Taisce Report – IBAL Anti-Litter League, Survey 2, 2022
Kilkenny: Joint 2nd out of 40 towns / cities surveyed. Cleaner than European Norms.
Kilkenny is no stranger to high placement in IBAL litter league and this time around it has scored particularly well with nine out of the ten sites surveyed getting the top litter grade. Examples included the approach roads, Kilkenny Train Station (Exterior and Interior), the Main Street / Parliament Street and Market Cross Shopping Centre – there was lovely paving at the latter. The only blemish was the Recycle Bank at St. Canice’s, which was moderately littered.
N10 Approach Road: Grade A. Road surface / markings / signage were in very good order and the overall impression was of a very well presented and maintained route with no litter issues of note.
Kilkenny Train Station – Exterior: Grade A. The overall impression here as a very positive one with paving to the front of the station creating a very fresh impression. There was minimal litter, just some loose food related items and cigarette butts in the shrubs of the bushes in the garden patch and at the base of the litter bins.
Kilkenny Train Station – Interior: Grade A. A sparkling interior with spotless floor tiles, seating, litter bins and visitor information notices in very good order.
River Bank: Grade A. A lovely riverside environment which was very well presented and maintained. The pedestrian bridge was spotless. There was a virtual absence of litter along the grassy banks and associated pathways.
Derelict building by Evans Lane: Grade A. Clearly a careful eye is kept on the tall building as there was no litter directly associated with it.
Recycle Bank, St. Canice’s: Grade B. The recycle units and signage associated with the use of same were freshly presented and in good order. It wasn’t just loose litter, but items had been very deliberately discarded by the units.
Market Cross Shopping Centre: Grade A. The paving of this outdoor shopping environment was particularly attractive and creates a great impression. It was a very freshly presented and clean environment.
Main Street / Parliament Street: Grade A. This was characterised by lovely paving, planter boxes, wooden seating, stainless steel bicycle parking and some attractively presented shop-fronts. There was a virtual absence of litter throughout.
696 Freshford Approach Road: Grade A. All aspects of the area surveyed were in good order – there was no visible litter throughout.
R712 Approach Road: Grade A. (by Leggetsrath Bus. Park) A wide stretch of road with lovely tree planting along both sides. It was excellent with regard to litter, creating a very positive first impression of Kilkenny – this very high standard was sustained for all the remaining sites surveyed

New Years Resolution – KKB

Posted on by

How about making a New Years resolution  to Keep Kilkenny Beautiful and get involved with our Community  in Kilkenny

Why not meet and join with our volunteers  this Saturday 7th Jan at 10 am at  the Kilkenny retail Park Loughboy carpark in front of Woodies. Coordinates ( 52.635366, -7.244313 ).  Take part on  our first clean up for the new year.  Tea/Coffee and chat follows at 12.00 noon.

We look forward to seeing you, we also have a lot of other activities taking place,  please also keep up to date  by reviewing  our  facebook page or email us at mail@keepkilkennybeautiful.com  . Why not join our KKB news whats app page.