There was a very large gathering at the Castle park evening nature walk lead by Pat Durkin of Birdwatch Ireland, an informative evening was had by all.
Category Archives: Biodiversity
Congratulations to Turas Nua
Congratulations to Turas Nua and KKB volunteers for all the hard work undertaken Keeping Kilkenny Beautiful. Work included weeding, mulching and maintenance of sustainable planting on the Sion Road and also undertaking removal of invasive Himalayan balsam along the river Nore adjacent to Ossory Bridge.
Many hands make light work!
You can also join the many volunteers, clubs and local businesses who are working to keep Kilkenny beautiful.! See our events page to join and be part of the environmental actions being undertaken to Keep Kilkenny Beautiful.
Bee friendly Community Orchards on approach roads
Keep Kilkenny Beautiful welcomes all to our city, at this time of year our approach roads are spruced up, and this includes the bee friendly community orchard on the Waterford road. the trees are currently in flower and we await a great fruit crop later in the year. Congratulations to the Kilkenny Bahai community who came out to maintain the Orchard and Kilkenny welcome sign!.
Plant for the Planet and treeplanting week
KKB and Dukesmeadows residents participated in a UN-backed global initiative which is being spearheaded in Ireland by the charity Crann, Trees for Ireland through their easy treesie project. With support from Kilkenny County Council, children are assisted in planting native and naturalised trees in their local area. Kilkenny City was selected for a ceremonial tree planting in advance of Earth Day next Monday . This project will assist in providing a shelter belt and wildlife corridor, capture carbon and of course beautify our area.The fruit trees are also very important for our wildlife and pollinators.
Fruit tree planting at Dukesmeadows
Many children around the country have already had a chance to join in this environmental learning opportunity, planting over 14,000 trees in their local parks, community gardens, roadside verges and hospitals as part of the challenge for Ireland’s children to plant a million trees by 2023.
The trees have been specially selected by the team of specialists in easy treesie – Crann. Joining in this activity ties in with many curriculum objectives at local schools and will assist in their winning the International Green Flags.
There was a presentation at Dukesmeadows during the planting on the subject of trees and their importance for our city by Orla Farrell of Crann . A great planting was has by all. Our children will have the opportunity to benefit from the fruit of their labours for many years to come.
KKB have been working with many groups throughout Kilkenny over the last number of years to plant hundreds of fruit trees and bushes suitable for their location.A number of community orchards have already been established and additional orchards are being planned. This action continue over the next number of years. Residents associations and voluntary groups who would like to participate in this action are more than welcome to contact KKB for the next planting season.
River Nore Balsam removal commences 2019
A substantial start took place with the removal of a large area of balsam from the river Nore bank to the south east of Ossory bridge. This project forms part of a multi year programme to reduce and eliminate balsam from the upper stretches of the River Nore in the Kilkenny City area. This initial balsam day was supported by a large group of environmentalists currently in Kilkenny under the Youth and Environment Europe (YEE) network. Thank your for all of the hard work.
Careful removal of very small balsam plants in April
Owl boxes completed
The Kilkenny mens shed have completed the construction of 3 new barn owl boxes. They were designed in line with Biredwatch Ireland guidance and are being erected in wooded areas in the City environs. The project is being lead by the KKB biodiversity group.
Pat Durkin of Birdwatch Ireland (right) explaining the operation of the barn owl boxes to Simon Walton City engineer Kilkenny Co Co at the launch of the project.
Swallows sighted in Kilkenny, river Breagagh valley enhancement ongoing
The first swallows of 2019 were spotting in Kilkenny on the 31st March. A sign of spring/summer. Work is also ongoing with the improvement of the Breagagh river, including cleaning of the banks and any debris that has gone into the river ready for the 2019 nesting season. work to remove all balsam has also been undertaken and this review will continue again later in the spring. 
Zoe Devlin presents “Wildflowers of Ireland- a personal Record”
A large crowd attended a very interesting presentation by Zoe Devlin titled ” Wildflowers of Ireland – a personal record” which recently took place in Kilkenny. The event was coordinated by Bird watch Ireland Kilkenny branch. Zoe reviewed Ireland’s rare flowers and also some of the not so rare flowers including flowers growing in Kilkenny. Invasive species were also reviewed.
The importance of pollinator species was discussed. The event ties in to the theme of improving habitat for our bees in Kilkenny. The importance of many plants to specific insects and having adequate food for birds was noted.
Successful clean up to improve the river Breagagh
A very successful clean up was undertaken to help improve the wildlife habitat along the river Breagagh. The key aim was the removal of plastics in particular which are not biodegradable. Bottles and cans where possible were collected and recycled. Why not join in for the next event!
River Breagagh /Circular road Clean up
Breagagh clean up in conjunction with Roberts hill residents association ( 16th February ) meet 10am entrance to Roberts Hill estate off Circular road, Tea ~Coffee after! bring your wellies. All are welcome. Email us at mail@keepkilkennybeautiful.com or ring 086-1075532 to get details of our environmental actions and clean ups.
River Breagagh clean up