Kilkenny City “cleaner than European norms” 2019

Keep Kilkenny Beautiful are very pleased with the Irish Business against Litter (Ibal) overall 2018 result which gives Kilkenny city a position of 9th in the country and the  status of “Cleaner than European norms ”. Congratulations also to Fermoy for achieving the No.1 position for 2018.
Congratulations to all who have assisted in this excellent result. It  reflects the tremendous work being undertaken on an ongoing basis by many voluntary groups, organisations, businesses and Kilkenny County Council throughout our city over the last year.

Kilkenny railway station

 

An Taisce Report – IBAL Anti-Litter League, Round 2, 2018

Kilkenny: Overall 2018 result: 9th out of 40 towns / cities surveyed. Cleaner than European Norms.

Another excellent result for Kilkenny with 80% of sites getting the top litter grade. Market Cross Shopping Centre was a particularly well presented and clean site – large planter boxes certainly enhance the overall environment. Kilkenny Train Station (Exterior and Interior) was excellent – clearly it is a very well attended site; the streetscape along High Street was excellent and the grounds of Kilkenny Castle were pristine. The Recycle Bank at St. Canice’s presented well on first impression but further inspection revealed a definite litter presence.

L2627 Approach from Clara: Grade A. The overall presentation of this road was a very good one. Pathway was in good order and newly trimmed grass verges skirted the roundabout leading to the town.

Kilkenny Train Station – Exterior: Grade A. This was an impeccable site. The whole environment was very well maintained with footpath, ramp, signage, flowering pots, bins etc. in very good condition.

Kilkenny Train Station – Interior: Grade A. The interior of Kilkenny Train Station was a very fresh environment. Seating, bins, notices boards, plant boxes, hanging baskets and visitor information were in good order.

Series of empty / derelict buildings on Watergate: Grade B. (Numbers 11, 13 & 15). The presentation of this series of buildings was poor with painting peeling and overall impression a negative one. This will only deteriorate further if not addressed.

Recycle Bank by St. Canice’s: Grade B. On first impression the presentation of this recycle facility was a good one with bins and signage relating to the usage of same in good condition. It was, however, let down by a variety of litter items to the rear of the recycle units, between the bushes and bins.

Market Cross Shopping Centre: Grade A. This semi-covered shopping centre was very fresh with plenty of substantial planter boxes throughout. Seating, paving, lamps etc. all presented very well and there was a complete absence of litter throughout.

High Street: Grade A. The High Street in Kilkenny has an excellent streetscape. All aspects of the area surveyed were in very good condition. The road surface has attractive paving, creating a very fresh impression. The paving stones on the footpath looked very well. The street was further enhanced by wooden seating.

Grounds of Kilkenny Castle: Grade A. The grounds of Kilkenny Castle were in excellent order and there was a complete absence of litter throughout.

Loughboy Approach Road: Grade A. This road presented well with road surface, cycle path, signage and markings in good order. There was no obvious litter.

M9 / M10 Connecting Road to Carlow: Grade A. An excellent route. The edging of the roads was clear cut, road surfaces were in very good condition and there didn’t appear to be any visible litter.

Kilkenny castle from Lacken viewing point with river Nore under.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nore Dragon Paddlers Collecting Litter and international Awards!

Nore Dragon Paddlers overall European Environmental Award

On the 16th of October, the Nore Dragon Paddlers were awarded a “Hero’s in the Community Award” from Keep Kilkenny Beautiful for their  continuous environmental contribution on the river Nore along with the Kilkenny Aqua Canoe Club, KACC.

This involved regular litter picks on the river whilst out on the water . As a result of this great achievement, the president of the Irish Dragon Boat Association, Julie Doyle, nominated the Nore Dragon Paddlers  for the Environmental Award at the European Dragon Boat Federation Forum (30th of November – 2nd of December )  in Seville, Spain. We are delighted to announce that not only did the Nore Dragon Paddlers make the final, but they  actually won the award!

The award ceremony was held on Saturday 1st November in Seville and was attended by representatives of the dragon boat community from 16 Nations including Ireland.

Paddlers launch on to the river Nore

Congratulations to the Paddlers for their international success and working with our community to  improve the environment in a sustainable way.

On the water!

 

 

Kilkenny named 2018 Foodie Destination

Kilkenny comes out on top ! Congratulation to all who worked to achieve this important award. We are national  Foodie Destination 2018 winner. This confirms what we already know and enjoy here in Kilkenny.  The choice, quality and range of food venues through out our City is fantastic.  why not come and enjoy?

The Parade, Kilkenny

 

Kilkenny Orchards get a summer brush up

Many thanks to the many Statestreet Bank Volunteers who have  given  our  Waterford rd community orchard  a summer brush up.

Keeping Kilkenny Beautiful  does not happen by itself. Our City is beautiful  because of the voluntary effort of many through out the year.  This community orchard is also has an  attractive seating area.

The fruit trees are vert suited to  pollinators earlier in the year and  the fruit  in August /September is delicious to enjoy.

Extreme dry spell in Kilkenny City

Keep Kilkenny Beautiful Awards 2018.

Update due to extreme dry conditions in Kilkenny City:

KKB has taken the decision  to cancel  the Private Gardens awards element of our Kilkenny City Annual  Awards Competition for   2018. This is due to the unprecedented dry spell here in Kilkenny.  Irish water has requested all to  conserve water and there is also  the requirement to observe a  hose pipe ban currently.  All other award categories  are not impacted.

The Private Gardens Awards  will be reinstated again in 2019.

Deep clean under way!

Why not take part in our  KKB deep clean  “spring cleans ” as part of the Kilkenny City   National Spring Clean events! Our  aim is to  go deep into the  bushes and verges and concentrate in particular on the removal  of  plastics which are not biodegradable.

The statistics tells how bad it  can be on our County roads due to  our “disposable” society; 100 drink cans, 43 paper cups and 127 plastic bottles were  found in a recent Kilkenny Co Co survey on just 1km of country  roadside!  It  is interesting to note that no plastic bags were  listed.  The 15c tax on each plastic bag has been  a success.

Keep Kilkenny Beautiful did a plastic bag survey in Kilkenny City in 2000 and found over 200 discarded plastic bags  in just one section of 1/2km roads edge.

We need the political courage to finally arrange to put a returnable 25c deposit (or more) on drink cans and plastic bottles.

For “paper” cups ( which also contain plastic) why niot consider a 25c tax an encouragement to use  suddenly this “trash”  is actually  of value and the problem will  disappear like the plastic bag !

iur City ring road cycle and walk way, spring cleaned!

Kells road path and cycle way at entry to into our City