THIS year’s Tidy Towns competition results brought wonderful news for overall winner Listowel and more golden moments to medal winners Killarney, Tralee and Kenmare.
But that’s not the only exciting outcome in Kerry as the village of Sneem has been left buzzing after winning a sought-after Pollinator Award at the Helix in Dublin.
The prize is great recognition for all that has been done by locals to help pollinating insects.
One third of our 99 bee species are threatened with extinction because of a drastic reduction in the amount of food – in the form of wildflowers – and safe nesting sites in the landscape. The All-Ireland Pollinator Plan was launched in 2015 to try to reverse the decline and to work with communities, businesses, parks, schools and farms to create areas where pollinators can survive and thrive.
Locals in Sneem worked closely with the Heritage and Biodiversity Office of Kerry County Council in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre and with 66 entries, from 22 counties, for the Pollinator Award this year the standard was extremely high.
To win the award, Sneem took a whole range of pollinator-friendly actions with a whole-village approach, mapping the village and pinpointing areas that could provide food and shelter for pollinating insects.
Sneem Tidy Towns has developed river walks along both sides of the river, which form a corridor for pollinators. The river walks offer soil banks for nesting solitary bees, as well as ivy, brambles, foxgloves, bluebells, dandelions, buttercups and clover providing food.
Grassy areas in Sneem are managed in a pollinator-friendly way, allowing dandelions to flower and where possible, cutting is restricted to two cuts per year so a diversity of wildflowers are allowed to bloom.
Sneem Tidy Towns also conducted pollinator workshops with school children and a local scout troop in the Garden of the Senses.
To find out how to take action to help pollinators or to enter the 2019 Pollinator Award, go to www.pollinators.ie.
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