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Glenamaddy Tidy Towns: looking after their local turlough

Glenamaddy Tidy Towns have always been proud of their beautiful turlough and in the past year they have embarked on a project of maintaining, improving and promoting this wonderful natural amenity which suffered considerable damage due to flooding in recent winters.

It began with an An Taisce Clean Coast’s Operation in June 2017 where the area was cleared of rubbish and litter by the group’s volunteers.

Next the group undertook a survey of wildflowers in Glenamaddy Turlough led by Catherine Seale, Communities Waters Officer, with a view to providing an information panel on flora and fauna for the amenity area.

This was followed by the group working closely with Galway County Council, Galway Rural Development and the local Community Employment Scheme to bring about the painting of the boundary railings, resurfacing of the carpark area, rebuilding of paved areas, replacing litter bins, anti-litter signs and flower planters and the clearing of excess ivy from the adjacent stone walls and trees where bat , bird and bee houses were erected.

Then earlier this summer new picnic benches were installed, sponsored by local Bakery, Westbake, and kindly secured to the paving by local man Larry Donaghue.

Finally, on a sunny May morning 2018 the Wildflower and Butterfly Information Board was installed (graphic design kindly supplied by local designer Valerie Keaveney) and this now provides a great source of education to the community and visitors alike on the wildlife and flora of the turlough.

Special thanks to Galway County Council who provided Local Agenda 21 Environment Partnership funding for the Information Panel.

Louise Garvey, Glenmaddy Tidy Towns

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TidyTowns

Local Agenda 21 Partnership Fund

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EPA Catchments Unit

Administrator

The EPA Catchments Unit is based in Dublin, and the team is involved with catchment science, chemistry, ecology, hydromorphology, modelling, Geographic Information Systems and planning. We work with the wider EPA, all of our local authorities, the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office, the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government, and other public bodies and Departments to ensure we have the best available data and information about our catchments.

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The Local Authority Waters Programme coordinates the efforts of local authorities and other public bodies in the implementation of the River Basin Management Plan, and supports local community and stakeholder involvement in managing our natural waters, for everyone’s benefit.

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