Council bans Citizens from taking part in Cleanups

Galway City Council has sent out a circular in the last hour informing the public that the Spring Clean initiative has been suspended and furthermore asking citizens not to go outdoors to clean up at this time and to stay at home. They mentioned that their staff are currently operating limited hours in order to manage litter bins and emergency issues only.
Unfortunately as there are no bins (council policy) in the city's forest parks and as there is only one (great!) council staff member presently working limited hours assigned to litter management in these parks, this I feel will lead to a huge increase in refuse across our beautiful woodlands and meadows impacting on biodiversity and the public. Only one part of multiple sectoral Terryland Forest Park has a COVID-19 closure sign on its entrance gates (which is ignored anyway).

I totally understand the importance of the restrictions imposed by lockdown.
But I am shocked that the work of dedicated volunteers, working singly and respecting social distancing of park users, and which is essential to park maintenance at this critical time are been asked to discontinue their much needed activities. Key staff have to work in shops, in health administration and in local authority services. Is not the work of these volunteers also critical at this time?
We will of course keep by this new requirement. But the parks need looking after now more than ever as they experience increased footfall, though by people observing social distancing. Unfortunately as we know only too well anti social elements will take advantage of the situation and cause damage to our precious green lungs particularly with littering.
I wonder what is the opinion of our councillors and TDs?
I have to be honest and say that I feel so sad and almost tearful on what may happen to our great woodlands and meadows in the absence of volunteers and with limited on-the-ground parks staffing during COVID-19.

Let's Make Scenes of Park Vandalism History- Join the Protest at 1.40pm Tomorrow (Mon) to Demand Park Wardens for Galway city's public parks

Bench in Terryland Forest Park that has lain broken & un-repaired for 2 years

Help keep our public parks including Terryland Forest Park and Merlin Woods clean and safe by maintaining the pressure on Galway City Council to follow the example of many other Irish and European cities in establishing a full-time Park Warden unit.

We were promised at last month's protest outside the council January meeting that the deferred motion from Councillor Mark Lohan, to set up a permanent on-the-ground parks staff crew, would be voted on at the next council meeting on Monday February 4th.
We thank Niall McNelis Mayor of Galway City for this commitment- he is someone that has long being an activist promoting a Clean Galway through his involvement in mass litter pickups and the Tidy Towns competition.
Getting the motion passed is a first step in reclaiming the public green spaces for the people of Galway, and in protecting these very important rare urban habitats for our precious but increasingly threatened native mammals, birds, insects, trees, flowers and other living things.
We want our public woods, wetlands, parks, meadows and waterways to be 'Carbon Sinks' to tackle Climate Change, Outdoor Classrooms for our schools, Outdoor Labs for our second and third level students, Outdoor Gyms for physical exercise enthusiasts, Nature Playgrounds for our children, Nature Trails for walkers, Zones of Tranquility and passive Leisure for people of all ages, Rural landscapes for revitalising nature-friendly farming, and Sanctuaries for our endangered native flora and fauna.

Many of our elected public representatives have already declared their support for a Park Wardens unit for Galway city including Mayor Niall McNelis, Billy Cameron, Cathal Ó Conchúir, Mike Cubbard, Cllr Frank Fahy, Mairéad Farrell and Michael Crowe. So in advance of tomorrow's we have declarations of solidarity from councillors of all political parties and from the independent councillor Mike Cubbard. That is great news! In advance of the meeting, we have lobbied all the other councilors on the issue.

But it is important that the people of Galway city show their determination that such a policy is implemented by turning up outside City Hall at 1.40pm on that day. Of course increased investment in infrastructure is also needed. But the establishment of a park wardens unit is an important first step.
So we ask you to join us and to bring along your friends, neighbours and family members. Together We Can (as we done so many times before) Make a Difference!

p.s. the  Shame!

Refuse Gathered from a Galway City Woodland.

Yesterday was a very active and successful day for volunteers associated with both the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden and in the Terryland Forest Park.

Campaigners for example continued their weekly clean up of the Terryland Forest Park. As with many public spaces and green zones across Ireland, anti social elements are destroying our city's woodlands by dumping huge amounts of refuse. In some cases it  comprises heavy duty domestic waste including fridges, televisions, sofas, paints, tyres etc particularly in the bogs. But from first hand experience, the majority of the refuse in the city  seems to consist of the detritus of nighttime drinking sessions including beverage cans, bottles, fast food wrapping, excrement, burnt palettes etc. The damage to biodiversity is huge and must cost the taxpayers millions of euros every year in Galway alone. But the presence of anti social aggressive drinkers can also turn our beautiful heritage areas into no-go zones for other peoples who want to enjoy going for a walk, a jog or a nature study.
Unfortunately, few if any of the culprits are ever apprehended or made repair the damage done. 
Neither  the Garda or the council's Community Wardens regularly patrol the woodlands. This policy must change if we are to end this modern characteristic that brings such shame to our country. 

Burnt Trees and 'bush drinkers' campfires and detritus in Terryland Forest Park

 There needs to be a better joined-up thinking between having stronger and existing litter government legislation implemented; having local authorities ensure wardens patrol the parks and working more closely with local communities and volunteers on an ongoing basis, having the Garda regularly arrest the culprits; having the courts ensure that meaningful fines and community service are served. I have been lobbying the council for months to bring all above parties to the table on this issue and to try and have amongst other things a volunteer Park Rangers corp set up. But no success so far.

On the principle that 'money talks'(!), I spearheaded the campaign a few years ago for the government to follow the example of other European countries and introduce a monetary refund payment scheme for all beverage cans and bottles. It works well overseas and used to exist in Ireland when I was a lad. I and other community activists, supported by Councillor Catherine Connolly, succeeded in getting Galway City Council to do so on a smaller scale in the city (the only Irish local authority to do so). But the then Minister for the Environment John Gormley (the Green Party leader)after months of lobbying ultimately refused our requests to do so nationally.

Need for National Cans & Bottles Pay Back Scheme to Clean Up Our Forests & Parks

The April clean-up by the Conservation Volunteers of the Terryland Forest Park in Galway city has exposed once again the wanton destruction being done to the Irish countryside and waterways by the high level of dumping of cans and bottles by outdoor drinkers.

There is a growing problem within Irish society due to binge drinking, particularly by young people which eventually has to be faced up to. This phenomena has escalated in the last two decade as a result of the easy access and availability of cheap alcohol.
In the interim, the problem of resulting litter can be tackled head-on by the introduction of a refundable charge on cans and bottles, something which the 'Friends of Galway Forests' NGO had campaigned on for years. (Click here) 
We failed to convince the last Environment Minister and Green Party leader John Gormley to implement such an initiative. But we secured the agreement of Galway City Council last July, thanks to the support of Councillor Catherine Connolly, to introduce a pay-back scheme for cans.
Click here to read about this positive move by city council.

 
It is time now to re-activate the lobbying of government if we are to save our precious lakes, forests and rivers from disappearing under a layer of plastic and glass.
But in the short term, should we not organise a public 'Cash For Can Day' in June where we organise a huge mass clean-up and bring all the cans to the council recycling plant and use the monies collected to invest in trees for plantings in our civic parks and woodlands?
Finally, thanks to the volunteers who turned up on Saturday. Appreciated.

Nature is the 99%, too - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

Nature is the 99%, too - Opinion - Al Jazeera English

The 1% that control the politics and economies of so many countries are not only destroying the lives of  99% of the human populations in their immoral quest for power & profits but also the other 99% of species of planet Earth.

We must save our fellow creatures and in so doing save mankind from destroying itself. Science shows that all species are interdependent and part of Nature.

 

Ireland’s first Drinks Cans Pay-back Scheme for Galway?

The decision of the recent meeting of the Environment SPC of Galway City Council to recommend the introduction of a pay-back scheme for drink cans is warmly welcomed.

As spokesperson for the Galway Friends of the Forests, the local community and environmental group, I applaud the foresight of the Environment SPC on this initiative that was proposed by Councillor Catherine Connolly supported by city officials. This facility will probably be initially based at the Liosbaun recycling centre. The motion will now go forward for ratification to a full meeting of the City Council.

The ‘Galway Friends of the Forests’ has been lobbying since 2007 on the need to re-introduce a nationwide payback scheme for take-away beverage bottles as well as cans in order to clean up our parks, fields and natural habitats. Locally we have made representations to Galway City Community Forum and to Councillor Catherine Connolly in her capacity as Chairperson of the Natural Environment and Waterways committee. The councillor has responded magnificently by proposing last week’s motion.
Sadly we have had no success in our dealings with the Department of the Environment, Local Government and Heritage on this issue. In autumn 2007 we made a formal submission to the government’s ‘International Review Of Waste Management’ report where we recommended the introduction of national legislation to implement a refundable charge on beverage cans and bottles. However, we were astonished that the final report, published in late 2009, failed to address this proposal in any serious way and made some vague comment about the need for further future research.

The state’s lethargic attitude to a grassroots initiative that if accepted will help dramatically reduce litter pollution in Ireland is baffling. Especially when one considers that the government department responsible is led by the leader of the Green Party, John Gormley, with whom we meet with on this and related policy areas and where we reinforced the need for the re-introduction of a monetary pay-back scheme that existed in Ireland until only a few decades ago.

It is obvious to all interested parties, from tourism organisations to local neighbourhood associations, that our parks, woodlands, bogs, rivers and seashores are strewn with litter contributing to a deterioration in the aesthetic beauty of our natural landscapes, a serious contamination of our waterways and the destruction of wildlife habitats. This environmental disaster is getting worse by the day exacerbated by the cheap pricing on non-refundable alcohol cans and bottles available from supermarkets, corner shops, garages and off-licences that has lead to an epidemic in under-age outdoor binge drinking.

Such litter does not feature in the IBAL surveys which primarily focus on street and roadways.

In Galway city, communities and the local authority have worked together, under a scheme known as ‘Gaillimh Suas Glan’, to clean up woods and other green public spaces on a monthly basis. The amount of refuse being collected is frightening. In a recent event, volunteers collected over 6,000 pieces of litter in a two hour period from one forest area. Beverage cans and bottles together generally account for between 60-70% of the items collected.

Furthermore, this refund system has had considerable success elsewhere in Europe. 90% of beer and soft drinks containers are returned in Sweden while the market share of non-returnable bottles in Finland is deliberately kept small at 5%.

We have requested a further meeting with Minister Gormley on the matter. Should we fail to secure a commitment, we will begin to organise a nationwide citizens’ petition on our demand for this pay-back scheme.

Advance Pitshop Finally Remove the Litter from their Premises!

Good News! City council responded to my complaint on Advance Pitstop to inform me that they served notice on the Dublin-based owners (see last blog article).
Good News No. 2! Advance Pitstop has actually cleaned up the mass of litter that lay at the front of it premises.
Sad News! The place still looks grubby. Broken Walls, rusty railing & still some litter around its grounds.
So we will continue to monitor this premises.

Expose the Business Polluters Part 1- Advance Pitstop

Front of Advance Pitshop, Headford Road, Galway city

While hundreds of ordinary residents are now volunteering their time and effort to take part in the monthly clean-up of Galway city's public parks and woodlands under the auspices of City Hall's Glan Suas Gaillimh that was inspired by Friends of the Friends campaigners, certain property developers and business owners are destroying the attractiveness of Galway city by a callous disregard for the upkeep of their properties.

It is time for the council to take action under the power invested in it by the 1990 Derelict Sites Act that allows prosecution of their owners and in fact to take over their properties if they fail to comply with the regulations.

Irresponsible Absentee Landlords Destroying Neighbourhoods

Yet it is not only abandoned buildings that need immediate attention for the sake of beautifying our city. The Celtic Tiger stimulated a massive upsurge in the sale of rented accommodation. Many of these absentee owners saw their new properties purely as investment opportunities, as a source of rental revenue and cared little for their upkeep. One of thousands of badly maintained rented houses in Galway City

The inevitable result was that there are thousands of rented houses in Galway housing estates with badly maintained exteriors contributing to serious lowering of community moral amongst local residents. For why cut your lawn and paint your wooden fence when the house next door has a pampas-like front garden and woodwork that is rotting away!
This situation will get worse as so thousands of rented accommodation lie empty as the downturn in the economy leads to an return of Eastern Europe workers (i.e. former tenants) to their homelands

But even prominent city centre commercial properties can have a dirty, grimy, derelict look.
One example is Advance Pitstop on the Headford Road adjacent to Aldi and Lidl.
The owner(s) lets his perimeter wall crumble, the pathetic looking puny shrubbery is almost permanently covered with discarded bottles and cans. and the rusty railings have not seen a a coat of fresh paint for years.
Starting now with Advance Pitstop, I am going to publicly report every week a business that is allowing its property to become an eyesore.

Latear in the year, I hope to start a community campaign to get City Hall to introduce bye-laws to secure a minimum standard of upkeep on all commercial premises and rented properties.
It is critical that developers are not allowed to undermine the attractiveness of the city for tourist and resident alike.

Photo shows the rusty railings, broken wall and litter covered shrubbery that forms the front of Advance Pitstop
on the Headford Road
Galway City

Community-Inspired Campaign To Clean Up Galway City's Forests & Parks Gets Underway!

Our Environmental campaign group ‘Friends of the Forest’ have joined forces with Galway City Council in order to implement a new initiative designed to secure public participation in regular major monthly clean-ups of the city’s public spaces.
While we fundamentally disagree with local authority officials' still existing plans to build a road through this most precious urban forest park that will all destroy its proposed development as an important ecological corridor , nevertheless we see no reason why we should not work with City Hall to increase public use of the forest and to help eliminate the waste crisis that exists in this important natural heritage area.There is a serious and growing litter problem in parks and other green spaces across the country. However, because of the local authority recruitment embargo, ordinary citizens must re-discover 'civic pride' and take up the challenge of helping to keep our valuable green resources clean in order to protect our increasingly threatened wildlife and to encourage greater use of woods and parklands by schools, arts groups and local communities.
Inspired by the international ‘Beach Watch’ project organised in Galway by Atlantaquaria (Ireland's National Aquarium), Friends of the Forest held a series of meetings with City Hall’s Environmental Education Officer Sharon Carroll and the Superintendent of Parks Stephen Walsh on implementing regular high-profile mass clean ups that would each month focus in on different public spaces across the city.The result is that the first of these major clean-ups known as ‘Glan Suas Gaillimh!’ (Irish for 'Clean Up Galway!') operating under the auspices of Galway City Council will start at 2.30pm on Sunday November 15th in the Terryland Forest Park.
Follow-on clean-ups will include Merlin Woods, Barna Woods and our seashores.
It is hoped that residents of all ages from all across the city will take part in this major partnership initiative that could make such a positive contribution to our city’s image and well-being.So well done to Sharon McHugh & Stephen Walsh for bing so supportive and proactive in doing every thing possible to ensure the success of Glan Suas Gaillimh!
Sharon in particular has gone over and beyond the call of duty to involve children in the clean-up as a continuation of her work with schools on the Green Flag initiative This litter drive will represent an important step in re-engaging the people of Galway with City Hall’s environmental policies. We are also now hopeful that Council will re-introduce an annual eco-programme for Terryland Forest Park and elsewhere that will include family tree planting days, community arts events and educational nature tours. Continued tree planting is urgently needed to offset global warming with our forests acting as ‘carbon sinks’. As well as being major biodiversity zones, forests also serve as important passive/active amenity areas.
The Friends of the Forest are also continuing their three year lobbying of the Minister of the Environment to introduce a national refundable levy on all drink containers purchased at off-licences and other retail outlets. As discarded cans and bottles are probably the number one cause of litter in Ireland, a refundable levy would have a beneficial impact on our environment by providing an economic incentive for people to keep Irish parks, roads, and waterways clean.
Such a monetary pay-back scheme existed in Ireland until a few decades ago and is very successful today in other countries.
The monies saved could then be used to encourage greater public use of our wonderful green spaces by funding the provision of park wardens, regular outdoor family events and park facilities such as picnic areas, community gardens and eco-learning centres.