On the last day of March 2021 three lads, representing Galway City Council and the volunteers of Galway (top photos), planted 360 trees on the same site along the Dyke Road in Terryland Forest Park where hundreds of Galwegians of all ages happily came together early on a Sunday morning in November 2019 to plant 2000 trees (bottom photo) as part of that year's highly successful Climate Action-themed Galway Science and Technology Festival.
Due to COVID restrictions we could not advertise or promote the event in any way and had to sadly limit the attendance to three people. It was very much 'under the radar'.
Kevin Nally and Mark Ryan of Galway City Parks and myself replaced any of the 2019 trees that were severely damaged or had died whilst also expanding the area of planting.
It gives me great joy though to report that most of the trees, planted by the public that fine crisp winter morning of three years ago, are doing really well!
Behind these trees lie thousands of others resulting from the peoples' 'Plantathons' of 2012 and 2010 on the Dyke Road sector of Terryland Forest Park. As you can see from the photos, these trees stand tall and proud and are doing a great job in supporting wildlife, in filtering out toxic fumes and greenhouse gases from the atmosphere whilst providing us all with oxygen!
I have to use this opportunity to extend my respect and gratitude to Kevin and Mark who are part of a new generation of parks staff in City Hall that under the great tutelage of Stephen Walsh are devoted to helping protect and enhance the public parks for the benefit of the people and biodiversity of Galway city and beyond. Maith daoibh!
Now with the planned construction of a bridge onto of the old railway stacks that will become the start of the Connemara Greenway and hopefully a boreen network leading onto Coolough, Menlo Castlegar and Carrowbrowne, this area has the potential to become a blue-way (River Corrib) and a green-way (Terryland Forest Park) of huge significance that would be the envy of any other city in Europe.
So I am asking all Galway City councillors to help make this happen by transforming the Dyke Road into a walking/cycling corridor and the old Waterworks into a River/Forestry Interpretative Centre complete with café, gallery, crafts/rural skills learning centre and natural heritage museum.
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