Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns gets boost to protect and promote nature and wildlife

Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns is receiving a boost with a new grant to support a local Biodiversity Action Plan to protect and promote plants, wildlife and habitats.

The grant from Community Foundation Ireland in partnership with the National Parks and Wildlife Service will ensure that the steps to protect local biodiversity will be guided by the expert knowledge of ecologists.

Laura Dinraths of Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns is welcoming the support saying

“Community Foundation Ireland has supported Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns for the last 3 years, starting with funding to draft a Biodiversity Action Plan for the area, and subsequent grants to implement our BAP’s actions. In 2025, we will avail of Community Foundation Ireland’s funding to carry out an invasive species assessment of the area, remove non-native and invasive species along the Dalgan and plant native shrubs and trees in order to protect the riverbank from erosion, and create habitats for wildlife and pollinators.”

Nationally more 94 projects are receiving support with more than 250 communities implementing local action plans since the partnership between the Community Foundation and the Parks and Wildlife Service started in 2019.

The support being provided comes from philanthropists and donors to the Foundation matched with public funding.

Making the announcement, Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity Christopher O’Sullivan TD said: “If we are to successfully tackle our national biodiversity crisis, we must all work together. This partnership between the National Parks and Wildlife Service and Community Foundation Ireland is a great example of how we can empower and support community organisations to learn about their local biodiversity and use that knowledge along with their creativity to come up with a plan which is unique to their area. I’m really impressed with the range of projects involved and excited to see the outcomes of their work.”

Under the partnership the connectivity of the Foundation to local communities built up over 25-years as a philanthropic hub is matched with the expertise and knowledge of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. More than €591,000 is being provided under the current round to 94 projects.

Congratulating Ballyhaunis Tidy Towns, Denise Charlton, Chief Executive of Community Foundation Ireland said: “We are particularly proud that local efforts to protect habitats, plants and wildlife are increasingly growing into a national movement. The fact that this current grant round is impacting in every county shows the groundswell of support for biodiversity action. The partnership of the Foundation, its philanthropists and community partners together with the National Parks and Wildlife Service is effective and works. Our natural heritage is being protected for generations to come.”

 Niall Ó Donnchú, Director General of the National Parks and Wildlife Service added:

“NPWS is delighted to work with the Community Foundation of Ireland and to support the community groups participating in enhancing their local biodiversity. This is exactly the whole-of-society approach we advocated for in the 4th National Biodiversity Action Plan.”

The Dalgan River running through the Friarsground Park in Ballyhaunis