09 August 2016
Environmental charity, An Taisce Environmental Education, are
delighted that 22 parks and green space across the Republic of
Ireland have received the Green Flag Award.
Last year, there was an initial trail of the Green Flag Award
Scheme in Ireland with a pilot run jointly with Dublin City
Council, Fingal County Council, and the Office of Public Works.
This saw some of the capital's most significant landmark parks and
estates being recognised for the quality of their recreational and
historic green space.
A year later, more than 25 parks and green space have been
awarded this international standard of excellence. First time
winners this year include not only parks from urban centres such as
Dublin, but also from across the Ancient East Region, including
Gorey, Dundalk, Portlaoise, Mullingar, and Tullamore, and from
locations in the west such as Turlough Park in County Mayo.
With more than 1.59 million overseas garden visitors recorded by
Failte Ireland in 2015, the Green Flag Award is important to ensure
that appropriate park standards are being adopted and maintained
for all visitors. The Green Flag Award scheme has introduced a
benchmark against which the quality of freely accessible public
parks and green spaces are measured in many different countries
across Europe and beyond.
In Ireland the Green Flag Award for parks and green spaces has
been enthusiastically received by park management as it delivers
major wins for the delivery of quality green space by respective
parks and park departments. These include:
• The promotion
and reward for best practice management
• Creation of a
plan for improvements and future works
• The building
of a collaborative network of park management nationally
• The
implementation of environmental sustainability within park
management
Robert Moss, the Green Flag Awards for Parks Manager for the
Republic of Ireland said: "The often unseen hard work of many park
staff over many years has provided Ireland with a wealth of
treasured parks, gardens, and green spaces. These important
amenities provide us with a welcome refuge from the stress of urban
life, and are major attractions for tourists and other visitors to
Ireland.
"We have greatly benefited from working closely with our
colleagues in Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, the Green Flag
fAward operator in Northern Ireland and also with the park
operators in Northern Ireland and the international co-ordination
at Keep Britain Tidy".
If you are interested in finding out further information about
the Green Flag Award or other programmes run by An Taisce Environmental
Education Unit.