Castlegregory TidyTowns
Who we are?
We are a subcommittee of Castlegregory Community Council working under the TidyTowns guidelines and principles to improve and maintain the beauty and biodiversity of Castlegregory.
Our vision is to inspire and create a resilient, nature-positive and sustainable village by connecting people with place, supporting behaviour change, and working collaboratively with local authorities, community groups, residents, and visitors. We embrace and support the 17 Sustainability Development Goals, All Ireland Pollinator Plan, and Leave no Trace.
What we do?
Our projects include:
- Designed and created a biodiversity garden with seating and a native pocket forest at the West End Hall
- Designed and installed biodiversity signage in the Playground and West End Gardens covering leaf mould composting, bug and bee hotels, herbs and edible plants, wildflowers and native trees, that double up as printable and downloadable plant spotter and information sheets. View or Download our Biodiversity Sheets Here.
- Manage and improve the Playground Gardena and edible herb trail, the West End Hall Garden and our planters all over the village as biodiverse and pollinator friendly habitats.
- Litter Awareness and litter picking:
- we take part in the National Spring Clean, the Big Beach Clean and the KWD county clean up where we collaborate with the Maharees Conversation Association, the local National School, the local Meán Scoil Nua an Leith Triúigh and other groups.
- countless of smaller litter picks are carried out by our volunteers and local residents. If you would like to help, please contact us or the Castlegregory Information Centre for litter bags 😊.
- providing anti-litter signage for the village and running anti-litter campaigns on our facebook page and at our litter awareness events.
- created a downloadable Recycling and Waste disposal flyer showing the nearest location to dispose of different types of waste. Download Flyer Here
- regularly clean the recycling bring bank area at Spar.
- Provide, improve and maintain pocket pollinator gardens aka our planters through the village, window boxes along Taylor’s Row and hanging baskets at the Playground connecting green spaces of the village and creating pollinator corridors (bee super high ways).
- Manage the playground, the west end hall garden and our planters as biodiverse and pollinator friendly habitats.
- Kerb cleaning and foot path weeding, thus reducing KCC pesticide usage. We have an agreed weeding plan with KCC. We also run an annual Village Blitz inviting every resident to clean up footpaths and kerbs outside their front door.
- Invasive species awareness, in particular Montbretia awareness: Download Flyer Here
- Water conservation by installing water butts and supporting water conservation events
- Supporting bats in the village through bat boxes and bat awareness. In 2025 we worked with Deborah Birmingham on creating our fabulous Bat Mosaic depicting a local less horseshoe bat. The project was funded by Bat Conservation Ireland, Creative Ireland and KCC. View or Download our Bat Awareness Signage Here.
- Pollinator and seed saving walks
- Biodiversity mapping and walks
- Supporting sustainability and circular economy events
Look out in the village for our new sign which you can find on our projects:
How can you support?
We go out every Saturday at 10 am throughout the year to progress various projects, weed, clean and litter pick. Throughout the summer we also meet one evening a week. Please check the TidyTowns noticeboard on the little library in the playground for information.
We are always looking for volunteers, either weekly or ad hoc, as well as additional volunteers to join our subcommittee.
If you are interested in joining us as a volunteer or would like to take part in a specific project, we are always open to collaborating.
Special appeal to anyone who is operating a tourism business or who hosts visitors to the area:
Please download the Recycling and Waste disposal flyer and display it in your place of business, holiday home, B&B, air bnb or caravan park. If you do not own a printer, please call into the Tourism Information Office and they will gladly print a copy for you.
We appreciate your support in helping to keep Castlegregory and surrounding areas clean, litter free and safe for all.
Contact us:
Via email: castlegregorytidytowns@gmail.com
Via message through our Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/castlegregorytidytowns/
or
Find us at one of our weekly outings. Check the little library noticeboard at the Castlegregory Playground for details.
Acknowledgements:
We wish to thank the following in particular:
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We appreciate your ongoing support.
We align with and signed up to the following:
| SuperValu TidyTownshttps://www.tidytowns.ie/
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All Ireland Pollinator Planhttps://pollinators.ie/
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| Leave No Trace We support the annual #lovethisplace campaign: https://www.leavenotraceireland.org/love-this-place-leave-no-trace/ . Please check out our biodiversity and bat signage at the playground and west end gardens to connect with our beautiful Castlegregory and surrounding areas. 7 Leave No Trace Principles https://www.leavenotraceireland.org/ |
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5. Leave what you find: Protect the ecosystem by leaving it intact. 6. Dispose of Waste Properly: please refer to our waste and recycling flyer to find out where to dispose of your waste responsibly. If in doubt, check out: www.mywaste.ie. When out and about, always bring your waste home with you. 7. Protect Nature from Fire: Never use disposable BBQs. Never light fires in the dunes – they are fragile ecosystems. |
17 Sustainable Development Goals https://irelandsdg.geohive.ie/
We are in full support of the 17 sustainable development goals that the Irish government, all councils in Ireland and SuperValu TidyTowns are committed to. If you have an interest and would like to contribute to a particular goal, please contact us. |
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Castlegregory Community Council
As a Castlegregory Community Council Sub-committee we fully support and align with policies and procedures that underpin the CCC.
