Buncrana Tidy Towns has won the national Local Authority Pollinator Award for 2021.
The announcement was made at the Tidy Towns virtual awards ceremony last Friday. The group also won a gold medal in the main competition for the sixth year in a row.
Buncrana Tidy Towns Chairperson Willie McKinney said winning the All Ireland Pollinator Plan award is a hugely important accolade for the town.
“Our volunteers under the guidance of town gardener George McDermott and with the support of Wild Inishowen have led the way in protecting our local biodiversity,” he said.
“It is a tremendous achievement to have won the national Pollinator award for a second time, and to have this work recognised on the national stage.”
He said the committee was also delighted with their result in the overall Tidy Towns competition.
“We’ve won our sixth gold medal and increased our overall points. Despite all the challenges the pandemic has presented, we’ve made real progress since the 2019 competition. We will take the next few weeks to develop our work plan for 2022 and hope to have some exciting new projects agreed for the new year.
“On a personal note, I would like to take this opportunity to commend the work of our amazing volunteers and scheme workers. We would also like to thank SuperValu Buncrana and McKenna’s Centra or their ongoing support, Eamonn Mahon of Donegal County Council, Ruth and Andrew Garvey-Williams and the Feel Good team, Paula Benson, Denise Dowds and the Cli-mates, local artist Rois Deeney and to all the local businesses and the wider community who have been so good to us.”