Castlebar Tidy Towns said thanks to those who helped gold medal success
For the first time in its history Castlebar won a gold medal at the 60th annual SuperValu National Tidy Towns awards.
Castlebar was one of only 12 large towns across the country to be awarded the gold, out of a total entry of 833 towns and villages.
The gold was gained with an impressive an impressive score of 324 points representing an increase of eight points over the town’s score last year.
Judging was carried out on two separate days in July, leading one judge to note that “as a first time visitor I was impressed with the presentation of your town and the work the committee has carried out”.
Alan Mee, chairperson of Castlebar Tidy Towns, has win commended the huge effort of the Tidy Towns volunteers.
He said: “In the last year our volunteers have put in extra effort late into the night and on weekends to keep the town clean. Whether it was one of three clean ups of the town river or the over 100 plus bags of rubbish we collected from the N5, our volunteers along with others got off the couch and made a significant difference.
“They also worked hard to deliver innovative campaigns becoming the first town in Ireland to launch a KeepCup initiative and delivering The Last Straw campaign this year. Our volunteers are hard workers hard who think big and for that we are very grateful. We could not have got the gold without them.”
Castlebar Tidy Towns hank Castlebar Men’s Shed, LoveCastlebar, Advanced Safety, GMIT Green Campus, TUAS Scheme under South West Mayo Leader, the Chamber of Commerce, residents of estates, local businesses and other voluntary groups around town who have supported them. Castlebar Tidy Towns have had good support from Mayo County Council staff and are also very thankful for the funding received from SuperValu, Mayo County Council, Minister Michael Ring, Councillor Frank Durcan, Councilor Cyril Burke, Councillor Henry Kenny and Councillor Al McDonnell.
Ger Deere, vice-chairperson, Castlebar Tidy Towns, added: “We are always looking for volunteers who can help deliver projects related to the environment, landscaping and biodiversity. There is more to Tidy Towns than litter picking and hi-vis vests. Come join us, we need your ideas.”
Connect with Castlebar Tidy Towns on Facebook, at meealan1968@gmail.com or call on 087 296 5034.