Eight Green Flag awards have been awarded to public parks and other green community spaces in Galway this year.
The Green Flag Award, managed by An Taisce in Ireland, was awarded to 101 parks, gardens, grounds and wildlife sanctuaries around the country.
The award benchmarks excellence in the management of green spaces which are open free the public. 150 parks were awarded flags today around Europe, with Ireland leading the way.
In Galway City the Green Flag was awarded to Children’s Millennium Park, O’Sullivan Park in Mervue, and Quincentenial Park in Salthill.
O’Sullivan Park has retained its status after receiving the award for the first time last year, while the other two public parks have a long history with the green flag awards.
The University of Galway has also retained its Green Flag status for its many green areas on the large campus.
Out in the county, Palace Grounds in Tuam has retained its Green Flag, and Connemara National Park has gained one, with both also receiving Green Heritage Site Accreditation.
Outside of public parks Green Flag Community Awards were awarded to Ballyglunin Railway Restoration Project and the Headford Community Orchard.
The Green Flag Award is the international quality benchmark for the public green space sector – now operating in 17 countries around the world.
Running for over 25 years, the programme uses eight key criteria headings, with an emphasis on environmental management, for assessments.
Both a management framework for each site and an annual condition inspection is conducted through a network of qualified judges.
Emlyn Cullen – Programme Manager for An Taisce Environmental Education Unit, who run the Award in Ireland said, “The continued success of the Green Flag Award is due to the love staff members have for their green spaces and the hard work they put in to maintaining them.”
“They do a phenomenal job every day making their parks and gardens beautiful, safe spaces for the public to enjoy.”
The Green Heritage Site Accreditation is an extra award given to sites that showcase their unique landscape and built heritage.
With the support of the NPWS and the Department of Housing, Local Government, and Heritage, 12 Irish Green Flag sites were accredited to Green Heritage Accreditation standard this year.
