Congratulations to Kilbarry Nature Park – the overall Pollinator Award winner for 2021!
The Green Flag Award scheme recognises and rewards well-managed parks and green spaces, setting the benchmark standard for the management of recreational outdoor spaces around the world. Only awarded for exceeding tough environmental standards in green space management, the Green Flag Award for parks is the mark of a quality park or green space and is recognised throughout the world.
The Green Flag for Parks Pollinator Award is jointly run with An Taisce Environmental Education to support the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and is kindly sponsored by Young’s Nurseries. There are pollinator awards across different park categories, with one overall winner.
Overall winner 2021: Kilbarry Nature Park (Waterford City & County Council)
Category winners 2021:
Country Park: Wild Nephin Ballycroy NP Visitor Centre (National Parks & Wildlife Service)
Town Park: Kilbarry Nature Park (Waterford City & County Council)
Community Garden: Julianstown Community Garden (Julianstown & District Community Association)
Highly commended award 2021:
Maynooth Campus (Town Park; Maynooth University)
Castletown House & Parklands (Country Park; OPW)
St Anne’s Park (Town Park; Dublin City Council)
The overall 2021 Pollinator Award went to Kilbarry Nature Park, managed by Waterford City & County Council. Management at the Nature Park have invested a lot of work in making the site more pollinator-friendly in recent years, including protecting large areas of natural biodiversity meadows, extensive native hedgerows, and elimination of pesticide use. It also encompasses an integrated wetland and all this on a remediated landfill! This Park is unique in being focussed on nature yet offering a great public amenity area. It is an excellent example of how a park can be managed for biodiversity.
The Green Flag for Parks Pollinator Award is helping to create change on the ground and increasing awareness of the importance of pollinators. Fantastic actions are being taken, through this award process, in our parks around the country. On behalf of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan we thank all those park managers who have entered the award for all they are doing to help biodiversity and we congratulate the 2021 winners.
This video on Top Tips for Creating a native Biodiversity Meadow was filmed in Kilbarry Nature Park in 2020