Across the island of Ireland, communities are doing brilliant work to help pollinators in their local area. Urban and rural, small villages and large towns, more communities are coming together to tackle the biodiversity crisis, and improve our landscape for pollinators.  

Pollinator numbers are in decline, but our data shows that local populations are increasing where actions are taken to help them. Find out how you can help pollinators in your community in our free guidelines: Local Communities: Actions to Help Pollinators.

Read some examples of pollinator-friendly community projects below: 

 

Blarney Street Pollinator Path 

‘Pick a place, Mow less, Spray less’. That’s the simple idea behind Blarney Street Pollinator Path – an inspiring plan to help pollinators in the heart of Cork City. Molly Garvey, of the Blarney Street Pollinator Path group, tells us about how a neighbourhood came together to help pollinators in Cork City.  Read more

Pollinator-friendly Roundabouts in Ennis

All council-owned roundabouts in Ennis are part of a Pollinator Roundabout Scheme to encourage the growth of native wildflowers. They are allowed to grow throughout the season with a regular cut on the outer perimeter to show deliberate management. No mowing or cutting is permitted before April, to let Dandelions bloom. Ennis Tidy Towns manage the roundabouts with a Biodiversity Zero Grazer – the first one of its kind on the island of Ireland – which was purchased with  LEADER and Philanthropic Grant Aid. Read more

Helping Biodiversity at Mullingar Shamrocks GAA Club 

From bee murals to creating homes for solitary bees, a pollinator-friendly sensory garden to going pesticide free, Mullingar Shamrocks GAA Club shows how sports clubs can help biodiversity. Joan Crawford gives more details about how the club took action, with the help of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan guidelines for sports clubs, and the GAA Green Clubs scheme. Read more

Creating a Bee Garden on the Newry Canal

An overgrown area adjacent to Moneypenny’s Lock on the historic Newry Canal was transformed into a bee-friendly garden by the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland, Newry Portadown Branch. The group removed invasive species and converted the area into a garden to feed pollinators and delight the local community. Read more

Monaghan’s ‘Dispersed Urban Orchard’

Monaghan Tidy Towns mapped all the pollinator-friendly habitats in the town, hoping to connect them with ecological corridors. They discovered that most of the land in between was private gardens. So they offered ‘fruit trees for a fiver’ to Monaghan residents, on the condition that the residents told them where they lived and committed to planting the tree. The result was a ‘dispersed urban orchard’, filling in the gaps between pollinator-friendly habitats with nectar-rich blossoming fruit trees. Read more

‘Our Common Home’: Protecting Pollinators in Rathgar Parish

 

Inspired by the Pope’s Laudato Si’, a church in Dublin transformed an area into a biodiversity garden. Taking guidance from the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan’s guidelines for faith communities, the group planted native trees and pollinator-friendly plants. Miriam Mooney tells us more. Read more here

 

 
 
Find out how your community can help pollinators:
 
Download our free guidelines for community groups: Local Communities: Actions to Help Pollinators.
 
 
Find further free resources, including planting lists, signage templates, and how-to guides, here: Resources for Community Groups