In addition to the main competition, Special Awards are held each year under TidyTowns which highlight particular local environmental activities.

Terms and conditions may differ under each, but in general entry to these competitions is open to all TidyTowns groups and others working in the community to improve their local environment.

Waters and Communities Award – Prize Fund €7,000

Sponsored by Inland Fisheries Ireland, Waterways Ireland and the Local Authority Waters and Communities Office.

The Waters and Communities Special Award 2018 aims to encourage community groups to get more involved with their local waterbodies by helping to preserve, promote and fully utilise their local natural water heritage. The award is open to any community group who has shown an appreciation for their water environment and water heritage by showing examples of initiatives undertaken between June 2017 and May 2018 (examples include: clean ups; provision or upgrading of amenities; support to biodiversity and heritage; promotion of angling; awareness raising; etc).

For more details, including the entry form click ‘Water & Communities Award

All Ireland Pollinator Plan – Local Authority Pollinator Award – Prize Fund €9,000

The Local Authority Pollinator Award aims to encourage TidyTowns groups to implement pollinator friendly actions in their towns and villages as part of the TidyTowns competition.  Irish bees, crucial in the pollination of our plants, trees and vegetables, are in decline.  This is because we’ve drastically reduced the areas where they can nest and the amount of food our countryside provides for them.  The aim of the award is to reverse this trend by encouraging TidyTowns groups to take simple measures such as leaving wildflowers to grow along roadsides, field margins, and/or using more pollinator friendly plantings in parks and gardens.  The award supports the All Ireland Pollinator Plan 2015-2020 and is co-ordinated and sponsored by the Heritage Offices & Biodiversity Offices of Local Authorities across Ireland, in partnership with the National Biodiversity Data Centre.

There are two award categories:

(i)                  Village or Small Town

(ii)                Large Town or Urban Centre

A prize of €1,000 will be awarded to the four Regional winners in each of the two categories.  Out of these eight regional winners, one overall national winner will receive an additional €1,000. Awards will be given to all categories, subject to satisfactory standard being reached.

For more details see www.pollinators.ie, click ‘Let’s Get Buzzing’ or download an application here.

Our Community Climate Action Award – Prize Fund: €5,000

Sponsored by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Climate change presents key challenges for all of us. We must ensure that what we do today does not compromise our environment, but instead enhances it and makes it a place where all generations, current and future, can live in a sustainable way. Through the “Our Community Climate Action Award”, we are aiming to promote leadership in communities in addressing the challenges posed by climate change and to encourage all of the community to take positive action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and protect their community from the impacts of climate change.

This year, we are looking for you to tell us about one key initiative underway in your community which makes a positive contribution to the climate challenge – Our Community Climate Action. The action should be innovative and easily replicated in other local communities. Recognising the key role of the younger generation in the climate challenge, an award is also available this year for a Young Tidy Towns committee on the same theme.

For more details see www.dccae.gov.ie, click ‘Community Climate Action Award’ or download an application here.

Sustainable Development Award – Prize Fund €5,000

Sponsored by the Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment

Sustainable development is about an inclusive community that respects all the elements that make up our community, biodiversity, social diversity and most of all our own diversity.

We would like you to either create a new community walkway or build on an existing one in your community. The goal for this project is to create a place where people can meet friends and get some light exercise. Ideally the walkway would be created in an area which was in need of regeneration.

The newly created portion of walkway should be at least 300 metres with items of interest all along the route and a seating area at about 150 metre intervals. We would like you to plan a route, create a map, encourage walkers with attractions and provide a place to rest. The positioning of the seating areas should allow people of all ages and physical fitness to participate.

For more details see www.dccae.gov.ie, click ‘Sustainable Development Award’ or download an application here.

Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT) Competition – Prize Fund €5,000

The GLT would like to reward communities that are implementing environmental awareness initiatives to eliminate chewing gum litter in their area.

For more details see www.gumlittertaskforce.ie/tidy-town-awards.html, click ‘Gum Litter Taskforce (GLT)’ or download an application here.

Clean Air Award – Department of Communications, Climate Action and Environment – Prize Fund €3,000

The Clean Air Award aims to encourage communities to promote awareness of the importance of clean air for human health and the environment, and of the interaction between local choices and local air quality.

To be in with a chance of winning let us know how your committee has raised awareness of the importance of clean air and of the potential impact that local choices, such as choice of home heating fuel, can have on the air we breathe in our towns and our communities.

For more details, including the entry form, see www.dccae.gov.ie or click ‘Clean Air Award’

SuperValu Diversity Award – Prize Fund €2,000

Sponsored by SuperValu

The SuperValu Diversity Award aims to recognise the way TidyTowns committees who include all of their community, on an inter-generational and inter-cultural basis, in the work that they do.

This award recognises the benefits that embracing diversity and working across the generations brings to your community.  It rewards the intergenerational and intercultural aspects of your committee.  The strength of a community lies in how it works together to establish a place where all are welcome, where all are encouraged to participate, and where all feel at home.  Strong communities work together to gain the most from what all members of their community have to offer, regardless of age, ethnicity or ability. As our communities become more diverse the need to understand and appreciate other cultures becomes increasingly important. This award is to recognise all that you, as TidyTowns committees, do to encourage involvement from members of your community.

For more details see www.supervalu.ie or click ‘Diversity Award’ 

Can It! 2018 – Every Can Counts
Prize Fund €2,000

Every Can Counts aims to make it easier to recycle your drink cans and make a difference. The partnership between drink can manufacturers and the recycling industry, aims to encourage you to recycle more whether at work, college, a festival or just out and about.

The Can It! award demonstrates what a great resource aluminium packaging is, we’re asking TidyTowns groups to give old beverage cans a whole new life by producing something entirely original. Let your imagination run wild, and embrace the endless possibilities. Past entrants have made bring bank signs, dragons, flowers and windmills. We look forward to seeing more incredible entries in this years competition.

For more details see www.tidytowns.iewww.everycancounts.ie or download an application here.

Heritage Award – Heritage Council – Prize Fund €1,000

The Heritage Award aims to encourage awareness of the central role of heritage in driving local economies, inspiring creativity and social cohesion and encouraging a sense of belonging. Passed on to us from previous generations, heritage encompasses not just buildings, monuments and museum pieces, but also our distinctive landscapes, native wildlife and woodlands, literature, folklore, and crafts.

During this European Year of Cultural Heritage (EYCH) 2018, the Heritage Council seeks to recognise those who work at local level to nurture promote and inspire new connections with natural, cultural or built heritage.

For more details see www.heritagecouncil.ie, www.eych2018.com, click ‘Heritage Award’ or download an application here.

Tree Project Award – Tree Council of Ireland – Prize Fund €1,000

The Tree Project Award recognises the huge impact that properly positioned trees can have in a town or village and the importance of having the right tree in the right place.  It is essential that careful thought is put into not only the planting but also the management of the trees over their life-span.

The award rewards the TidyTowns Committee which has demonstrated the highest tree placement and maintenance standards.

For more details see www.treecouncil.ie or click ‘Tree Project Award’

New this year

RIAI Special Award Prize Fund: Architectural services to the value of €5,000

The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland would like to offer the services of an architect to work with local committees to create a vision for their town. The award will consist of an architectural commission. The commissioned architect will provide an analysis of the problems associated with the public realm as initially identified by the local TidyTowns committee, in addition to generating ideas on how to address them. The commission will result in a report, which will be made publicly available, and a presentation to the local TidyTowns committee, as well as to the wider TidyTown
organisation.

The value of the award will be €5,000. The architectural commission will be awarded by the RIAI in accordance with criteria which will include relevant skills and proximity to the town or village.

For more details see www.riai.ie or download an application here.

School Award – Prize Fund €5,000
Sponsored by the Department of Rural & Community Development Award Sponsored by SuperValu
The New School Award is an initiative by SuperValu which encourages schools in each and every community to get involved with their local committees and play their part towards creating a better community. This year SuperValu are looking for either a National or Secondary school that showcases a significant contribution to their local TidyTowns activities, to encourage greater youth involvement with TidyTowns initiatives. The award will be given to the committee who increases the participation of young people within their local TidyTowns group through working together with a school to deliver benefits to their local community.

For more details see www.supervalu.ie

The Big Scoop Award – Dogs Trust – Prize Fund –Materials to the value of €2,000
Dogs Trust, Ireland’s largest dog welfare charity, wants to make Ireland the best country in the world for dogs and their owners. As part of this goal, we want to encourage dog owners to take responsibility and pick up after their dogs, thus reducing the amount of dog poop being left in public spaces. The winning community will have demonstrated the most creative and sustainable ways of dealing with the issue of dog fouling in their area.
Materials to the value of €2,000 will be provided to the winning Towns/Villages to help them continue with their endeavours.

For more details see www.dogstrust.ie or click ‘The Big Scoop Award’