This article is from page 30 of the 2008-03-18 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
A NEW report highlights the contri- bution of primary schools to the fight against litter in Ennis.
Ennis Town Council launched the Ennis Environmental Challenge in July 2007 with the aim of building on Ennis’s success in the National Tidy Towns competition.
One of the principal aims of the scheme was to generate commu- nity wide responsibility and owner- ship for the appearance and tidiness of Ennis. Along with community eroups and residents associations, schools in Ennis also took up the challenge.
Their efforts were rewarded at the Best Kept Schools competition where first prize was awarded to En- nis National School, second prize to Scoul Chriost Ri and third place to St Anne’s school. Both the Holy Family Senior School and the junior school were highly commended for their ef- forts.
The council’s report praised the fantastic work done by the schools and stated “as well as undertaking amenity projects in school grounds, children are now involved on an on- going basis on litter patrols within school grounds and various projects were undertaken during the year”’.
The report states, “The Best Kept
Schools competition continued to foster greater environmental aware- ness and education amongst primary school children which was evident es- pecially among those whose schools had acquired green flag status.”
The report also reveals that Ennis Town Council spent €784,000 on street cleaning in 2007 and that the council’s environmental programme had expenditure of €468,000.
According to the report, the en- vironment section of the council received a total of 570 complaints, enquiries related to litter and envi- ronment in 2007. 87 abandoned ve- hicle notices were served on vehicles on public spaces within Ennis and 35
of these were removed.
At the March meeting of Ennis Town Council, Fianna Fail council- lor Joe Reidy said a problem existed with cars for sale on public roads.
Town Clerk Eddie Power said, “If people persist to do that, then it is a prosecutable offence. We will con- sider our options and putting up signs to remind people is one of them.”
Fine Gael councillor Mary Coote Ryan said more needed to be done to remove litter from laneways in En- eh
Fianna Fail councillor Tom Glynn paid tribute to former Tidy Towns chairman Donal Griffin and congrat- ulated new chairman Noel Crowley.