The Waters and Communities Special Award is now open for 2022, with entries being accepted until Friday 10 June.
A regular feature in the SuperValu TidyTowns competition since 2017, the award will see prizes given to communities for projects and initiatives that deliver local benefits for water and biodiversity.
Applications should highlight the importance of a local stream, river, estuary, canal, lake, or beach and tell us what winning this award would mean to the local community.
In previous years, organisers say the range of community initiatives has included local clean-ups, enhancement of public amenities, conservation of biodiversity and heritage, citizen science, promotion of angling and water-based activities, education and awareness raising, promotion of local actions in support of water, biodiversity, and climate action goals.
A panel of judges appointed by three partners in the special award initiative — Inland Fisheries Ireland, Waterways Ireland and the Local Authority Waters Programme — will assess each application under the following headings:
- Awareness raising (15 Marks)
- Community involvement (20 Marks)
- Stakeholder engagement (15 Marks)
- Project benefits (40 Marks)
- Highlights to share (10 Marks)
The Waters and Communities Special Award is open to all community groups. The three partners provide an annual prize fund of €7,000 which is divided across the four regions for the TidyTowns competition, with the overall award winners receiving €2,000 to support their local project or initiative.
To read about previous winners of the Waters and Communities Special Awards see catchments.ie — and find the application form and details of other special awards on the TidyTowns website.
