Volunteerssaydo goodtofeelgood

SINCE 2011 Sligo Tidy Towns has been organised and run by a group of unpaid volunteers who are passionate and proud of the place they live in.

Its mission for 2017 is to help Sligo continue to tap into its huge tourism potential – and to further develop Sligo’s tourism legacy off the back of what were two momentous years for Sligo – 2014 and 2015.

Picking up rubbish is only one aspect of the work. It also assists with restoration of buildings, planting flowers and much more.

The group covers landscape and open space, wildlife and habitats where members are educated to help cultivate areas for butterflies and other wildlife, waste and management, domestic waste and recycling and street cleaning.

Chairman of the Sligo Tidy Towns Committee Peter Tiernan said since he joined he has become more environmentally conscious and hopes to use his knowledge to better the community:

“Since I retired I find that it is an opportunity to use my skills and to give back to society without expecting anything in return. People are very appreciative of Sligo Tidy Towns as an organisation because people can see the work being done and we get a lot of compliments for our work.”

Every year the Sligo Tidy towns gather to give Sligo a spring clean with the help of a huge number of volunteers. This year more than 50 people turned out on Good Friday to clean the town and surrounding areas.

This is just one of a number of different clean- ups that take place. Every Sunday the Sligo Tidy Towns committee meet with volunteers and spend two hours cleaning the town.

Jim Lawlor, Chairman of the Heritage project with Sligo Tidy Towns has worked hard over the years to help shape Sligo as a tourism destination.

“We always had a vision of what we wanted to achieve. It wasn’t always about winning the Tidy Towns but to better the town and create a better kept environment to live in.”

Jim also spent three years as the chairman of Sligo Tidy Towns and during this time more than 132 building in the town and county were painted by volunteers.

He believes that Sligo is a hot spot for tourism and would encourage everyone to get out and volunteer: “I think people should make a contribution.”

Sligo Tidy Towns is also working on a number of exciting projects including the Yeats Mural which will be re- instated in the next few weeks and will coincide with the ‘ Yeats Tourist Trail’.

The trail will start at the mural and follow a number of iconic Yeat’s hot- spots in the town before finishing up at the secret Garden in The Model.

For more information on how to get involved see www. sligotidytowns. ie

Volunteers in action at the Good Friday Clean- up in Sligo town over Easter. The annual event attracts a large crowd but the organisation also has volunteers who work tirelessly throughout the year.

( L- R), Des Faul, Austin O’Callaghan, Cliodhna Maguire and Mairead Giblin do some volunteering for the Tidy Towns at a Good Friday Clean- Up in recent years.

Committee members address the volunteers ahead of the clean- up in 2017.