Tidy Districts

17 Sep 2021

Autumn Clean-up – Sat 18th Sep

Dear Neighbours,

We hope you are keeping well. We are delighted to invite you to the first in-person community event of the year. We hope that the weather will be kind to us and that you will join us for some sweeping and some chat.

Autumn Clean-up – Saturday 18th September 2021 from 12 midday.
Meet on the green in front of the shops.

All residents are invited to take part. Free litter-pick equipment (gloves, bags and pickers) have been supplied by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council under their Community Clean-up Scheme. Please feel free to bring your own gloves and equipment if you prefer. DLR County Council will collect the litter bags after the event.

The Clean-up is part of the Dublin Community Clean-up initiative. There are over 70 events planned throughout the county between the 11th and the 19th of September. By participating in organised clean-ups we can make a positive difference not only in our own community but also globally.

We will be adhering to the following guidelines for the clean-up. Hand sanitiser will be available to all participants.

Covid Guidelines

If you have any symptoms of covid-19 prior to the event, please do not attend the clean-up and ensure to get tested.
Keep within the current government guidelines.
Please ensure two-metre social distance is maintained throughout the clean-up, in line with government advice.
Keep a list of attendees for contact tracing.
Please use hand sanitiser or wash hands with soap and water before and after the clean-up.
Make sure gloves/litter pickers are cleaned before and after the clean-up.
If you or any of your group members are vulnerable to contracting Covid-19, don’t hesitate to ask people to wear masks on the clean-up if it would make you and others feel more comfortable. Please note that many may wear masks for their own safety and the safety of others and this action should always be respected.

Health & Safety

23 Jun 2021

Lovely Photos

Some lovely soothing photos of Friarsland Green, Mount Carmel Avenue, Goatstown Road and Fairy Land (a.k.a. Friarsland Green). Photos taken by the creative folks on The Tidy Districts Team.

Friarsland Green

Mount Carmel Avenue/ Rosemount

Wild Flowers, Goatstown Road

Fairy Land at Friarsland Green

The Lane

03 Apr 2021

Roebuck Green

We are just one week into the Green project, and we are delighted with the very positive responses from members and the great progress that has been made already. The first phase is almost complete, and for this we extend our thanks to the Parks Department of DLR County Council.

The old path is gone, and the new winding path is almost complete, with an attractive beige finish (similar to that seen on new cycle lanes) still to come. That may not happen for a few weeks though. The four new seats are in situ and everyone agrees they are a great addition. They have a hoggin base, which will take some time to compact firmly. Everybody loves the logs, and they will return shortly. The mounds have been created from the excavated top soil, and will be seeded this weekend. We ask everyone to stay off the mounds until the grass has grown.

A schedule for planting will be finalised over the next few weeks and will include an extensive range of shrubs and plants. This will take place on a gradual basis over the coming months. We will have to wait till the Autumn for some of the planting, e.g. new trees. Overall we will be guided by the experts on this. A lot done, more to do, as some were wont to say!

26 Mar 2021

Landscaping Work – Roebuck Green

We have some exciting breaking news for you. It has been a number of years since we first started to look into the possibility of upgrading the Green in front of the shops, and we’re happy to say that DLR County Council will be starting work this coming Monday (29th). Due to Covid the timing of Council projects has been quite erratic, so we’ve only just been told that works are to begin next week, which was a bit of a surprise. We’ve been informed that this first phase, the laying of a new path, and the hard landscaping work, will take approximately two weeks. Hopefully works won’t be too disruptive, and it’ll be short term pain for long term gain. As we get more information as to how this project will progress, we’ll let you know.

What will be included?
This will be the first time the Council has done substantial landscaping work on the Green since it was created in the 1950’s. It was definitely time for a bit of an upgrade. The plan is for the Council to do the heavy landscaping work, and for us (the Tidy Districts group) to do a good portion of the planting. Some of the new features you can expect to enjoy once work is completed are:

4 benches
A new beige tarmac path
A number of new trees
Flat grassed areas suitable for holding outdoor events
Landscaped grassed mounds
A mix of cobblestone and timber edging to the path
Hoggin paved areas
Mixed planting, shrubs and plants
Community notice board

Where did this idea come from?
In our first year as an Association (2015/16), we began the task of reviving the Green by setting up a grass-cutting rota, planting flowers, painting the bench and introducing planters. Our Tidy Districts group and the Committee started thinking about what we might try to do to improve the Green in the long term. It was decided to devise a plan that would transform the Green, rather than improving it haphazardly. We engaged a landscape architect with this in mind, Austin and Associates. Our plan is to create a space where people can relax and chat, rest or read, in a safe and enhanced environment. It’s called “place-making”, with the emphasis on the community living in the area, as opposed to those just passing through. The plan is to improve and increase the seating, improve the pathway, and re-landscape the space, including some banking which will be planted with shrubs, and will reduce traffic noise. We are also planning to include a notice board for residents and a small container for Tidy Districts’ gardening tools. The Committee and the Tidy Districts group have been through a number of iterations of the plans with the Council to achieve the best possible outcome for the community.

We are looking forward to a beautifully landscaped Green that will be used by the whole community for years to come.

25 Mar 2021

Tidy Districts Team News

Hooray, some news that isn’t about planning stuff!

Friarsland Road Green:
Lots more progress has been made in the last few months on this space. A new balance beam/ kids bench along with bird boxes and apple trees have been added to the Green. Hopefully everyone will take an opportunity to include this spot on their walk and enjoy the area.

Lane Planters:
The last of the planters in the pedestrian lane has now been installed. The boxes are now in full bloom and we think they add some colour to the area. Thanks to the mystery artist who adds the colourful rocks, they bring a smile to our faces. Some mysterious seashells have also recently appeared.

Tidy-up Day:
The annual An Taisce Spring Clean day is provisionally scheduled for 17th April, however this is subject to change depending on government restrictions in place at the time. More details will be sent out closer to the time.

01 Dec 2020

Tidy Districts Update Nov/ Dec 2020

Friarsland Green
Since the summer the Tidy Districts team have been working on the green at the end of Friarsland Road. Huge amounts of brambles and weeds were cleared and new trees, flowers and bulbs were planted in the area. The council laid concrete for a bench which was purchased by the Residents’ Association. A bug hotel was made from repurposed crates. There is still some more work to be done with a new path to be added and some apple trees to be planted but we hope that everyone takes some time out and visits this great new addition to the area.

Flower Boxes
The pedestrian lane between Mount Carmel Road and Farmhill Drive also received a makeover over the last few weeks. A local father and son team hand crafted the flower boxes. They have been painted the same colour as the bench and flower pots on the green. They have been expertly potted up with a combination of donated plants and new flowers and bulbs. No doubt they will be a riot of colour come Spring.

Bulb Planting
A large number of bluebell bulbs were planted under the large tree on the green area of Goatstown Road. We are looking forward to Spring time when they will emerge.

Tidy Districts Award
Although the Tidy Districts competition did not go ahead this year, we did submit an application for review by an environmental consultant as part of DLRs community engagement during the year. The consultant was very impressed by all the work being carried out in the area. We have been awarded a grant of €350 to help with the cost of our 2021 entry into the competition.

Green at Farmhill Road/ Larchfield Road
There continues to be work carried out on this green in front of the shops. A large number of new logs were added which are being well used by young and old especially during the lockdown.

Plants in wheelbarrow, ready to be planted on Friarsland green

23 Oct 2020

Ghosts, Insect Hotel, More Planting, Parking etc.

Significant work is being undertaken by the Tidy Districts group in the green space on Friarsland Road. The brambles have been cut back and a number of plants and bulbs have been sown (Thank you to all the residents who donated plants.). A new bug hotel made from recycled pallets has been added. A new bench will be added in the coming weeks along with some apple trees.

Have you noticed our scary ghosts hanging from the trees down on the Green in front of the shops! We hope you like them. We also sourced and decorated more logs for this space, they’re a great hit with the kids.

We are always looking for new volunteers to our group, and you can do as much or as little as you like.

A reminder – We ask that everyone please remove any vegetation from their garden overhanging and causing an obstruction to residents using the footpaths and to refrain from parking on grass verges and footpaths as this causes damage and makes social distancing difficult.

04 Sep 2020

Plants Wanted

To all our gardening residents: As we are trying to increase our stock of plants to enhance our green areas, could we ask you to keep us in mind when dividing or rearranging your gardens. We would particularly like perennials, flowering shrubs, or bulbs. We’d be delighted if you could pot them up for us. We will happily take any spare plants from you if they are suitable for use on the Greens, in containers and for flower beds at entrance points. Contact us if you have any questions. Many many thanks.

20 Aug 2020

Tidy Districts’ Group – Some Changes

We have recently expanded our Tidy Districts Group and are hoping to further do so. Ideally we would love to have a few people from every road to help out.

We have been pretty busy the last few weeks as you may have noticed. The Green by the shops is looking gorgeous, thanks to all the wonderful help in grass-cutting and maintaining flower beds. We have acquired new logs which are getting lots of use.

Friarsland Avenue (the shortcut to the schools) has been given a facelift – trees cut back, suckers pruned, grass cut, and is looking very neat right now.

A huge amount of grass cutting and edging has been done along the perimeter wall of Roebuck Park on Farmhill Drive by very hard working volunteers.

Goatstown Avenue has been mowed, weeded and spruced up.

We are working our way around the area, pruning unwanted suckers from trees and weeding and edging. Do feel free to step outside and have a look, and if you have any suckers sprouting from trees, or overgrown trees, or hedging onto footpaths, feel free to cut them, or contact us if help is needed.

We are now planning a clean-up in Friarsland Green but have been hampered by inclement weather.

Work is ongoing so anyone who has a clippers spade or brush please join us. It’s great fun! Contact us at roebuckresidents@gmail.com, and we will be happy to welcome you on board the Tidy Districts Group. The more the merrier.

10 Jun 2020

Spring Clean, Cruinniú na nÓg, Council + Gov Info

Well the plants are certainly enjoying the weather, even if the rest of us aren’t. We hope you’re all keeping well, and getting used to this latest phase. Be sure to get in touch if there’s anything we can do. A few bits and pieces for you.

1. Spring Clean This Weekend – Donate an Hour for your Community
2. Cruinniú na nÓg – This Saturday
3. Some County-Wide Information Sent to us from the PPN
4. Latest Email from Covid-19 Health Communications Stakeholder Support

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1. Spring Clean This Weekend – Donate an Hour for your Community
This weekend the postponed An Taisce National Spring Clean will take place. We usually organise groups to litter-pick and remove weeds but this year is different due to the continuing Covid 19 restrictions. So instead we are going for an individual/ family approach.

Could you donate an hour to pick rubbish and weed a local area close to you? Areas that need particular attention are weeds between the roadside and kerb. Residents are also encouraged to edge the grass verge outside their house and to help neighbours who are unable to do this themselves.

Contact us if you need supplies; we have gloves, bags and a limited supply of litter-pickers. There will also be a number of volunteers on the green outside the shops on Saturday morning between 10am-12pm.

All collected bags should be returned to the green by Monday morning for collection by the council. Only council blue bags will be collected.

A few basic guidelines that need to be adhered to:
– Wear gloves
– Bring a bag for the litter/ weeds
– If weeding on the roadside wear a hi-vis vest and face oncoming traffic
– Put the gloves in the rubbish bag
– Wash your hands afterwards

One thing that Covid has taught us is how important it is to have amenities close to us. Please help us to keep our area clean.

Take pictures before and after and send them in to us. Let’s try to cover the whole of Roebuck and to also stay safe.
You can see a couple of photos of the sort of areas that need looking at on the website.

(The very hard working Tidy Districts Team is behind this initiative. It would be great if we could show our appreciation for all the hard work they do by as many as possible coming out and doing a bit of cleaning up this weekend. – The Committee)

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2. Cruinniú na nÓg – This Saturday
Do you know about Cruinniú na nÓg? It’s Ireland’s national day of free creativity for children and young people, and this year it’s on this Saturday, June 13th. Obviously events have been quite curtailed and most things are taking place online this year.

One of the organisers is a Roebuck resident, Carla on Farmhill Road. She’s behind the programme of events for South Dublin County Council. These events will be streaming on www.facebook.com/CruinniuSouthDublin from 11am on Saturday. If you miss it at that time, it will stay up on the page, or you can go to this YouTube Channel- https://bit.ly/CruinniuTVChannel, where it will be all up and running by Saturday morning.

More information can be found at https://bit.ly/CruinniuTVSD. You can also see some information on this PDF.

Thanks to Carla for sharing this with us.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council are also running a programme of events for Cruinniú na nÓg. You can read all about that here.

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3. Some County-Wide Information Sent to us from the PPN
1. Free webinar on Sustainable Energy Communities (SEC) in collaboration with the DLR PPN:
Tuesday June 16th at 7:00pm. The purpose of this 40 minute information session is to introduce you to the Sustainable Energy Communities Network and to see what benefits and supports it can bring to your group and its members. The event will be facilitated by Gavin Harte who is the SEAI Community Energy Mentor for Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. Read more here

2. From Land to Sea – Fly Your Flag at Dún Laoghaire Harbour:
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council are asking everyone of all ages to come together in a day of solidarity and create a flag that we will fly at Dún Laoghaire Harbour in August 2020. As we emerge from the fifth and final phase of the Covid 19 public health restrictions, the Council are asking you to make a flag with your message of hope for the future. Tell your Covid-19 story! Read more here.

3. Community Connection radio show in collaboration with DLR PPN:
Tune in to Dublin South FM today 93.9FM, 3pm Friday 5th June 2020 for Community Connection, Dublin South FM’s monthly community affairs show. There will be a repeat on Saturday 6th June 4pm. Read more here.

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4. Latest Email from Covid-19 Health Communications Stakeholder Support#InThisTogether Wellbeing campaign
Thank you for all of the fantastic support for the #InThisTogether Wellbeing campaign, from the Department of Health and the HSE. This will continue to be on the airwaves in June.

The website is www.gov.ie/together and the hash tag is #InThisTogether. Partners are recommended to continue to share their wellbeing content under the hash tag #InThisTogether.

The radio adverts can be found here and include new ads which are being aired on national and local radio relating to:
1. Social distancing and disability – keeping in mind people with disabilities, including the visually impaired
2. Sleep – advice for people experiencing disturbed sleep at this time
3. ‘Small Walk’ – advice for people who are worried about getting back out and about or may be feeling unsteady on their feet

Family Carers Ireland – offering family carers free counselling sessions
As a carer, there are times when mental health and emotional well-being may be challenged due to a combination of the demands of a caring role, and the additional worries of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Family Carers Ireland offer help to family carers, as they believe no one should have to care alone. They have developed a free, short-term online and phone counselling service for family carers, and will connect carers with a qualified counsellor from a panel of approved professionals.
The service can be accessed through the website or through the National Freephone Careline on 1800 24 07 24.

Online Mental Health Supports – As part of their on-going collaboration with HSE Mental Health, Silvercloud Health has made four of their online mental health and wellbeing programs free to access for all health sector staff and volunteers. The four programs cover: Stress; Sleep; Resilience; and Challenging Times, and were developed in response to COVID-19. These programs, which are self directed, feature evidence based content in a series of modules that draw on well-established interventions such as cognitive behavioural therapy. The HSE and Silvercloud want to ensure that the wider health sector can avail of the programs. To find out more and to access the content, please visit the dedicated landing page and please remember to use the access code HSE2020. Further information on minding your mental health during Covid-19 can be found here .

COVID-19 Deaf and Hard of Hearing Communications Resources
For people who are deaf or hard of hearing, communicating in a health setting such as a busy clinic or ward situation can be difficult. The COVID-19 pandemic and the necessity for many healthcare staff to wear face masks have made communication even more difficult, especially for people who may rely on lip-reading.
The Irish Deaf Society and Chime, in partnership with the HSE, have prepared resources for use by Healthcare workers and people who are deaf or hard of hearing. These can be found here and include guidelines for staff, communication supports and videos in Irish Sign Language.

Institute of Public Health survey – The Institute of Public Health is inviting people to take part in an online anonymous international survey to help understand how people are coping during the Covid-19 pandemic. The survey has been developed by the International Loneliness and Social Isolation Research Network (I-LINK) that includes the Institute of Public Health along with Ulster University, Trinity College Dublin and Maynooth University as well as colleagues from the UK, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Canada and the USA. The intent is that the information will help understand how the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted individuals, families, communities, policies and services at both a country and global level.
See survey – https://bit.ly/36PxDg1

Public Health Information: As always, for the most up to date information and advice on Coronavirus, please go to: https://www2.hse.ie/coronavirus/ and https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/.

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