Final preparations are taking place in a picturesque Westmeath village as it gets ready to participate in the prestigious Entente Florale Europe competition.

Ballinahown will welcome an international panel of judges this Saturday 13 July as part of the contest, which aims to promote the sustainable development of European towns and villages.

The Westmeath village, located a short distance from Athlone, is one of 11 participants across Europe in the competition this year and it was chosen to represent Ireland on foot of its consistent achievements in the Tidy Towns national competition over many years.

The village has won the county title on numerous occasions and has only been a few points off overall national honours many times.

The judging panel will visit a number of projects in the village during their visit, including a new walkway, a zero-cost LED lighting along the walkway, traffic calming measures outside the primary school, rainwater harvesting, the installation of a history timeline and improvements in the village playground.

Chair of Ballinahown Community Development Helen Conneely says their ethos in Ballinahown has always been about sustainability and climate action.

Creative solutions

"We find creative solutions to meet our needs. That is how the village has grown in the way that it has.

"While some of the items may not be typical of most Irish villages, we are happy to take donations of unused or end-of-line materials from the council and upcycle them for Ballinahown.”

In recent years, one of the group’s main priorities has been to find ways to improve the waterways.

The group has introduced rainwater harvesting and this year hopes to meet 70% of the village’s watering needs for its plants and vegetables with harvested rainwater.

The salmon of knowledge sculpture in Ballinahown, Co Westmeath.

Another major project recently completed is the Slí na hAbhainn walkway, a central artery through the village, which connects the village hall to the school and sports park and the village’s housing estate.

It has been resurfaced and new solar-powered, pedestrian-activated LED lighting has been installed along the route. This lighting system is a pilot project and the first of its kind in Westmeath and will have zero operating costs.

Several features around the village have also been enhanced, with an emphasis on upcycling.

The playground was painted with brighter colours, chosen in consultation with an expert who devised a new colour scheme for the village.

A series of history panels have been installed in the village pergola, outlining Ballinahown’s rich history from 12,000BC right up to the 21st century.

Members of the community collated the information and old panels that were no longer in use elsewhere in the community were upcycled for the project.

Ballinahown Community Development also assisted Ballinahown NS with a series of projects including growing fruit, vegetables and flowers in the community polytunnel, planting salad boxes in school, sowing a wildflower meadow in the school garden and the installation of bug hotels on the school grounds.

The children showed great interest in community involvement and caring for our environment in undertaking these projects.

Vice-chair of Ballinahown Community Development Cllr John Dolan, a local dairy farmer, said the future is certainly safe when you see the interest the children have in their surroundings and how little changes can have a big impact.

"The children are blessed to have such fabulous facilities beside their school - such as the polytunnel, the amphitheatre in Ballinahown Biodiversity Park, the woodlands and the astro turf - and we are always delighted to see them making use of these facilities.

"Every project undertaken by Ballinahown Community Development over the past 30 years has had the improvement of the community at its heart.”

A bull sculpture in the market area and car park in Ballinahown village.

On the day itself, the judges will arrive in Ballinahown in the morning where they will meet members of the community group and council officials before a flag-raising ceremony.

A presentation will then take place in the community hall before the judges visit 10 stops in the village and meet with community representatives and experts the group has worked with over the years.

The winners of the competition are expected to be announced in the city of Szekesfehérvár, Hungary, on 7 September.

“We have always taken an innovative approach in Ballinahown, developing the village in a way that puts people first, but also one that helps to secure our future, as we have climate mitigation to the fore of our decision-making,” explained Helen.

“We are hopeful that we can showcase all of these projects and developments to the judges on 13 July and that they can fully appreciate the sustainable approach that we have taken in the development of Ballinahown.”

Ballinahown Community Development is grateful for the support of Westmeath County Council, the Department of Community and Rural Development, the Irish EFE jury mentors and the local parish in preparing for the Entente Florale.