Galway animal rescue charity is finalist in national competition
'The initiative invited community groups, clubs and schools across the country to share inspiring stories of how they are making a big difference in their local area through the Direct Return Scheme,' the shelter's post read.
The post includes pictures of Madra volunteers and the Re-turn team with the father and son duo, Tadhg and Derry Fleming, well-known for their hilarious videos on social media.
The pair visited the Madra headquarters to present the €2,000 cheque and hear about the 'amazing work' that the Galway rescue does.
'Donating your bottles and cans to the Madra Re-turn bin at our shop in Moycullen is making a real difference and we are so pleased to see how well our Re-turn bins are working in cafes and businesses,' the post from Madra continued.
The dog rescue also thanked its followers for their support, claiming the rescue 'couldn't do it' without them.
To nominate groups, clubs, organisations and initiatives for the 'Small Town, Big Difference' competition, you had to submit an application discussing how 'your group has been making a big difference in your local community to be in with a chance to win €2,000 for your local initiative'.
Five lucky winners will also win the chance to take part in the Re-turn communities advertising campaign later in the summer.
As submissions closed, Re-turn said: 'We were blown away by the number of submissions and have now contacted all finalists and winners.
'If you haven't heard from us, we still want to thank you for sharing your story, and we encourage you to keep an eye on our socials for future campaigns and competitions.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Catch the buzz: how to be better at ease around the ever-important bees
'Sun is shinin' in the sky / There ain't a cloud in sight…' Electric Light Orchestra's 'Mr Blue Sky' got it right: when the sun shines, we all want to be out to play. We're not the only beings to appreciate the warmer weather however: native Irish honeybees are also out there, making the most of sunshine, flying busily from flower to flower in search of nectar and pollen, and pollinating as they go. Occasionally, however, they may get a little distracted and blunder indoors. But before you panic and start swatting, just take a moment. Bees have far more to lose than you do if it comes to a stinging situation. Allergies aside, a bee sting is rarely fatal to anyone — except the bee itself — and these hard-working insects are already under threat from habitat loss, use of pesticides, and imported non-native honeybees. 'Bees are not attracted to human food,' says award-winning beekeeper Hanna Bäckmo of Cork-based Hanna's Bees. 'If something is interested in your food, it's probably a wasp. A good way to tell them apart is that the wasp has yellow legs, while a bee has brown or black legs.' CLIMATE & SUSTAINABILITY HUB It might be a little difficult to focus on their legs while you try to protect your sweet treat but these creatures deserve more calmness than combat. 'The bees may have just strayed into your house and got lost,' says Bäckmo. 'There's nothing that would attract them, unless you have honey in the kitchen or are melting beeswax.' Gently shepherding bees towards the nearest window can easily rescue the situation... they have even less interest in being in your space than you have in keeping them there. And we need all those bees on active duty. Despite their diminutive size, they work hard at protecting biodiversity in ecosystems — the variety of plants and animals in a particular region — through pollination. According to the World Wildlife Fund, one in three mouthfuls of food that we eat depends on pollinators such as bees. Those little insects also contribute to the achievement of many of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), especially food security, biodiversity and even helping cities and communities to be sustainable. It makes Bäckmo's fascination with bees very easy to understand. Hanna Bäckmo of Cork-based Hanna's Bees. Picture: Claire Keogh Originally from a small island in Sweden, Bäckmo moved to Ireland in 2001, spending almost 20 years as a self-employed wedding dress designer. 'Beekeeping came about accidentally,' she laughs. She bought a cottage on a half-acre plot in East Cork's Little Island and started gardening. 'I've always been interested in growing my own food and there are so many things that we can grow here that we couldn't grow at home [in Sweden]. Ireland is absolutely fabulous for growing food all year around. I planted lots of normal things — like potatoes and cucumbers — but also peaches and nectarines, then realised that they flower so early in the year that pollinators are hibernating.' For Bäckmo, there was a simple solution: 'The only way for me to get peaches was to get honeybees. The native Irish honeybee is a really reliable bee in our climate — they have evolved to survive here — and they're out pollinating even in the winter.' She did a beginner's beekeeping course in 2014, got her first hive in 2015, added another, and then just kept going. Her passion for bees has continued and Bäckmo now owns 70 hives: 'It became an obsession! For me it started with pollination, it was not about honey — I never really had a sweet tooth — but bees are fascinating creatures.' In 2019, she decided to make the jump from designing dresses for Cork brides into working full-time as a beekeeper. It was a prescient time to leave the wedding world: with the arrival of Covid lockdowns in 2020, that market collapsed overnight. Bäckmo doubled down on her bee business, harvesting raw honey, beeswax and propolis — a natural resin-like mixture made by bees which has been shown to have anti-microbial and anti-viral properties — from her hives to produce a range of products including reusable, eco-friendly beeswax wraps for food storage, raw honeys from different flowers, pure beeswax candles, bee pollen and propolis tincture. '! wanted to develop a range of products that are all coming from the bees and are helping people to stay healthy in a very natural way.' Hanna Bäckmo, Hanna's Bees. Photo by Andres Poveda Raw Irish honey from native Irish honeybees isn't cheap — one of Bäckmo's 340g jars of raw softset Irish honey is €10.50 — but recent publicity about adulterated imports has made people realise that it's worth spending money for the real deal. In a report from The Institute of International & European Affairs (IIEA) last year, researchers revealed that nearly half — 46% — of the honey imported into the EU was adulterated by sugar syrups. Now, Bäckmo says: "People want to be sure that they're getting real Irish honey and they are willing to pay the price for it. That's really uplifting.' When she initially started out, people just didn't understand why her honey cost so much compared to imports. The real question, as she points out, is why imported honey is so cheap. The real thing is priced to reflect the work: 'It takes a lot of effort to produce honey in Ireland,' adds Bäckmo, both from the native Irish bees battling our frequently inclement weather and from the beekeeper. We can help these fuzzy foragers out by planting with them in mind. 'Go for open flowers. With something like fuchsia, or even brambles, the nectar is protected from rain,' says Bäckmo. 'And don't use herbicides, fungicides or pesticides. We need to look at what we're doing, why we're doing it and make it better for all insects so that we can safeguard the means of food production.' Another simple thing you can do is to pick up a jar of honey made by native Irish bees from your local beekeeper so that when you spread honey across your breakfast toast, you can do so in the realisation that you're supporting pollinators in a most delicious way. And, always, think before you swat. Learn more about native Irish bees from Hanna Bäckmo at this year's Cork on a Fork Festival, where Hanna's Bees are taking part in talks and events including a teddy bear's picnic, a producers' bus tour and a beekeeper's picnic. More at
Irish Examiner
3 days ago
- Irish Examiner
Cork council to create taskforce to tackle 'plague' of rotting sea lettuce on numerous beaches
A taskforce is being established to tackle the 'stink and fly infestation' caused by rotting sea lettuce washing ashore and polluting multiple locations in the Cork region. The phenomenon has become more pronounced in recent years, attributed to global warming combined with increased nitrate run-off into the sea from farm fertilizers. The growth of sea lettuce is stimulated by sunlight, increasing water temperatures and the nutrients it extracts from nitrates. When washed ashore bacteria feeding on it emit sulphur dioxide which causes an odor comparable to the smell of rotten eggs. This, allied to piles of it being washed up on the sand, is turning off many locals and tourists who would usually visit beaches along the south coast, with the resultant downturn in income for tourist-related businesses. The problem has become so severe that a senior county council official has announced the establishment of the dedicate taskforce to address the issue. The news was relayed to councillors representing the Carrigaline Municipal District, whose area has what is regarded as the worst sea lettuce infestation in the county. Crosshaven-based Fianna Fáil councillor Audrey Buckley raised the issue after a "plague" of sea lettuce recently washed up on the popular beach at Robert's Cove. Sea lettuce in Robert's Cove, Cork. Maurice Murphy, the council's senior executive officer, said the local authority is setting up 'a cross-directorate group' which is being led by three divisional managers to examine how best to address this issue 'which occurs at multiple locations across the county.' A number of areas in West Cork have also been hit, but not as acutely as Robert's Cove. Point Beach in Crosshaven has also fallen victim. The situation in Robert's Cove has revealed a problem which is likely to get worse in coming years as seas continue to warm. Ms Buckley pointed out that council workers recently cleared Robert's Cove beach of it on a Friday, only for it to be covered again just three days later. Local residents have been clearing paths through it so visitors can go for a swim. But Fine Gael councillor Una McCarthy pointed out that despite this civic-minded work, said visitors are understandably put off after encountering the rotting lettuce, the smell and the flies. She said: We're lucky to have some fantastic beaches in the lower harbour area, but when people are choosing whether to go to Myrtleville, or Rocky Bay, or Fountainstown, or Robert's Cove, they will often see Robert's Cove as not an option because of the sea lettuce. Meanwhile, Bera-based independent councillor Finbarr Harrington said it is also causing a big problem at piers and slipways in West Cork. He said as sea lettuce is slimy this presents a health a safety issue, and instead of piers usually getting a once-a-year clean they've already had two this year and will probably need another one before the end of the summer.
Irish Independent
5 days ago
- Irish Independent
Louth rescue crew save herd of cattle trapped in floodwater
The Boyne Fishermen Rescue and Recovery came to their aid after receiving an emergency call from the Ardee area. The Boyne Rescue crew said: "A herd of cattle became trapped in flooded high water and we were required to assist and bring them to dry land. "This was an important task as we wanted to safely avoid putting the herd under any further unnecessary threat. "The herd was safely ushered to higher land where there was no risk to their safety or well being. "Our crew returned to the boat house where equipment was restaged and ready for the next emergency call." The Boyne Fishermen are also appealing to the public to give them donations via the new Government Re-turn scheme. They have set up a 24/7 accessible return drop off point for your used cans and plastic bottles at their boathouse on the Marsh Road, Drogheda, if anyone wishes to donate them. The Boyne Fishermen said: "Your donations help us continue to provide essential life saving services in our community. "If your business or organisation would like to get involved and donate from canteens or work areas please get in contact so we can issue you a bin. We do weekly collections. "Every bottle can make a difference, thank you for your continued support."
