CARLOW was looking blooming marvellous on Friday when a team of judges from the Entente Florale competition came and toured the town.
The judgement day was the culmination of years of work by literally hundreds of people to make Carlow look its very best. From landscaping to the “greening of grey spaces” and rain water harvesting, all the work put in by the local authority and community groups is sustainable and bio-diverse.
“Friday with the judges was non-stop, but it was fantastic! It’s all been lovely,” said Laura Kelly, community development officer. “It’s a huge project: from across the local authority to community and business groups, there are hundreds of people involved.”
The Entente Floral judges pictured with local political representatives, members of Carlow Tidy Towns and Carlow County Council, along with uilleann piper Killian Townsend, outside Carlow Town Hall last Friday
The judging panel were treated to the very best that Carlow has to offer on Friday when the day began with community and local authority groups showcasing their work at an exhibition in SETU sports campus.
After that, there was a tour of the town, visiting such places as the famine graveyard, St Mary’s Church, the town park, the bus park, St Laserian’s School, Carlow County Museum and tourist office, Hanover Park, Carlow College, Visual, An Gairdín Beo and the Delta Sensory Gardens.
And while all those spaces are aesthetically pleasing, they also feature huge environmental benefits such as rainwater harvesting, sustainable planting and the use of solar panels in line with the competition’s aim to promote greener and healthier environments.
Caroline Good leads the Entente Floral judges on a tour of St Mary's Church in Carlow
Carlow will be awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal when the results are announced in September at a ceremony in Hungary.
“The judges’ feedback was really positive. They were blown away by their visit. For us, it’s a very big achievement for everyone who was involved in the project. It’s been lovely,” said Laura.
