Chairperson Welcomes Green Flag Awards for Council Parks

Newry, Mourne and Down District Council Chairperson, Cllr Valerie Harte has welcomed a series of prestigious Green Flag awards for Council parks.

This year’s ceremony at Killeavy Castle, Newry saw an inaugural award for Castlewellan Forest Park, managed by the Council since April 2022, as well as the retention of Green Flags at Delamont Country Park, Kilbroney Forest Park, Slieve Gullion Forest Park, Newry Canal (Heritage Award) and Warrenpoint Municipal Park (Heritage Award).

The awards, managed by Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful, were first launched in 1996 and set the benchmark for excellence in the management of public green spaces. 

Speaking at the ceremony, Chairperson, Cllr Valerie Harte, said, “I would like to personally thank the Council’s Forest Park and Grounds Maintenance teams for their tireless work and passion in creating and maintaining these award-winning facilities. Newry, Mourne and Down District Council is committed to promoting and supporting active and healthy communities and providing access to such high-quality green spaces is a key part of this commitment.

"Having recently achieved full UNESCO Global Geopark status, the receipt of six prestigious Green Flag Awards is further testament of the amazing natural beauty and accessible resource within our district. I would encourage our citizens to regularly visit these green spaces and to experience first-hand the impact they can have on mental, physical and social wellbeing.”

The keynote speaker at the awards on 24 July was Mick Kelly, RTE television presenter and founder of ‘Grow it Yourself’ (GIY.ie). GIY is a non-profit social enterprise which, by 2030, aims to inspire over 100 million people to grow, cook and eat some of their own food at home, school, work and in the community. Following the ceremony, the attendees took part in a walk-and-learn tour of the award winning Slieve Gullion Forest Park.