Flagship Floral Presentation (Map Ref 1): The St. Martha’s Bridge display features 30 large planters. This year, we pioneered a dual-season approach, hosting a pollinator-focused summer layout and a delicate over-wintering assembly to maintain color during darker months, irrigated largely using river water to conserve treated mains resources. We didn’t continue the winter display due to vandalism & theft issues, and the low value to wildlife and visual appearance.

Winter Lighting (Map Ref 9): To enhance the nighttime streetscape and address dark public stretches between 4pm and 10pm, volunteers adorned 10 mature trees along Metges Road with decorative battery-operated LED lights.

Strategic Meadow Management (Map Refs 7, 14, 15): We manage over 100 sqm of long-grass meadows at Spireview Bank (Map Ref 14), 250sqm at Johnstown Wood (Map Ref 7), and 3,000 sqm is managed privately Old Kilcarn Bridge Field (Map Ref 15). Our encouragement for Chestnut and Elm (Map Ref 8), together with Bailis Downs (Map Ref 3) Estates delayed the first lawn cuts of the year successfully produced noticeable patches of native Cuckoo Flowers for the first time. Hopefully some will be conserved to allow Orange Tip butterflies to prosper. All sites were presented with neatly mown edges.

Litter and Weed Baseline Excellence: The area is maintained as a clean, graffiti-free zone supported by 3 Meath Partnership TUS volunteers contributing 60 hours of labor per week. To counter seasonal weed issues without chemical herbicides, we operate the Stop Weedkiller Action Project (SWAP) along the 8km Greenkm pavement, collaborating with Meath County Council to utilize mechanical sweeps and protective brush edge management.

The Athlumney Hall Verge (Map Ref 4) is being upgraded shortly due to the ‘wild’ disheveled appearance suggesting that it is currently unloved.

New native hedging with some incorporating fruiting bushes is planned for the Althumney Hall bank (Map Ref 5) and is being proposed for Bailis Downs (Map Ref 2) Estate fence line as natural boundaries reducing road traffic sound and views whilst providing food shelter and safety corridors for wildlife.

Broad Multi-Sector Networks: We act as a central hub for 16 individual resident associations, providing tools, logistical training, and centralized organic debris collection. Our structural elements are manufactured in collaboration with the Navan Men’s Shed, while up to 50 volunteers from the local Lighthouse Church are mobilized for rapid community planting days.

Youth & Educational Integration: Students from Coláiste Na Mí, St. Stephens, and St. Mary’s Special Needs School move from the classroom to active roles. Youth volunteers take on data-driven stewardship roles, running local citizen science surveys using the Merlin Bird ID app and constructing local invertebrate shelters.

Chestnut & Elm 'Living Lawn' (Map Ref 8): Awaiting the final outcome of a €43,312 Climate Action Fund grant , this shovel-ready project aims to transition 12,000 sqm of unmaintained public lawn into a diverse community park. The design incorporates a 1,750 sqm Miyawaki mini-forest, an urban orchard of 25 fruit trees, log pile habitats, bare earth zones for ground-nesting bees, and bee posts , while reducing shortcut grass maintenance by 95%.

Data-Driven Sustainability: We have fully integrated a planned School Weather Station and an infrared camera Thermal Mapping initiative to provide residents with real-time microclimate analytics and energy-efficiency household auditing.

Travel Motivation and Active Travel Infrastructure: To support carbon reduction, our Travel Motivation Initiative will see temporary pavement markings and signs along the Green Km to promote walking for the 2,000+ students commuting to the campus daily. This directly aligns with the new wide footpaths and cycle paths connecting Johnstown with Navan and with the now expanded Johnstown School Campus.

Civic Landscape Protection: To preserve the visual integrity of our streetscape, we established a strict "Plastic Election Poster-Free Zone" along our main corridors, successfully preventing plastic litter during local election cycles. We have identified 3 street signs that need removing and 3 unused street sign poles - we aim to provide community signage proposals for each before requesting their removal.

Our Garden Bird Survey encourages us to identify species which will lead to creating appropriate shelters and more awareness that we can grow natural foods for them. 

Following poor crops reported by some residents and from our own Urban Orchards (Map Refs 3 12, 13) we have begun a quest to Map the Apple Trees of Navan to help them find pollination partners. This will lead to a future project to distribute free apple trees to fill the pollination corridor gaps and introduce residents to growing food in their front gardens too. 

The Leaf Mould Network (Map Refs 10, 11, 12): We collect neighborhood leaf litter to prevent drainage blockages and process it inside custom cages into premium soil conditioner, successfully diverting potentially 3 tonnes of organic waste from landfill annually. We were unsuccessful with volunteer commitment to install additional sites this year but will pick up the pace next year.

Alternative Lawn Trials: To build local climate resilience against drought, we operate evidence-based Clover Lawn and Red Thyme Trials as scalable alternatives to water-intensive traditional grass monocultures.

A ten year plan will see our sites join under a collective title of The Johnstown Biodiversity Park allowing the Green Km corridor to fully connect people and the environment.