5 Year Plan 2025-30
Our neighbourhood is going 'Smart' to protect our environment!
Our neighbourhood is going 'Smart' to protect our environment!
We’ve proposed a series of green projects over the next five years that will make our community more informed, sustainable, and resilient.
We’re Bringing Nature Home.
Our projects don't just improve how Johnstown looks; it uses scientific data to improve how Johnstown functions for its residents and wildlife.
By replacing traditional lawns we will be building vital corridors for our local wildlife. From our students swapping car rides for bikes to a new weather station tracking local heat patterns, every step we take is designed to cut carbon and lower costs. We aren't just saving energy; we're creating a more comfortable, greener, and more connected neighborhood for everyone.
Core Project: School Community Weather Station.
We are moving to a "citizen science" model. Students from Coláiste na Mí and St. Stephen’s will manage the weather station, making them active partners in our planning.
2025: Gain support from Coláiste na Mí to host a School Community Weather Station and managed by the Student Green Team.
Year 2: Purchase and install the station, establish and promote a digital dashboard for residents to view local climate data. Launch the "Student Climate Ambassadors" program where students use weather station data to present a "State of the Neighbourhood" finding report at the AGM.
Year 3: Increase the station sensor technology: air quality, additional ground water sensors.
Year 4: Turn local climate data into direct action through a range of smart, resilient infrastructure. By integrating solar and micro-wind power, we ensure a consistent energy supply for our community’s needs, supported by a robust battery storage network. These visible installations—from sleek vertical-axis turbines to solar-powered pumps—serve as a 'living lab' for climate action. Simultaneously, we are tackling water resilience through permeable landscaping and rainwater harvesting, creating a closed-loop system that reduces flood risk while nurturing our local biodiversity.
Year 5: Major 5-year review. Publish a "Johnstown Impact Report" showing how data-driven projects changed the neighbourhood.
Core Project: School Directional & Motivational Pavement Signage.
To improve the "walkability" of Johnstown we propose the installation of bespoke fingerposts showing distances to schools / estates in minutes rather than km. Motivational Pavement Signs (decals) will turn the daily school run into a "trail," encouraging kids and parents to choose active travel over cars.
2025: Audit all existing school routes. Identify the best locations for Motivational Pavement Signs. Gain School engagement for students to help plan and design the signage and locations.
Year 2: Trial a few signs and gain pedestrain feedback. Install the first phase of School Directional Signposts (showing distances in minutes). Ensure signage is bilingual.
Roll out the Motivational Pavement Decals (e.g., "Only 100 steps to the finish line!") to gamify the walk to school. Gain feedback for future signs.
Year 3: Review with student / parent feedback for new phrases and ideas for signs.
Core Project: The Living Lawn & Gravel Verges..
We are moving away from "neat but dead" landscaping.
We will convert high-maintenance grass areas into Living Lawns.
We will replace muddy, neglected verges with structural gravel and native, drought-resistant planting that requires zero mowing and provides year-round visual interest.
2025: Identify one significantly sized "Pilot Site" for a Living Lawn, Gain resident support, create a large network of potential volunteer workers, establish costs and apply for MCC Climate Action Fund 2025,
Identify a site and gain resident group support for the creation of a roadside verge landscaping project.
Year 2: Convert the first 100m of muddy roadside edges into Gravel Verges with native, drought-resistant planting.
Implement the foudation work for the first 'Living Lawn' site.
Year 3: Complete the first Living Lawn planting phase.
Identify 4 estate verges where the Red Creeping Thyme, Clover, Summer flowering lawn, and gravel planting can be piloted.
Year 4: Install "Rain Gardens" near heavy tarmac areas identified by Thermal Mapping to manage runoff.
Year 5: Establish a "Maintenance Manual" for estates, moving them permanently away from traditional grass-only landscaping.
Core Project: The Life Hedge.
Replacing sterile fencing and blank walls with Life Hedges —a multi-species native mix (Hawthorn, Hazel, Bird Cherry) that will act as "wildlife motorways," linking the river corridor to the residential estates, providing food and nesting for local bird and pollinator populations.
Year 1: Begin the first 100m of the Life Hedge (native multi-species mix) to link existing "Green Km" zones.
Year 2: Install bird and bat boxes along the Life Hedge route. Use the Weather Station to track how nesting habits align with local temperature shifts.
Year 3: Complete an additional 200m of Life Hedge, focusing on the connection to the Athlumney Riverside.
Year 4: Conduct a "Bio-Blitz" using local schools to count species living within the newly established Life Hedges and Gravel Verges.
Year 5: Connect the Life Hedge into a continuous "Wildlife Ring Road" around Johnstown.
Core Project: Thermal Mapping & Climate Monitoring.
Using thermal imaging, we will identify Urban Heat Islands and use this data to target where we plant trees and install Living Lawns, which could naturally cool the summer air and warm the winter soil. We will also identify insulation weaknesses in buildings.
Year 1: Execute the first Thermal Mapping drone/handheld survey during a summer heatwave to identify "Heat Islands."
Year 2: Use Thermal Maps to advocate for tree planting in the hottest parts of the village to provide natural cooling.
Year 3: Measure the cooling effect of the Living Lawns vs. traditional grass using thermal sensors.
Year 4: Roll out a "Home Energy Awareness" campaign based on the Thermal Mapping findings (identifying heat loss in buildings).
Year 5: Transition all community maintenance equipment (mowers/strimmers) to electric, powered by potential solar links to the Weather Station hub.
Core Project:
Strategy: Integrating our "Active Travel" routes into our cleaning schedule.
Action: The Motivational Pavement Signs will be treated with anti-graffiti and slip-resistant coatings. Our 50+ litter pickers will use the "Litter Heat-Map" generated by our volunteer data to target "black spots" strategically.
Year 1: Map litter "Black Spots" along the new Active Travel school routes.
Year 2: Ensure all Motivational Pavement Signs are coated with anti-slip and anti-graffiti material for easy cleaning.
Year 3: Launch a "Clean Kilometre" challenge for the estates that have adopted Gravel Verges.
Year 4: Install smart-bins near the School Directional Signposts to capture "on-the-go" waste.
Year 5: Achieve a 30% reduction in roadside litter through the "ownership" created by the Gravel Verge and Life Hedge projects.
Core Project: Biodiversity Park
We will work with Estate Managers to expand and implement "Living Lawns", "Life Hedges", "Clover or Red Thyme Lawns", and "Gravel Verges" pilots in estates along our 4km 'Green Km Initiative'. These projects reduce the service charges for residents (less mowing) while improving the local environment, making sustainability a "win-win" for homeowners.
Year 1: Host an "Introduction to the Living Lawn" workshop for all 15+ Estate Managers.
Year 2: Facilitate the first estate-led Gravel Verge installation. Provide "Starter Kits" of native plants.
Year 3: Launch the "Johnstown Sustainable Estate" award, judged on Thermal Mapping performance and biodiversity.
Year 4: Assist estates in applying for their own small grants to expand the Life Hedge network within their boundaries.
Year 5: 100% of Johnstown estates to have at least one "Smart & Green" project active (Weather station link, Living Lawn, or Life Hedge).
Core Project
Core Project: Approach to the Waterfront (Athlumney Riverside)
Strategy: Protecting the riparian corridor through the Life Hedge project.
Action: Ensure that any "Active Travel" signage leading to the river emphasizes the "Leave No Trace" principles. Use our Weather Station data to monitor local humidity and temperature trends that may affect the river's sensitive ecosystem.
Year 1: Use Thermal Mapping to identify "Cool Corridors" leading from the river into the estates.
Year 2: Extend the Life Hedge project to act as a buffer zone between residential areas and the sensitive river ecosystem.
Year 3: Install Active Travel Signage specifically for the Riverside walk, highlighting walking times to the village center.
Year 4: Monitor riverbank temperature and humidity via the Weather Station to assist LAWPRO in water quality studies.
Year 5: Finalize a "River-to-School" green corridor that is 100% protected by native hedging and sustainable landscaping.