“Ballinahown is remarkable because of what they’ve done and in terms of their village. Rather than waiting for things to happen, they took water management in particular, into their own hands.”

(Cathal Flood, The Local Authority Waters Programme)

Ballinahown is not simply Ireland’s tidiest village but a testament to community power and proactive environmental stewardship. The residents of Ballinahown have taken their future into their own hands, particularly concerning water management and biodiversity. Located on the Westmeath/Offaly border, Ballinahown’s success is deeply rooted in it’s collaborative spirit with the community, adopting a “bottom-up” approach. They first developed a ‘community vision statement’, fostering an environment where everyone in the village contributes and it is based on their strengths, whether it’s sewing plants in school, applying for grants, or accounting.

Ballinahown’s Biodiveristy Journey

Ballinahown’s journey began with a ‘Biodiversity Action Plan’, which included building a pond with ‘Town and Village’ funding in 2021 and implementing hedgerow projects. Cathal Flood (recently employed as Biodiversity officer for Co. Cavan) explains how incredible their achievement is;

“They started with their biodiversity action plan in 2019, and they’ve now completed 78 of the 80 measures. It’s incredible and t’s a credit to them. They used Town Regeneration funding to make the pond. Then they built on that with smaller grants. 3 years ago, we commissioned a biodiversity plan. There were 90 objectives in that, and we’ve reached 75 of them. Everything is around sustainability, around biodiversity.”

From Water Quality Concerns to Nature-Based Solutions

The driving force behind Ballinahown’s remarkable efforts was the declining water quality of their local river. Residents realized that their household percolation areas were directly impacting the river’s health. Rather than waiting for external intervention, they sought out nature-based solutions for water management in villages, connecting with Westmeath County Council who were willing to support such initiatives.

Helen Conneely, an artist (Celtic Roots) and key member of Ballinahown Community Developement, explains their approach:

“We meet, we see a need within the community. We bring in somebody as an expert that can relate to the community and is practical to a scale that works to our budget”. It was the water quality of the river that really drove them on, according to Helen; “The elephant in the room was that we knew our percolation areas from our houses and buling went straight into the river. We found out there were Council bodies that would us looking at Nature Based Solutions.. So we then contacted the council and said, we lead on this because we’ve done that in our biodiversity, plus we’re used to working with the council for projects.”

This community-led approach has built significant trust with Westmeath County Council, who became accustomed to Ballinahown’s successful project leadership.

It takes a Village: The Power of Community and Collaboration

They say it takes a village? Well, it takes brains as well and connectedness. Helen Conneely is that person who knew how to connect better with their County Council.

Helen explains;

“Because we were on the border of Westmeath and Offaly, we had no political sway, so as a community we worked from the bottom up. We had a consultation a plan and then we met with the respected people in the Council or Leader. After we would secure funding we would get another loan and do fundraising around that and this was a method we kept repeating. So when it came to us doing a water plan the council were already used to us already taking the lead on significant projects sp there was a trust there. We were also lucky to have an architect who likes working with small communities. Martin Murray helped us a lot, especially his experience with people and place. This all helped the pieces come together.”

Cathal Flood believes this is key in having someone good at finding synergies and ways to utilise the grants and the people within a community. He uses an example where Ballinahown would receive 50% grant funding for a specific project and then they just knew how to work within the means of fidning the other half. For example at the beginning Helen encouraged and supported people in putting in place biodiversity plans;

“We said to people, if you plant biodiversity plants in your window box or garden, we’ll support you with the cost. Spaces just began to open up as people were motivated to have these window boxes and before they knew it, the community had designed a rain water garden in spaces which would have been inaccessible previously.”

Now, when heavy rain occurs, the rain water flows free in through these openings and it is held there and filtered, without causing flooding.

Innovative Projects and a Circular Economy

Ballinahown is brimming with creative initiatives that demonstrate their commitment to sustainability:

•  Rainwater Gardens: These specially designed spaces with membranes and water-loving plants hold and filter rainwater during floods, preventing runoff.
•  Community Chicken Coop: Residents contribute leftover food to chickens, and in return, receive eggs, fostering a local circular economy and teaching children about sustainability.
•  Polytunnel and Cookery Classes: Kids grow vegetables in a polytunnel and participate in cookery classes, utilizing the produce and learning about food cycles.
•  Frog Pond: A new project focused on creating a frog pond promotes biodiversity through natural biocontrol.
•  Biodiversity Support: The community supports residents in putting in place biodiversity plans, even subsidizing the cost of biodiversity plants for window boxes and gardens.

Looking to the Future

With funding from sources like Leader and the Community Water Development Fund, and advice from LAWPRO, Ballinahown is now exploring options for domestic wastewater treatment with local authority grants. Their ongoing commitment and remarkable achievements position them as a potential “NBS village of the Midlands,” showcasing how a dedicated community can lead the way in environmental innovation.

Watch a short video of the Ballinahown Bidiveristy Journey here