**Sustainable Buzz: Abbeyleix Tidy Towns' Novel Approach to Pollinator Support and Circular Economy**

Abbeyleix Tidy Towns is excited to share a new project that not only supports pollinators but also embraces the circular economy. We're following the National Pollinator Plan's advice by letting more of our grass areas grow to benefit pollinators.

We know that allowing grasses and wildflowers to reach the flowering stage is crucial for supporting pollinators. However, the challenge lies in cutting and removing ("cut and lift") tall grass in the autumn/winter period, especially when it gets too strong for traditional lawnmowers.

As part of a pilot program, Abbeyleix Tidy Towns worked with a local contractor to do a late-season "cut and lift" on approx. 4 acres across 4 test sites.  Much of this late-cut grass was of no forage value for farmers, so we were left with a quandary about what to do with it. That is where some innovative thinking and the support of Peter Carey and Paddy McMahon, who manage an anaerobic digester up the road in Ballyroan, came in. They generously arranged to take the grass into the digester plant, where it was transformed into gas, and in turn used to generate electricity. 

This shows how the circular economy works in real life, highlighting a smart way to handle waste and use resources more efficiently. One of the pilot sites covered in this initiative is Balladine Neighbourwood, which includes a sizable area of grassland around newly planted woodland areas (pictured).

"We have shown through our pilot that this approach can work and and also allow us to deliver results at increasing scale," said Chairman of Tidy Towns, Robbie Quinn. He added, "We would like to acknowledge the support of Community Foundation Ireland in getting this pilot off the ground. However, as a small voluntary community group, we cannot resource this project into the future, so we will be calling on support through local and national agencies."

If you have a garden, smallholding, or area of grassland that you want to turn into a late-cut meadow next year, let us know, and we'll try to help.

For more information about Abbeyleix Tidy Towns and their initiatives, please get in touch at info@abbeyleixtidytowns.net or visit www.abbeyleixtidytowns.net.