In October 2025 Blessington Tidy Towns were awarded a Gold medal, having secured 382 points from a maximum of 550 points. This news was greeted with great joy among the dedicated volunteers as Blessington entered the competition for the first time in 2012. That year they had the lowest scoring in the competition so this award represents a significant achievement in thirteen years.
There were a number of areas that were highly commended.
Last year, Blessington Community College hosted an inaugural Youth Biodiversity Conference that brought students, educators, environmental experts and representatives to tackle the urgent issue of biodiversity loss at local and national level.
The ongoing “Pride in my Estate Competition” is viewed as an excellent initiative that makes a significant difference to the quality of life for all.
The development of the new Community Park is a wonderful facility offering a range of recreational amenity areas and the beautiful landscaped area in the grounds of the Old Rectory received much praise as a new development has taken place in the past year. The road from the rectory grounds leads down to Blessington lake which is a popular tourist area in the Summer.
Recycling Old Christmas Cards
The tradition of sending Christmas cards to family and friends continues to be popular despite rising postage costs and the availability of online greetings.
Fortunately, most cards can be recycled in the household bin. This year, a teacher from St Mary’s Senior School established a creative workshop in the local library and invited children to reuse old Christmas cards by making a new card. It was a lovely way to reuse these beautiful nativity and winter scenes we see on our cards. This initiative was so successful that children were invited from the Family Mass group into the Parish centre where they could design their own card from a selection of old cards. They were asked to send their new cards to a family member, neighbour or friend.
Permission given to use the above photo
10 Ways to have a sustainable Christmas
Every year, Blessington, Valleymount and Lacken churches display reminders on how to reduce waste and costs over the festive season. This year, they included two new ideas and suggested a memorable gift e.g. a meal out, a concert or a weekend away as an alternative for the person who has eveything! Not only are these practical gifts but also help the local economy. The tendency to buy a new Christmas jumper can be eliminated by visiting your local charity shop where many of these jumpers end up, having been worn only once or twice over the Christmas season.
