Wednesday 30 September 2015

Great Support for Carrick in Bloom Competitions

 The children's Painting & Poetry competitions officially closed today and Sunnylands Primary School were out and about celebrating 'Carrick in Bloom'

Sunnylands P6 class went foraging for blackberries in fields near the school to see ‘Carrick in Bloom’ and made blackberry crumble with the produce. They also got creative and wrote ‘Carrick in Bloom’ poetry for the competition.



Sunnylands P1 class took part in the ‘Carrick in Bloom’ Under 10’s Painting competition by creating 3D artworks of trees and flowers inspired by the school grounds


There has been a great number of entries to the Painting and Poetry competitions this year and winners will be announced soon

 A full list of winners can be viewed here

Tuesday 15 September 2015

Mid and East Antrim Success in Ulster in Bloom 2015


The results of the 2015 Translink Ulster in Bloom Competition were recently announced officially recognising Northern Ireland’s top gardening talent. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council won five awards in total:

  • Ahoghill – winner of the Small Town Award
  • Whitehead Train Station – winner of the Community Rail Halt Award
  • Whitehead – 2nd in the Small Town category
  • Carrickfergus – 2nd in the Large Town category
  • Larne – 2nd in the Town category

Mayor of MEA Borough, Cllr Billy Ashe, is delighted with the accolades:

"Translink Ulster in Bloom is a magnificent opportunity for our Borough to enhance its surroundings and create beautiful displays that are enjoyed by everybody. Our Borough is renowned for its floral displays which are enjoyed by residents and tourists alike. In the Borough, the 'In Bloom' initiative is much more than bedding plants and making the Borough look good for one day; instead it is a 365 day a year initiative. MEA Borough Council along with our partners have done a wonderful job in broadening the appeal of our ‘in Bloom’ initiative and by getting people to work together, we have made our Borough much better place to live and visit.”

The award ceremony will take place in March 2016.

Whitehead Train Station 

Monday 14 September 2015

Hedgerow Harvest - Blackberry picking and jam making


Zara McVeigh & Helen Marshall making blackberry and apple jam at the Hedgerow Harvest event, Eden Allotment Gardens, Sunday 13th September. Participants went blackberry picking on site and made their own jam to take home

'Friends Of' Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen

Photo of Alison Diver (MEA Council) and the ‘Friends Of’ Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen volunteers at the first task day on Saturday 12th September. The task this weekend was collecting yellow rattle from one area on site and redistributing the seeds throughout woodland to create patches of wild flower meadow. The team also had time for some litter picking and removed a suitcase, iron and two bags of rubbish from site


The next task day is Saturday 10th October 2015, meeting at Oakfield Community Centre at 10am (to 1pm)

Moth Night, Beach Road Nature Reserve

A big thank you to all our moth recorders who came to our Moth Night on Friday 11th September at Beach Road Nature Reserve, Whitehead. The records from Moth Night are incorporated into a UK wide database and it will be great to see all the little spots of activity on the map from our recordings in Whitehead.  You can visit www.mothnight.info to find out more

Wednesday 9 September 2015

Carrickfergus in Bloom Tallest Sunflower Competition

Olivia Hadden, age 9, from Greenisland has won the Carrickfergus in Bloom Tallest Sunflower Competition 2015. Olivia's sunflower grew to a mighty 3m 51cm. 

Runners up were Laura & Ellen Ritson, age 8 and 6, from Carrickfergus, with their 2m 98cm sunflower and Carla Brown, age 9, from Carrickfergus, whose sunflower grew to 2m 61cm. 



Wednesday 2 September 2015

Hedgerow Harvest

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is holding a Hedgerow Harvest event to celebrate bountiful blackberries. Join us for a blackberry picking expedition around the allotments and turn your harvest into your very own jam. You can also try other delicious harvest time treats. This is a free event and suitable for all ages, so come along and get harvesting! 

Eden Allotment Gardens, Carrickfergus
Sunday 13th September
2pm - 3.30pm





Tuesday 1 September 2015

Moth Night!

Did you know there are over 2,500 species of moth in the UK? Although not as showy as butterflies, moths are just as beautiful and equally interesting! Moth Night is a UK wide initiative to support moths and moth recording. To celebrate Mid and East Antrim Council is holding two moth events at Beach Road Nature Reserve, Whitehead. Join us on Friday 11th September at dusk for a moth hunt (7pm-8pm) and again the next morning to discover what mysterious moths we have caught in our moth traps (9am-10am).

 Moth Hunt,  Friday 11th Sept, 7pm - 8pm
Moth ID, Saturday 12th Sept, 9am - 10am
Beach Road Nature Reserve, Whitehead