[image alt="90418516_90418516" src="http://cdn.thejournal.ie/media/2017/07/90418516_90418516-2-296x197.jpg" width="296" height="197" credit-source="RollingNews.ie" caption="St%20Stephen's%20Green" class="alignnone" /end]
SEVEN PARKS ACROSS Ireland have been awarded the Green Flag Award for 2017 this week.
Four parks in Dublin were awarded – St Stephen’s Green, Grangegorman Military Cemetery, the Phoenix Park and the Irish National War Memorial Gardens.
Elsewhere, Castletown Demesne in Kildare, Derrynane Historic Park in Kerry and Garnish Island were also awarded the flag.
The Green Flag Awards, given out by An Taisce in Ireland, recognise and encourage the provision of good quality parks and green spaces that are managed in environmentally sustainable ways.
The awards are marked on eight criteria, including horticulture standards, cleanliness, sustainability and community involvement.
The scheme also runs across the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Australia and New Zealand.
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All seven parks are owned by the Office of Public Works (OPW).
The OPW cares for and maintains heritage sites around Ireland.
Chairperson of the OPW, Maurice Buckley, said:
“I am delighted that the Office of Public Works has been awarded these flags for such wonderfully diverse parks.
The OPW places great importance on the sustainable management and conservation of the State’s heritage sites, and the Green Flag scheme is a wonderful way of recognising and celebrating these high standards.
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