Fingal wants to bring nature back with unique makeover pilot

In what is believed to be a first in Ireland, Fingal County Council has launched an ambitious new project that aims to reimagine housing estates as thriving spaces for both people and wildlife.

To help deliver a vision for greener and more vibrant communities, the council is now inviting local resident associations to nominate their area for a biodiversity makeover. The aim is to help transform underused or uncared for areas within a housing area into biodiversity-friendly space, creating areas that are more welcoming for nature, more engaging for locals, and more attractive for residents and visitors alike.

Urban areas offer great opportunities for wildlife. However, it is not always clear how to create the ideal urban habitat for a wide range of species. To help breathe new life into our urban spaces, making them greener, more beautiful, and more connected to nature, Fingal wishes to undertake a biodiversity makeover of three housing estates across the county to identify the most cost-effective way to make a housing estate more biodiversity friendly.

The makeover will cover the open spaces and front gardens of those residents interested in making their own gardens more biodiversity friendly. The species groups being targeted are breeding birds, bats, amphibians and insects. Biodiversity improvement measures include meadows, tree and scrub planting, ponds and wetlands, log piles, bird and bat boxes, no pesticide use and pollinator friendly garden planting.

Hans Visser, Biodiversity Officer with Fingal County Council, said: “We believe this is a truly exciting opportunity to rethink how we use open spaces in our urban housing environment. By putting biodiversity at the heart of our neighbourhoods, we’re not only supporting local wildlife, we’re also creating healthier, more vibrant places for people to live. It will also be a great opportunity that will bring neighbours and communities together and help nature thrive right on our doorsteps.”

Once the three housing estates are selected, a landscape architect will work with the local residents to re-design their open space and an ecologist will carry out a baseline survey to see what wildlife is there at the moment. The design is to be done over the summer months and we hope to carry out the improvement works in early autumn.

The council is inviting applications from residents’ associations across Fingal to take part. From the submissions, three neighbourhoods will be selected to receive five years of council funding and support to help bring this vision to life.

Resident Associations can learn more about the concept and find application details via: https://fingal.live/2p9czpmx. To help people get a better understanding of what’s envisaged with the initiative, a webinar is also taking place on 17 April at 7.30pm to answer any questions people might have. To attend go to: https://streamyard.com/watch/idZKRNqK2nTt (no advance booking required).

The deadline for submitting applications is 2 May 2025. Any queries regarding this initiative can also be sent to  [email protected] .