1. Setting the Scene in South Tipperary Sinead Carr Director of Services, South Tipperary County Council

2. The River Suir has been a significant focus of the work of the Heritage Officer over the last ten years Our Heritage Officer has been very involved in European project focused on green and blue infrastructure South Tipperary County Council is a partner on this INTERREG IVB Northwest Europe project called “Green and Blue Futures”. led by Canal & River Trust- UK South Tipperary Local Authority’s Green and Blue Team established The River Suir - A major asset in South Tipperary with significant potential for development in the areas of sports, tourism,culture, heritage and the community

3. The River Suir Aim of the project is to grow and develop the role of the social economy in the management and development of green & blue infrastructure – the River Suir in South Tipperary’s case. Local authorities faced with financial and budgetary constraints have to overcome constant and continuing demands on available public funds. New, creative and more cost-effective models for resource management must be developed. Such an approach lead by the Local Authority can have the added benefits of achieving greater involvement of local stakeholders for the purpose of delivering positive social outcomes with the resources available. An approach to achieving these aims is by promoting greater involvement of the social economy. This project aims to build on these foundations to develop common solutions at a transnational level and as such avoid "re-inventing the wheel" in each project partner’s country throughout Northwest Europe.

4. South Tipperary County Council’s Action 2: Social economy networking: River Suir Community Action Plan

5. Action 2:Social Economy Networking Work Packages 2 and 4 How to: River Suir Community Action Plan (46 Actions) Vision:Connecting people with the River Suir and their sense of place through: 1.Restoring Peoples Sense of Place.....access, interest and involvement in the River Suir 2.Increasing Biodiversity.....more life in and along the river 3.Utilising Resources...economic activity, recreation and tourism. Local Authority Framework: Delivery of the River Suir Community Action Plan and the development of the Green and Blue Futures project are actions in the South Tipperary Heritage Plan 2012-2016. Participation to date: 1,200 participants in preparing the River Suir Community Action Plan (Waterways Forward) Green and Blue Futures participation: 100+ River Suir Showcase Seminar 27 th November 2012 South Tipperary Heritage Forum – 20 members from primary stakeholders - ongoing River stakeholder network and project teams – 250 members – ongoing

6. 1,200 participants: Suir River Cafe and Lay of the Land workshops, July 2011 1 st River Suir Showcase Seminar, January 2012 Tidy Towns Seminar, March 2012 Journey to Green and Blue Futures:

7. Our Suir Cafe

8. Our Suir Stories

10. Project Team Roisin O’Grady Heritage Officer Valerie Connolly Sports Partnership Ann Ryan Community and Enterprise Marie Phelan Public Awareness Officer Alan Walsh Planning Sally O’Leary Arts Officer Paddy Crotty Area Engineer Kathleen Prengergast Community and Enterprise

11. Social Economy Networking Stimulate the social economy through Local Authority facilitation of the River Suir Community Action Plan: Action ProjectProgress report 10, 12River Communities Arts Project Tender selected & Work in Progress 20Suir island Feasibility Study Tenders received 13, 31, 38, 39 Mapping Access to the River Complete 26Canoe Audit Work in progress 9, 18, 27 Tow path improvements/ traditional skills Work in progress 1, 8, 19, 29, 24 Community Networking and heritage value enhancement, biodiversity projects, tree planting / hedge laying Seminars, River Tidy Town Pilot, Work in progress 40River communities festivals and events Work in progress 22International conference October 9/10 th 2013 31River Suir Youth Access projects Work in progress 15Explore Social Economy along the River Work in progress 42Explore potential of River for regional benefit Norwegian visit Sep 2013 15Social Economy Seminar for Community & Voluntary Sector November 8 th 2013

12. Action 10, 12: River Communities Arts Projects Arts Project to develop local community connectivity to the River Suir. Project includes: South Tipperary International Festival of Rural Arts and Culture - Inspiring Rural Creativity - June 27th - 30th, 2013 Sounding Lines – A visual art project in which the artists will be working with communities along the River Suir to isolate and record unusual and everyday sounds of the River Suir in a visual way.

13. Action 20:

14. Participants: Kilsheelan Tidy Towns, Ardfinnan Tidy Towns, Golden Tidy Towns The project aims to assist these groups in increasing their marks in the national Tidy Towns competition by learning from each other’s experiences to date and implementing best practice from neighbouring towns. focuses on traditional skills and building relationships between the towns and the river. focuses on the tourism potential of each town and is looking at signage and a new tourist trail that will run along the river to complement the already existing Butler Trail.

15. Action 39,13: Mapping access to the River Suir To identify and map all existing access points along 56 Km’s of the River Suir. The process involved: Stage 1 – Stakeholder consultation. Stage 2 – Initial mapping Stage 3 - Field survey of access points. Stage 4 - Final GIS maps and Web map. Project now complete

16. Action 26: Canoe Audit Audit of the River Suir for suitability to develop a Canoe/ Kayak trail along 56 Km’s of the Suir between Cahir, Clonmel and Carrick on Suir. Priority Access points identified for development

17. Action 31: River Suir Youth Access Project Participants: young people involved in the Waterford and South Tipperary Community Youth Service’s Garda Youth Diversion Project – a community based project working with young people to help them move away from behaving in a way that might get them or their friends into trouble with the law. River Suir Youth Access Project: A participation programme was developed focused on connecting the young people to the River Suir Activities included: Fly fishing workshop - “I CAUGHT MY FIRST FISH EVER, IT WAS CLASS” River Suir Kayak Adventure- “My arms were tired after 3 minutes but it feels good to be able to say I kayaked from Kilsheelan to Carrick”. Nature Walks with Birdwatch Ireland & Photography Session - “I really enjoyed being out and about and learning cool stuff about the river” River Rescue Centre visit- “It was some craic going down the river on the speed boat” Stone Carving Workshop focused on the River- “It was great to start with a block of stone and then finish with a piece of art” The project is continuing with other workshops planned and work commencing on how The River Suir can be incorporated into work programmes of youth services.

18. RIVER Festivals

19. Location: Clonmel & Carrick-on-Suir Project description: South Tipperary County Council as part of the Green and Blue Futures project are looking to develop the existing Clonmel to Carrick-on-Suir towpath into a greenway cycle track and footpath. Current Status: South Tipperary County Council have recently taken in charge the towpath and have now engaged consultants to develop a feasibility study and cost estimate for upgrading the existing walkway into a cycle path and footpath.

20. Action 22: International Conference

22. Reflections Green and Blue -Great opportunity to exchange knowledge, ideas and best practice Gives us an opportunity to explore and develop the socio economic potential of the River Suir that involves all the stakeholders Great potential for the development of the Social Economy sector by learning from our other local stakeholders and European partners Currently working on how all the projects can be sustained and developed into the future

23. Our Green and Blue Vision for the River Suir By 2020 The River Suir will be a major contributor to the social, cultural and Economic life of all our citizens and visitors to Tipperary

24. Thank you, Sinead Carr Director of Services South Tipperary County Council