Ballyhoura Development recently asked young people from all over the Ballyhoura region to show us their vision for their community through artwork. The entries were fantastic and came in all sorts of shapes, sizes and colours, and ranged from poetry to drawings, paintings and 3-D models.

The artwork showed that the young people of Ballyhoura really care about the natural world, with lots of emphasis on plants and animals and how we can care for them. There were also some great ideas on how areas should be accessible to all people, have increased amenities and improved transport, there were even some very creative transport ideas such as a giant slide!

The competition was one part of a broader consultation that Ballyhoura Development is running with local communities across the area on the theme and challenges of climate change. According to Pádraig Casey, CEO of Ballyhoura Development: “It was encouraging to see so many budding young artists participating in the competition, and young people are clearly very aware of climate change and of the importance of preserving the natural habitats which we’re so fortunate to have across the Ballyhoura region.”  

All of the artwork will be on display at the Ballyhoura Summer Networking forum in Coote Hall, Kilmallock on Tuesday the 30^th of May at 19:30, everyone is welcome to come along and check it out.  It was a very tough decision for the judges but eventually they were able to select a first and second place in each category.

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The winners in each of the categories are:

Your vision of how you would make your community more welcoming for Nature (your non-human friends)

Ages 4-8

1st Place -William Hennessy

2^nd Place - Bláthnaid Walsh

Ages 9-12

1^st Place - Alexandria O'Sullivan

2^nd Place - Vankina Kabundi, Ava Lily Saich & Martynas Radzevicius

Your vision of how you would make your community more welcoming for your family, friends and other humans

Ages 4-8

1^st Place - Seren Jones

2^nd Place - Ella Reddan

Ages 9-12

1^st Place - Jake O'Donnell, Noah Frewen, Katie Ryan, Jessica O'Keefe & Abby Hickey

2^nd Place Miriam Lenihan

Your vision of your community as a sustainable place for people and the planet

Ages 13-18

1^st Place - Telvin Anto Manjaly

2^nd Place - Louis Hehir

Congratulations to All the Winners!

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