On Saturday 24 August 2024, the Friends of the Camac Voluntary Group held a Heritage Week River Walk, which started at 14.00 at the Civic Plaza, at the junction of Orchard Road and the nInth Lock Road and finished at 15.30 at Driscoll’s Pond in Clondalkin Leisure Car Park.

The walk was led by Committee Member Pat Ging, and assisted by Hon Sec Paula Galvin and Tim O’Brien.   Other Committee members were on hand to assist, Gerry Carroll, Dermot Doyle, and Chair Tommy Keogh who took the photographs. There were 14 on the walk.

Tim O'Brien informed the group that 74 species of birds had been recorded in Corkagh Park, and provided handouts of the species seen.  

This list is also available on the Flora and Fauna page of this website.

Photos courtesy of Tommy Keogh below.

FOTC River Cleanup Report for Saturday 13 July 2024.

Our 22 Volunteers collected 9.5 bags today, of which only 1 bag was drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at The Civic Amenity Ballymount), 4 bags were glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), and 4 ½ Bags of general waste.

This means that only 4 ½ bags of general waste, plus 2 shopping trolleys, 4 Nitrous Oxide cylinders remain for SDCC to collect. A life buoy was retrieved from the river and will be returned to the Depot at Corkagh Park next week.

We noticed a reduction on the amount of Plastic Drinks bottles and drinks cans this time around so hopefully the Deposit / Return Scheme is working.  

Of the 1 bag of drinks cans and plastic bottles, ½ were returnable for refund (at Aldi) and earned us €6 for our funds. 

The rest were recycled locally.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa Watkins and Pieter Mens for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of next month which falls on 10 August 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures and spreadsheet attached, more pictures to follow.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022.

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

FOTC River Cleanup Report for Saturday 08 June 2024.

Our 18 Volunteers collected 7 bags today, of which only 1 bag was drinks cans and 1 bag was plastic bottles (re-cycled at The Civic Amenity Ballymount), 1 bag was glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 4 Bags of general waste.

This means that only 4 bags of general waste, plus a scooter, a tent, and a high stool and some timber remain for SDCC to collect.

We noticed a reduction on the amount of Plastic Drinks bottles and drinks cans this time around so hopefully the Deposit / Return Scheme is working.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa Watkins and Pieter Mens for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of next month which falls on 13 July 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures and spreadsheet attached, more pictures to follow.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022.

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

FOTC River Cleanup Report for Saturday 11 May 2024.

Our 33 Volunteers collected 5 bags today, of which only 1 bag was drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at The Civic Amenity Ballymount),

 1 bag was glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 3 Bags of general waste.

This means that only 3 bags remain for SDCC to collect.

We noticed a reduction on the amount of Plastic Drinks bottles and drinks cans this time around so hopefully the Deposit / Return Scheme is working.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa Watkins and Pieter Mens for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of next month which falls on 08 June 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures and spreadsheet attached, more pictures to follow.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022.

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

FOTC River Cleanup Report for Saturday 13 April 2024.

Today we joined with An Taisce for their National Spring Clean event and thank them for generously sponsoring us with Hi Viz vests and rolls of General Waste and Re-Cyclable Waste bags.

Our 20 Volunteers collected 10 bags today, of which only 1 bag was drinks cans and plastic bottles (½ bag each to be re-cycled at The Civic Amenity Ballymount), 2 bags were glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 7 Bags of general waste, 1 shopping trolly and some other general waste.  

This means that only 7 bags remain for SDCC to collect, plus a trolly and some other general rubbish, saving 3 bags from landfill.

We noticed a reduction on the amount of Plastic Drinks bottles and drinks cans this time around so hopefully the Deposit / Return Scheme is working. Also we had no Nitrous Oxide cylinders on this cleanup.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa Watkins and Pieter Mens for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of May which falls on 11 May 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures attached.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022.

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

FOTC River Cleanup Report for Saturday 09 March 2024.

Our 25+ Volunteers collected 13 bags today, of which 5 bags were drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at The Civic Amenity Ballymount), 4 bags were glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 4 Bags of general waste, 1 Duvet and 1 shopping trolly plus 12 Nitrous Oxide canisters, and other general waste.  

This means that only e bags remain for SDCC to collect, plus Nitrous Oxide canisters and some other general rubbish, saving 9 bags from landfill.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa Watkins and Pieter Mens for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of April which falls on 13 April 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures below - note some volunteers arrived after the photo shoot.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022.

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

 Saturday 10 February 2024.

Our 30+ Volunteers collected 14 bags today, of which 7 bags were drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at The Civic Amenity Ballymount), 2 bags were glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 5 Bags of general waste, plus 13 Nitrous Oxide canisters, and other general waste.  

This means that only 5 bags remain for SDCC to collect, plus Nitrous Oxide canisters and some other general rubbish, saving 9 bags from landfill.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa Watkins and Pieter Mens for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of March which falls on 09 March 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures attached.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. 

The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

Here's the totals for this year on the attached spreadsheet. The figures for 2023 are almost exactly the same as for 2022.

And the good news is that last year, of the total number of bags collected of 132.5, we have saved 81 bags (that's 61%) from landfill.

 Well done Volunteers for all your hard work. Much appreciated.

Our 18 Volunteers collected 17.5 bags today, of which 7.5 bags were drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at Round Towers GAA Monastery Road), 2.5 bags were glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bottle Bank), 6.5 Bags of general waste, plus 1 bag of Nitrous Oxide canisters, and other general waste.  

This means that only 7.5 bags remain for SDCC to collect, plus some other general rubbish.

Big thanks to SDCC's Nessa and Piotr for their continuous support.

Next Cleanup scheduled for 2nd Saturday of February which falls on 10 February 2024.

Make a note in your diaries and be sure to check the website and Socials nearer the time for updates.

Pictures below

On Saturday 14 October our 21 Volunteers collected a total of 17 bags made up as follows - 8 bags General Waste, 7 bags drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled with Round Towers GAA), 2 bags glass bottles (re-cycled at The mills Centre Bring Centre, leaving 8 bags of general waste plus some miscellaneous rubbish and over 35 Nitrous Oxide canisters for SDCC to collect.

Well done to all our volunteers - many hands make light work!

The next scheduled River Camac Clean Up is on the second Saturday of November, which falls on 11^th November. Hope to see you there.

The table showing our Year to Date figures attached and Pictures from the day to follow.  So far this year we have re-cycled 57 bags from a total of 88.5 bags collected as can be seen on the attached spreadsheet.

Thanks to SDCC for their support in our efforts, and also to our intrepid volunteers for their commitment to our goal to improve and maintain the River Camac and its environment.

The next scheduled River Cleanup is on Saturday 11 November 2023 - make a note in your diary!!

1On Saturday 12 August 2023 our 15 Volunteers collected a total pf 11 bags of waste of which 4 bags were plastic bottles and drinks cans which we recycled at Rounds Towers GAA Monastery Road, 4 bags were glass bottles which we recycled at The Mills Centre Bring Centre, leaving only 3 bags for South Dublin County Council to collect.

So far this year we have re-cycled 53.5 bags from a total of 81.5 bags collected as can be seen on the attached spreadsheet.

Thanks to SDCC for their support in our efforts, and also to our intrepid volunteers for their commitment to our goal to improve and maintain the River Camac and it’s environment.

The next scheduled River Cleanup is on Saturday 09 September 2023 - make a not in your diary!!

The nature of these structures is to alter the flow regime of a river or stream and have possible consequences for: discharge, water velocity, temperature, dissolved oxygen, river bed movement, siltation and suspended solids.  They provide deep pools where fish can rest on migration, 

Brown trout are flow-loving fish that benefit from the structural variety associated with complex current flow. Adequate spawning, juvenile and adult habitat is important for a healthy fish population and formation of this habitat is favoured under a natural (varied) flow regime.  For instance, features such as habitat diversity (e.g. pools, riffles and glides), good water quality (cool, well-oxygenated and low levels of pollutants) and a low amount of sediment are generally regarded as desirable.  Indeed, overall species diversity, of both flora & fauna, tends to be associated with diverse physical habitat, favoured by a natural flow regime with its attendant natural processes (erosion & deposition).  Habitat connectivity and diversity are therefore of utmost importance to successful populations.  (Information from the Wild Trout Trust - see https://www.wildtrout.org for more details).

We held our Earth Day River Camac Cleanup on Saturday 22 April, which was well attended by 14 volunteers despite the awful weather.   

4 New Volunteers are always welcome as many hands make light work.

The last river cleanup was on 01 April 2023, so it was 3 weeks since our last Cleanup.

Today we collected 8 bags altogether, of which only 3 were General waste, 2 bag was drinks cans and plastic bottles sent for re-cycling to Round Towers GAA, and 2 bag was glass bottles which were re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bring Centre.

That meant that 4 of the 8 bags were fully re-cycled and avoided going to landfill, which is great for the environment.

Last year we collected a total of 132.5 bags, of which 52 were general waste, 54 were drinks cans and plastic bottles,
and. 26.5 were glass bottles.  So last year we saved 80.5 bags from going to landfill.  Well done to all our volunteers.

The next scheduled Clean Top is on the second Saturday in May which falls on 13th May - please note in your diary.
Continued thanks to South Dublin County Council for their assistance in our efforts.

We held our postponed River Camac Cleanup of 2023 on Saturday 01 April, which was well attended by 8 volunteers despite the awful weather.   New Volunteers are always welcome as many hands make light work.

The last river cleanup was on 11 February 2023, as the Clean Up scheduled for 11 March was cancelled due to an adverse weather  warning.  

So it was 7 weeks since our last Cleanup.

This month we collected 5 bags altogether, of which only 3 were General waste, 1 bag was drinks cans and plastic bottles sent for re-cycling to Round Towers GAA, and 1 bag was glass bottles which were re-cycled at The Mills Centre Bring Centre. 

That meant that 2 of the 5 bags were fully re-cycled and avoided going to landfill, which is great for the environment.

Last year we collected a total of 132.5 bags, of which 52 were general waste, 54 were drinks cans and plastic bottles,
and. 26.5 were glass bottles.  So last year we saved 80.5 bags from going to landfill.  Well done to all our volunteers.

Continued thanks to South Dublin County Council for their assistance in our efforts.

Report of River Clean up Saturday 10 September 2022.

In addition to our 10 regular volunteers we had an additional 16 to help us on our monthly river clean up! Many hands make light work.

We collected a total of 16.5 bags altogether made up of 3.5 bags of general waste which SDCC will collect, 2 bags of glass bottles (re-cycled at The Mills Centre bottle bank), and 11 bags of drinks cans and plastic bottles (re-cycled at Round Towers GAA Monastery Road).

So this means that of 16.5 bags in total we were able to re-cycle 13 bags, and save them from going to landfill.

Well done everybody. Pictures to follow.

The next Clean Up day is the second Saturday of October which falls on 8^th October. Make a note in your diaries and watch our website for more information.

Here's the link – www.fotc.ie

On Saturday 09 July 2022 our 14 volunteers collected 3 bags of general waste, 3 bags of plastic bottles and drinks cans (which were re-cycled at Round Towers GAA Club) , and 2 bags of glass bottles (which were re-cycled at The Mills Centre bottle bank). There was also a clothes airer, some bits of timber and various other large items.

This meant that of 8 bags collected only 3 remained for collection by South Dublin County Council, and 5 avoided going to land fill.

So well done everyone, and a big “Thank You” to our new Volunteers.

The eagle eyed among you may have noticed only 13 volunteers in the photo as one volunteer arrived too late to be included in the picture.

The next cleanup is scheduled for the second Saturday of August which falls on the 13^th 

– make a note in your diary to join us, and watch the website and Facebook page for updates.

Report of the River Clean up on Saturday 11 June 202.

Thanks to all that turned out for our cleanup on Saturday last, especially our new volunteers.

The Bag count in The Community Centre was 6 bags general waste for SDCC to collect, and we recycled 7 bags drinks cans and plastic bottles to Round Towers GAA and 4 bags of glass bottles too the Bring Centre in the Mills Centre car park.

It was great to welcome our new volunteers and well done everyone, hope to see you all again on next month's cleanup on the second Saturday of July which falls on the 9th July.

Thanks to Kevin, Peter, Brian & Tim for looking after the recycling.

The next River Clean up is scheduled for the second Saturday in June which fall on the 9th July.

Please note that date in your diary.  Watch our website – www.fotc.ie – and our Facebook page for updates.

Sponsored by Friends of the Camac and generously supported by the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), the ‘Freshwater Detective’ course was delivered by renowned biologist and author Professor Ken Whelan. https://www.kenwhelan.info/biography/

Eleven young people, mainly TY students, from three schools, participated (Moyle Park College, Clondalkin; King’s Hospital School, Palmerstown; and Kishoge Community College, Lucan). As well as classwork, the group participated in fieldwork which involved water sampling, and recording the macroinvertebrate life in the river. Studying the minute creatures in the aquatic environment gives a window onto the quality of the water and the health of the river.

Friends of the Camac are delighted to pioneer this training with young people and hope to encourage the young environmentalists and citizen scientists of the future. (photos attached, or available from Tommy Keogh)

www.fotc.ie

Facebook: search Friends of the Camac Contact: Hon. Secretary Maria O’Connor 086 607 6452 Email: friendsofthecamac@hotmail.com Photos: Tommy Keogh 087 281 2626

This year Friends of the Camac were delighted to receive lots of entries for our art competition.  The theme this year was “Life in Our Rivers”, and as you can see from the winning entries, the standard was extremely high.

We had very difficult decisions to make and wished we could give prizes to all the children who entered. We think you will agree that the winners’ artworks really capture life in our rivers and we congratulate all the children, their parents and teachers for taking part.

All winners received a €25 cash prize, a mounted copy of their artwork, and an award certificate.

Maith thú do na daltaí, do na muinteorí agus do na tuismitheoirí go lair!

Presentations were made to the Winners by Lile Frost, (Chair), and Brian Ronan (Treasurer) on 20 December 2021 at the Winners schools.  Photos of the Presentations by Tommy Keogh.