Five Kerry amenities have received international accreditation.
An Taisce’s Green Flag Award is the international quality benchmark for the public green space sector.
Parks and amenities in Tralee, Listowel, Killarney and Derrynane has received the accolade.
Green Flags have been awarded to Tralee Town Park; Childers Park and Woodlands in Listowel and the Tralee Bay Wetlands, as well as the Killarney House and Gardens, which is managed by the NPWS, and the OPW managed Derrynane Historic Park.
They are among 120 public greens places recognised in the 2024 awards; Ireland leads the way for other EU countries in terms of Green Flags awarded.
Running for over 25 years, the programme uses eight key criteria, with an emphasis on environmental management, for its assessment.
All sites implement a management framework, and then undergo an annual inspection by qualified judges.
Derrynane and Killarney House and Gardens were also awarded Green Heritage Site Accreditation, while Sneem Development Co-op were awarded a Green Flag Community Award for their Garden of the Senses.
Tralee Bay Wetlands Eco and Activity Park was named as the overall winner of the 2024 Pollinator Plan Award as well as the Town Park winner, while the Sneem Community Garden was named as the Community Garden Winner in the Pollinator Plan category.
