Heroes of the Pure Mile

THE 15th ANNIVERSARY and celebration of the 2024 Pure Mile Awards was held in the Brooklodge Hotel in Macreddin, Aughrim, to mark the hard work and achievements of all the Pure Mile Volunteers in Cleaning Up The Wicklow/Dublin Uplands.

The Pure Mile is an environmental, community, heritage initiative, established by Pure, which encourages communities and groups living in rural areas of Wicklow, South Dublin and Dun-Laoghaire, to adopt a mile of road, or miles of road, in their local area, or in the Wicklow/Dublin Uplands and organise litter picks, clean-ups, antidumping campaigns, research information about their local wildflowers, plants, trees, animals, and the built, cultural, and social heritage of an area.

The awards night is an opportunity for all of the Pure Mile Groups to meet up in one room, for one night and one night only, and celebrate all of their hard work and achievements in Cleaning Up The Wicklow/Dublin Uplands, and for Pure to thank them all.

The Pure Mile was launched in 2009 and since then over 450 communities and groups have registered with the initiative.

Starting with five areas back in 2009 Pure now have individuals, groups, walking groups, hiking groups, cycling groups, running groups, scouts, beavers, cubs, schools, businesses and organisations, from all over Wicklow, South Dublin, and Dun Laoghaire.

Since the Pure Mile was initiated, Pure Mile Volunteers have collectively improved and enhanced over 1,400 miles (2,250 kilometres) of road, mountains, woodlands, valleys, forestries, upland amenity areas, car parks, pull-ins, and even some coastal areas.

One of the main projects involved in this years Pure Mile was ‘Cleanup The South Dublin Uplands,’ with additional projects including anti-dumping campaigns, natural heritage, biodiversity, sustainability, built/social/cultural heritage, community and educations projects.

The Pure Mile demonstrates that people want to make a difference and want to preserve our environment, and Pure gives them the assistance so they can make that difference.

Pure Mile Groups range from all over Wicklow, South Dublin and Dun Laoghaire and, on the night of the awards, each one received a Pure Mile Certificate of Participation, and all will be included in the popular Pure Mile Calendar, which was also launched on the night.

There were a number of Certificates of Recognition presented on the night by the Mayor of South Dublin Cllr. Baby Pereppadan, Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, TD, and the Cathaoirleach of Wicklow County Council, Cllr. Paul O’Brien, with cash prizes reaching over €6,000 distributed to groups which will further assist them in their local projects to improve and enhance the Wicklow/Dublin Uplands.

A number of walking groups and businesses were recognised on the night for their work to ‘Clean-Up The South Dublin Uplands’, and for their regular litter picks and clean-ups of South Dublin Upland roads, mountains, trails, woodlands and forest entrances.

The Pure Mile Groups concentrated their clean-up events this year on areas that were frequently affected by both littering and illegal dumping, including, Glenasmole Road, Cunard Road, Piperstown Road, Glassamucky Road, Castle Kelly Road, Ballymorefinn, Kilakee Car Park, The White Road, Seehan Road, Stone Cross, and all sections of the R115 Military Road.

Over the last fifteen years, Pure Mile Volunteers have organised thousands of litter picks and clean-ups resulting in the removal of tonnes of bags of litter and rubbish from the beautiful, scenic South Dublin Uplands.

A number of Pure Mile Groups who were involved in litter pick events of the South Dublin Uplands were in attendance at the awards night and Certificates of Recognition and cash prizes were presented to Windmill Hill Rathcoole Pure Miles, Trekkers Walking Group Pure Miles, Wayfarers Walking Group Pure Miles, Átha Cliath Clean Up the Uplands Pure Mile Team, Glencree Walking Group Pure Miles, Friends of the South Dublin Uplands Pure Miles, and Cruagh Pure Miles.

Certificates of Recognition for Corporate Engagement and clean-ups of the South Dublin Uplands were also acknowledged on the night and included Glendalough Distillery Pure Mile Team, Britvic Pure Mile Team, NTT Global Pure Mile Team, and Vagabond Tours Pure Mile Team.

Donnie Anderson from Glenasmole/ Cunard Pure Mile received a Pure Mile Ambassador Award for all his hard work, dedication and commitment to the Pure Mile.

The Pure Mile is the perfect opportunity for communities and groups who want to make a positive contribution to the South Dublin Uplands environment, and assists people in improving and enhancing the places they enjoy being in.

Special interest groups such as, walking groups, cycling groups, running groups, hiking groups, businesses, and organisations, adopt a mile, or miles of road, in the South Dublin Uplands and help Pure to ‘Clean Up The South Dublin Uplands.

Pure has made huge progress in reducing illegal dumping in the Wicklow/Dublin Uplands. If you compare the amount of dumping collected by Pure in 2023, which was 120 tonnes of waste, to 2008 which was the environmental initiatives busiest year, when they removed 440 tonnes, Pure has seen a 72 per cent reduction in illegal dumping in Wicklow/Dublin Uplands.

The Pure Truck is on the road every day, and since Pure was established in 2006, it has removed over 3,950,000kg (3,950 tonnes) of rubbish from over 14,800 illegal dumping sites in the Wicklow/Dublin Uplands, with the project processing over 15,900 reports/complaints.

If you were to put all the rubbish that Pure has removed from the uplands into standard household rubbish bags, they would fill over 790,000 bags.

If you lined up all these bags on the road, they would stretch all the way from Dublin Airport to Mizen Head in Cork, and back again. If any groups, communities, individuals, schools, walking groups, cycling groups, scouts, businesses, ANYONE, want to get involved in Pure Mile, they can contact Pure at info@pureproject.ie or download an application from www.pureproject.ie/ what-we-do/the-pure-mile/.

You can also write to; Pure Project, Unit 6 B, Riverside Business Centre, Tinahely, Co Wicklow, Y14 R978, and they will post out all the information, or request an application form and information pack by phoning Pure on 0402 28662.