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The Nealon brothers with their award.
TRALEE brothers who have spearheaded a campaign to clean up the canal area have won a national award for their efforts.
Nine year old twins Evan and Alex and their 12 year-old brother Dylan Nealon travelled to the ECO UNESCO Young Environmentalists Awards at the National Convention Centre in Dublin on Thursday and came home with the Overall Super Junior Award for their ‘Evan, Alex and Dylan’s Tralee Canal Clean Up’ entry.
The Nealon brothers’ project involves the removal of plastic from the Tralee canal and bay, as well as the protection of wildlife and the environment.
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In the first six months of the campaign, the group pulled over 400 bags of rubbish out of the area including mattresses, televisions, fridges and chairs.
The project led to funding for a “seabin” and assistance cleaning the hard-to-reach areas. Evan has Cystic Fibrosis and is an ambassador for CF Ireland, but it doesn’t stop him from his efforts in cleaning up the canal.
Their next big Tralee Bay Clean Up is set for Friday, June 14 with volunteers meeting at the Aquadome Carpark at 2pm.
The Nealons weren’t the only Kerry winner at the awards, as the Castleisland Community College ‘Fairtraders’ project won the ECO-Community Development Senior category.
Now in their 20th year, ECO-UNESCO’s Young Environmentalist Awards (YEA) is an all-Ireland environmental awards programme that recognises and rewards young people who raise environmental awareness and improve the environment.
Since 1999, ECO-UNESCO has run the YEA programme to honour the work of young people to protect, conserve and enhance the environment through local environmental projects, making a difference to their lives and the lives of others both locally and globally.
