Martha Farrell of Tralee Tidy Towns (kneeling right) with a group from SMBC/JRI America at the Spring Plant Hunt on the Tralee-Fenit Greenway on Thursday morning. Photo by Dermot CreanSMBC/JRI America and Tralee Tidy Towns are taking part in a first-of-its kind, community-led bio blitz on the entire Tralee-to-Fenit Greenway during the month of April.
Dividing the Greenway into ten sections the aim is to identify and record all flowering plants along the route and log the records with the National Biodiversity Data Centre.
This will help to build a picture of the plant life on this important ecological corridor, providing a baseline to track changes over time.
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Shane Walsh, Ireland Division Head for JRI-America said: “JRI America, IT Services Provider for SMBC was delighted to partner with Tralee Tidy Towns to support their first ever Community-Led Spring Plant hunt along the Tralee to Fenit Greenway, as part of Earth Month 2026.
“As part of the initiative, colleagues from across our Tralee office came together and helped in surveying sections of the Greenway, recording and photographing flowering plant species along sections of the 13km Greenway.”
The project is part of Tralee Tidy Towns’ Community Biodiversity Action Plan (CBAP) implementation, supported by Community Foundation Ireland and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
The Spring Plant Hunt was organised by Tralee Tidy Towns in collaboration with the Irish Wildlife Trust (Kerry branch) and Dúlra Thrá Lí, with community groups, clubs, businesses, and NGOs each surveying designated sections of the route.
The SMBC Global Foundation will also contribute monetary support to Tralee Tidy Towns in recognition of this collective effort and in order to support the causes which its employees care about most.
Shane Walsh continued: “We are pleased to work alongside Tralee Tidy Towns and to acknowledge the volunteers whose commitment contributed to the success of this initiative. Collaborations like this play an important role in strengthening community spirit and caring for our local environment.”
Martha Farrell of Tralee Tidy Towns said “ We are delighted with the support of JRI America and SMBC on this important part of our Biodiversity Action along the Kingdom of Kerry Greenway. So far, we have recorded 33 species of plants in flower in the first four kilometres, with 28 volunteers participating. We have some of the top biodiversity recorders in the country in our Tralee Tidy Towns team and this is a wonderful way to share learning with the wider community. We were also able to log the exact locations of early-stage invasive species along the route and this can be used in invasive management strategies.”
