Tidy Towns volunteer: 'Don’t just go and moan about this, be part of the solution'

It is said that travel broadens the mind, and this has certainly been the case for Tara de Montfort. Her time spent travelling opened her eyes to environmental challenges and forged her life-long passion to learn more and take action.

“Since a relatively young age, I travelled a lot. I went to Kenya; I had family there. That kicked off a lot of travel,” she said. “The more I travelled, the more I realised what we are doing to our planet.”

On one of her trips to Ecuador 20 years ago, she spoke at length with a tour guide about environmental challenges. Her sister saw how engaged Tara was in this topic and gave her the nudge needed to delve into this passion.

Tara recalls how she turned to her and said, “I always knew you loved this stuff, but I never knew how passionate you were. Why are you not doing something about it?!”

In the aftermath of this formative trip, Tara signed up for an Open University degree in Environmental Studies, achieving a first-class honours degree, an incredible achievement while also juggling her busy and successful career as a project manager in London.

But Tara’s environmentalist journey was only beginning. Through Global Volunteers International, she signed up for an internship at a South African national park for a year in environmental education. This role was much more far-reaching than described in terms of community engagement - working closely with local farmers and discouraging poachers.

Her considerable project management skills and fresh perspective resulted in the number of children engaging in the education programme going from 200 to 2,000, a tenfold increase and a testament to her skillset and commitment to the project.

Returning to her home, Cork, after years abroad, her dog was the trigger that prompted Tara to consider volunteering for Douglas Tidy Towns.

“I was aware of the organisation for some time. One of the first things I did when I returned home (to Cork) was get a dog. One day, I was taking the dog out for a walk. 

I came home, and there was blood all over the kitchen floor. He had cut his paw on glass.

Never one to rest on her laurels, it was the catalyst that spurred her to act.

“I felt, don’t just go and moan about this, be part of the solution.”

She quips that this mentality of being part of the solution is what she has done all her life, sometimes to her own exhaustion! Tara joined Douglas Tidy Town in 2016 and, over time, became the secretary and now is the treasurer.

She sees plenty of benefits to volunteering, and it is an integral part of her identity.

“I’ve always done it, all my life.”

She shares how her volunteer work during her 16 years in the UK resulted in her making friends, which she still has to do to this day. In addition to the social aspect, she sees it as an important balance for her work.

It’s a lot of fun. You meet people, you get outside, and it gives purpose to life.

As well as her work with Douglas Tidy Towns, Tara also has been a front-of-house volunteer at the Everyman Palace for many years.

She is most proud of the development of a new scheme, the Tramore River Community Project, a new opportunity to improve the locality, connect with other groups, and build and share knowledge. This collaborative project was founded by Togher Tidy Towns, Ballyphehane Tidy Towns, Douglas Tidy Towns, and Turner’s Cross Climate Action Group with support from the Local Authorities Water Programme (LAWPRO) and Cork City Council. It is clear that Tramore River is an overlooked and undervalued natural resource.

“It’s watch this space for Tramore River. Everybody forgets about it; it runs from Douglas all the way through Togher and up to the airport. It’s a very important artery, and it should be a very clean artery, but it’s not.”

Nature and gardening are where Tara recharges, offering a welcome reprieve from the challenges of work in her role as Global Support Director at MovePlan.

You’ve finished a heavy piece of work; 10 minutes out in the garden brings you right down to earth again.

She is also a member of the Cor Cois Abhann choir and an avid reader. Tara credits the pandemic for her renewed appreciation of local places to visit. “The pandemic woke you up to what was on your doorstep,” she said.

From when she was young, she was immersed in nature and has inherited her parents’ love of gardening. She enjoys living at the edge of the city, benefiting from both the nearby Doman’s Woods for walks with her dog and the convenient proximity to everything.

For those considering joining Douglas Tidy Towns, Tara has a key message to share: You don’t have to turn up every Saturday!”

While the group of up to 60 members meet on Saturdays (with some exceptions like bank holidays), people are free to attend or drop in and out as time allows. Joining is simple. Volunteers can show up on Saturday at the Douglas Community Centre at 10.30am.

By following the Douglas Tidy Towns Facebook page and visiting their website, potential volunteers can learn more about what is going on.

Last year, Douglas Tidy Towns won a Bronze award, an incredible achievement against stiff competition.

When they first began, the group’s scope was predominately on keeping Douglas tidy, but they have since evolved considerably, and now the tagline on their updated logo reflects their broader scope: community, heritage and biodiversity.

This year, they are busy working on several projects, have held nine events for Heritage Week, and are actively collaborating with local schools and businesses.

Transition year art students from Douglas Community School transformed a graffiti-ridden ESB substation into a vibrant mural earlier this year.

It is one of the many ways Douglas Tidy Towns engages the local community and enriches the beauty of this area.

The recently launched Douglas Stories was produced by Douglas Tidy Towns in collaboration with Frameworks Films and Cork Community TV, which pays homage to Douglas’s social history and celebrates its rich heritage.

Next year marks their 25th year of making a difference in the locality, and it is clear that it is more vital now than ever, creating an opportunity for all to gather and enrich their locality and to celebrate and protect its heritage and biodiversity.

Tara is quick to mention the work and skills of the other members of the committee and volunteers, along with the support of local businesses and the County Council.

It is apparent when talking to Tara that she is a woman who can move mountains if given enough time.

Her can-do attitude, unwavering passion, and commitment to doing good wherever she goes help to make Douglas a beautiful and biodiverse area in which we can all take pride.