Communities Leitrim-led project is ‘Growing in Confidence’
Garden is a beacon of hope, says Minister
No such thing as ‘a derelict site’ Development worker Seamus Diskin writes about how it took hard physical work – and seaweed - to turn a derelict site into Ballybane Organic Community Garden: “There were, as one would expect, many challenges and problems to be overcome in the early stages. The piece of earth in question was on the site of a City Council reservoir and had been neglected for years. The initial task of clearing and tilling the ground unearthed a motley variety of litter, scrap, builder’s debris and stones. “With the determination of a group focussed on acting collectively, the ground was dug over by hand, bit by bit, and cleared of docks, thistles and ragwort. Scutch grass was pulled out and ridges began to take shape. “…In Nature’s beautiful balanced way, the winter westerly gales threw up tonnes of excellent organic manure on the nearby Ballyloughane beach, and the City Council crews loaded and transported it to the Garden, rather than to the spoil heap where it is usually dumped. The rain washed the seaweed and it made the soil fertile for potatoes, cabbages, lettuce and carrots, as it has done on the Western seaboard for hundreds of years. “The Garden was extended recently and now comprises nearly an acre and a half. Plans are under way to cater for more groups: a relaxing space for older people, a willow maze for the younger ones, a barbeque for teenagers, raised beds for people who cannot stoop, more space for vegetables, flowers, soft fruits and fruit trees, a propagation tunnel to germinate seeds. Who knows what the future will bring?” The full article by Seamus Diskin on how Ballybane turned the area around will be made available in the resource section of our website: www.changingireland.ie
Minister of State for Food and Horticulture, Trevor Sargent, visited the Ballybane Organic Garden Project on April 30th and predicted that it would become the first fully certified Community Organic Garden in Ireland. The Minister said Ballybane was “a beacon of hope and community resilience against a backdrop of food insecurity worldwide and rising food prices.” He told the ‘Galway Independent’ he was keen, working with colleagues in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, to formulate a policy nationally to promote community gardens similar to the Ballybane project. In terms of agricultural development, Minister Sargent wants to see 5% of Ireland’s land area used for organic production by 2012.
Wider benefits of Organic Community Gardens “Community-based organic gardens not only help promote organic gardening skills and awareness of healthy eating, but also have a number of other benefits. There are health benefits from increased physical activity, and from consumption of fresh and affordable organic vegetables and fruit. Taking part in a community garden project is a very positive experience. It promotes social interaction and a great sense of shared achievement. It raises awareness of the environmental benefits of local organic food production, which generates fewer carbon emissions from ‘food miles’, and by using natural fertilizers and methods of weed and pest control, avoids the use of harmful chemicals. Generally, the project is a great encouragement to participants to continue growing organically for themselves, and in some cases, to consider growing commercially.” - Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co. Leitrim.
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Not many projects produce such tangible, concrete results that they can, literally, be consumed. The ‘Growing in Confidence’ Community Food Project is one such project. Since 2004, the Health Promotion Department of HSE West in partnership with the Organic Centre in County Leitrim, has helped set up six organic gardens. The Growing in Confidence project was able to spread its wings quickly and efficiently due to the existence ‘on the ground’ of CDPs, FRCs and other reputable local community organisations. Participants, under the guidance of an experienced organic gardening mentor, learn to grow their own organic vegetables, and with the help of trained tutors, also learn to prepare and cook healthy, fresh produce. The participants have included asylum seekers, men’s groups, parents on a tight budget, older people and people with disabilities. Local community groups have helped recruit participants (approximately 1215 per per location) while the funding comes from the HSE, the Department of Agriculture and Food, and PEACE II. The work involves each year close to 200 people in 15 community settings in Sligo, Leitrim, Donegal and in Northern Ireland. The benefits have been recognised by external evaluators from the Sligo Institute of Technology, observing: • Nutritional, physical activity and mental health benefits. • Participants made positive changes in relation to both behaviour and knowledge.
Get the ‘How To Guide’ The steering committee of the ‘Growing in Confidence’ Community Food Project has written a comprehensive ‘How to Guide’ for groups wishing to start community gardens. The ‘How To Guide’ to organic gardening is freely available from a link on their webpage: www.theorganiccentre.ie/community_food_ project. The Organic Centre also incidentally sells a tremendous choice of seeds and you can avail of their online shop if you are unable to call personally.
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