One of Galway city’s oldest community
gardens will this Sunday celebrate its’ tenth year in existence by hosting a
Harvest Festival for the benefit of local residents.
According to Brendan Smith, PRO and a
founding member of the Ballinfoile Mór Community Organic Garden , “We are
asking residents of all ages from the surrounding Ballinfoile, Terryland,
Ballindooley and Castlegar areas to come along from 12pm until 4pm on Sunday
July 14th to celebrate
this great community-made resource and to enjoy the fruits, vegetables and
herbs grown by a small group of dedicated gardeners who have done so much to
create a green oasis that is used as an outdoor classroom, a social space, a
wildlife haven and a healthy food growing facility. The event will also provide
pizzas baked in our huge oven made out of local clay, potatoes boiled in giant
pots heated over a traditional open fire, music, traditional children’s games,
face painting and much more.
”The facility has never looked more
productive thanks to the hard working committee of Padraic Keirns, Tom Hanley,
Laurence Daly, Margaret Douglas, Michael McDonnell, Michael Tiarnan, Maura Mullen
and Sabrina Commins supported by a healthy band of volunteers including Alaa,
Saaed and Vlad from the Eglinton Direct Provision Centre.
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| The field in Terryland Forest Park, 2009 |
We have come a long way since 2009 when the
representations of Michael McDonnell, Michael Tiarnan, Caitríona Nic Mhuiris and
myself proved successful as Stephen Walsh of Galway City Council Parks office allocated
a small field at the edge of Terryland Forest Park for the development of an
organic garden for local residents. Modelled on the original of the species,
the Ballybane Community Garden, we set about transforming a barren patch of
ground into the lush green productive space that it is today.
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| Volunteers of all ages preparing the ground in the garden, early June 2009 |
The field was levelled and fenced off for
us in 2009 by City Parks staff who also provided a shipping container. From
January until July 2010, volunteers dug out from very rough stony ground the
first vegetable beds, planted the first fruit trees, constructed a raised
concrete platform for dining and live music activities, laid down electrical
cabling and water pipes as well as erecting a large poly tunnel. The interior
of the container was transformed into a storage facility, a kitchen and a
toilet whilst its exterior was covered with a beautiful rural landscape scene,
painted by local children working under the auspices of artist Margaret Nolan.
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| Local children painting a landscape scene with artist Margaret Nolan at container exterior, August 2010 |
By August of that year, we were able to
host a very successful Harvest Festival, thus making next week’s event our
tenth annual food celebration.
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| Erecting a Polytunnel, August 2010 |
Our aim is to continue making this green
neighbourhood resource a friendly outdoor venue where people can socialise,
grow organic fruits and vegetables as well as to learn the traditional
eco-skills from composting to pruning that our grandparents possessed.
As a diverse range of stakeholders from
business to health, to community to education come together on the National
Park City for Galway initiative, the latest medical scientific research is
showing the benefits to people of all ages that comes from spending time
surrounded by plants and trees in what is referred to as the ‘Green
Prescription’. By working with others in amongst our fruit trees, vegetable
plots and herbal beds as well as by participating in our educational courses,
volunteers in our community garden are encouraged to bring this knowledge back
to their homes so that they can grow tasty safe foods in their own gardens to
be served on the kitchen plate for the enjoyment of the whole family.
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| Building a community tree nursery, May 2019 |
Growing food organically enriches the soil, reduces our carbon footprint, does
not pollute the environment, helps the local economy, reduces a household’s
food bill and improves personal nutrition. Just as important a well-maintained
organic garden is by nature a diverse place, filled not only with food crops,
but flowers, birds, insects, bees, and butterflies. It is a sanctuary for
wildlife at a time when 25% of Ireland’s native species are under threat.
Urban neighbourhood organic gardens will
play an ever-increasing role in tackling Climate Chaos.
Note: This article appeared in the July 12th edition of the Galway Advertiser
Note: This article appeared in the July 12th edition of the Galway Advertiser
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