March 12th 2000: c3,000 people came to a field & left behind a forest.

Part 1: The Rewilding of Galway city had begun. 

Pupils, Teachers & Parents of Scoil Chaitríona in Terryland Forest Park, March 12, 2000

 

On this day 21 years ago, nearly 3000 people turned up in what previously was pasture inhabited by grazing cattle adjacent to the Quincentenary Bridge. Over the course of a few hours, these volunteers in Galway's first community 'Plantathon' planted thousands of native Irish trees in the first phase of a development new to Ireland, namely an urban forest park. We called it Terryland Forest Park, a zoned green area of 180 acres lying within the boundaries of Galway city. It was an inspiring sight to behold. Months of hard work and lobbying by members of the park’s multi-sectoral steering committee led by Stephen Walsh, who had been appointed in the previous year to the new position of ‘Superintendent of Parks’ of what was then Galway Corporation, came to fruition. We watched joyously as groups of trainee Garda Síochána, scouts, girl guides, pupils from different schools, company staff as well as families, politicians and senior council officials arrived in the park over the course of the morning, afternoon and early evening armed with shovels, spades and forks to be part of what was and still remains Ireland’s largest community-local government partnered urban forestry project. There was a true sense of togetherness that day, a feeling amongst many that we were creating something special, something that we hoped would make the city a better place to live in for present and future generations as well as become a unique urban sanctuary for wildlife. Many of those dreams have indeed come true. But there are still many other aspirations that have yet to occur that should reinforce its legacy. The idea for such a park started in late 1995 when a small group of community activists living in housing estates along the Headford Road came together in my house one night to discuss long term solutions to the urban sprawl that we were living in. We realised that within a matter of years, as a result of the city’s population growth (‘the fastest growing city in Europe’), the agricultural lands that were still a feature of our locality could be covered in concrete and tarmac with its inhabitants deprived of usable green space...

(to be continued) 

Photo shows children, parents and teachers from Scoil Chaitríona Senior on that memorable day. Thank you Jim Hynes for being one of those teachers and being a pioneer over many decades in promoting the Outdoor Classroom. Thank you Lol Hardiman, Niall O Brolchain, Paddy Cunningham Stephen Walsh, Donal Keegan, Gordon D’Arcy, Joe Quilty, Kevin Collins and Sasha van der Sleesen for being part of that great team that was the steering committee of Terryland Forest Park