Work has begun on a Community Garden Project in the Whitehead area of Carrickfergus. Various members of the local community from different groups had gotten in touch about growing vegetables so I brought all the groups together (Windsor Residents Association, Brighter Whitehead, Sustainable NI and local church members) and we decided to make a community garden.
The site was an overgrown area of a local park. On the first clearing day we made loads of progress clearing the area and we had also sourced wood to make raised beds so we varnished these. After a hard days work one of the group very kindly made us all bacon butties and tea!
Since then the group has met a few more times and made even more progress by putting the raised beds together and starting some planting –
We are meeting tomorrow to get more materials and are having another session next week. The group are hoping to enter Carrickfergus in Bloom’s Best Commuity Garden competition. http://www.carrickfergusinbloom.org/
I finished distributing the Sunflower Seeds for Carrick in Bloom’s Tallest Sunflower competition. I rounded this off with a demostration at Carrickfergus Model Primary School. I brought down pots, compost and sunflower seeds and the kids all planted their sunflowers.
A really fun day and it was great to speak to the kids – a lot of them had an keen interest in gardening and nature. One boy was telling me how he has been growing tomatoes with his grandad for years – this was fantastic to hear as it’s really important to get children interested in and engaging with nature at a young age as research has shown they are then more likely to have a connection with the earth and feel their role is to protect it – http://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2014/playing-outside-could-make-kids-more-spiritual/
Coincidently, I was lucky enough to get a place on Play Board’s (www.playboard.org) CAN Play 4 week programme which focuses on getting kids back outdoors – playing outdoors, climbing trees etc. After the course I will then be putting on my own Outdoor Play session in Carrick, probably in August.
Some photos of the last session which involved outdoor den building – such fun!
Last weekend Carrick Council held a Spring Clean Event at Eden Allotments – the perfect opportunity to tidy the plots and meet other plot holders. I was working with the YMCA on their plot which had become really overgrown, with help from neighbouring plot owner Stephen, who very kindly lent his strimmer! Exactly the kind of community spirit that make the allotments so cool.
Before
After
Finally, in bee related news, I’ve installed a bee box at home which will hopefully attract some bees (www.growwilduk.com) and I have my bee-keeping exam on Saturday, so I’m away to revise!
