“One day I walked through the garden gate, and I never left” says Catherine in Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden. This is a what members throughout Galway city say about their community gardens in all sorts of ways. At this time of the year, you can feel growth in the air along with the sense of belonging and purpose which being a member of a garden brings.
This is the time of year to get growing, and community gardens across Galway city are doing just that. Gardens provide a communal space where people share a planting plan, agree on what to plant, where to plant it, when to harvest, share their crops with the garden members, and hold harvest events for the wider community.
Merlin Woods Community Garden, at the entrance to Merlin Woods, Ballybane Community Garden and Ballinfoile Mór Community Garden are community gardens east of the Corrib. You can visit these gardens at prearranged times and, if interested, even give a few hours of your time. This is how Ruslana Karastoyanova of Ard Gardening Group started. “Merlin Woods Community Garden gives me great pleasure every week, and for me personally it is the one place I can stop thinking about my daily tasks and create something beautiful selflessly. It’s such a diverse place there is something for everyone who wants to join.”
What all members say is what you give, you always get back in different and unexpected ways. “There is no such thing as a bad gardener, just an uninterested one, and this is where community gardens are of the most benefit as we support each other,” says Bernadette in Ballybane Community Garden. Gerry Folan adds to this: “We are all a community in the garden who look out for each other, but we also have the craic and take time out.” Caroline Stanley from Merlin Woods Community Garden adds: “Our garden is open to all, we link in with other groups, schools, and organisations throughout the year to build on this great community initiative supported by Ard Family Resource Centre and Let’s Get Galway Growing. It is a very enjoyable way to integrate into the community and make new friends.”
Expect the unexpected when you walk through the gate of your community garden as, in the words of Pauline Kelly from Ballinfoile, “Many people dream of finding a hidden treasure in their garden, sometimes even right in front of their noses, well, in Ballinfoile Community Garden we found ours right under our feet.”
LGGG is supported and funded through Galway City Partnership and the Health Service Executive Community Health Care West. There are currently nine community gardens dotted throughout the city, who are members of the network. For more information see www.facebook.com/LetsGetGalwayGrowing
If you participate in a community garden that would like to become a member of the network, or if you want to become involved in a community garden in your area, contact Fiona Blaney, Galway City Partnership. [email protected], 086 7709919.
