Dublin City Lord Mayor Naoise Ó Muirí Launches The Dublin Harvest Festival for 2013.
The Dublin Community Growers annual Harvest Festival is supported by the Dublin City Community Forum, An Taisce Green Home and Green Communities Programmes.
“Harvest 2013” … Greening our city from the roots up!
On the 7th March 2013, saw the Lord Mayor of Dublin hosting the launch of the 2013 Dublin Harvest Festival within the Mansion House. Many participants, volunteers, sponsors, and supporters, from across Dublin’s many community garden projects, participated in the launch of this year’s Dublin Harvest Festival, which is scheduled to be held in September.
On Saturday 14th September “Harvest 2013” will demonstrate that organic food need not be expensive, and can be accessible to all. During the event organically grown produce from Dublin’s Community Gardens will be exchanged for free with any individuals who want to join in the fun by pledging to help out with their local community garden.
The Lord Mayor said “As Lord Mayor of Dublin, I want to enable community groups to access sites across the city that are currently unused or underutilised. These sites could enhance the quality of life of all of Dublin’s residents if put to interim use for community development and environmental improvement. Dublin’s allotments and community gardens provide a positive role model for such interim use of brown field sites. I believe that September’s Dublin Harvest Festival will provide a significant boost for community garden projects, and will assist in such projects being more widely considered as a suitable interim use for the many vacant sites across the city.”
The 2013 Dublin Harvest Festival will bring different community gardeners together to celebrate their brilliant gardens while also encouraging others in the community to get growing and to set up their own community gardens.
Dublin Community Growers would like to thank everybody that supported us in delivering Dublin’s first Free Harvest Festival on Saturday 29th September.
The day went flawlessly which indicates how well planned, and how well supported this new event for Dublin is. This is quite an achievement for a first night show! This is even more impressive as it was delivered by unpaid volunteers. Well done to everyone who helped out on the day, and also behind the scenes for many days beforehand.
Dublin Community Growers would also like to thank our partners:
- The Dublin Community Forum, and the Environmental Focus Group of Dublin Community Forum in particular.
- An Taisce Green Home and Green Communities Programme.
- Dublin City Council Events Department.
- WALK
Our Supporters:
- The Lighthouse Cinema
- PM Group
- Go Car
- Creative Binding
- CBC Distributors
- Healthy Food for All
- The Church Bar & Restaurant
- Smartphonetraining.ie
We would also like to thank our Sponsors:
- The EPA
- Glenisk
- Axa Insurance
- Community Foundation for Ireland
- Dublin City Council
All of the speakers including:
Robert Moss, Lorna Kelly, Dr Dorothy Stewart, Kristina McElroy, Emma McGuigan, Joey Feeley, Rosaleen McMenamin, Lord Mayor of Dublin Naoise Ó Muirí, Sean Shanagher, Peadar Lynch, William Morrogh, Nuala Madigan, Fergal Anderson, Liam McGarry, Barbara Ebert, Ciaran O’Byrne.
All Event Coordinators including:
Kevin Dennehy, Peader Lynch, Marion Kelly, Jacqueline Kelleher, William Morrogh, Mary Gunning, Helen Cantrell, Robert Moss, Gavin Kenny, Miren Samper, William Brennan.
Also:
Niamh Cunningham of DCC, Kevin Dennehy of DCG, Singer; Sheila G-La Giles-Mullen, Chief Apple Juice Presser Derek Moffat, Van drivers Tony Louth and Fiona McCauley, Sandra Austin, Niamh McDonald, Georgina Buffini, Mick keigher, St John’s Ambulance, UCD Environmental Field Station, Newbridge House, all of the Stallholders, Volunteers and Community Gardeners.
Dublin Harvest 2012, Sept 29th 2012…. from DCTV on Vimeo.
For a vibrant green Dublin and a healthy garden movement. Changing the city one root at a time.
Dublin Community Growers is a network of community gardeners who meet monthly within central Dublin. An open group, they meet to discuss community gardening projects, and the issues faced by these projects. Dublin Community Growers also organise events to promote community gardens as amenities to be valued. The core ethos of Dublin Community Growers are represented by social inclusion, and environmental responsibility.
Dublin Community Growers support organic principles and animal welfare.
Benefits of Community Gardening
- Improves the quality of life for people in the garden.
- Provides a catalyst for neighbourhood and community development.
- Stimulates Social Interaction.
- Encourages Self-Reliance.
- Beautifies Neighbourhoods.
- Produces Nutritious Food.
- Reduces Family Food Budgets.
- Conserves Resources.
- Reduces Crime.
- Preserves Green Space.
- Creates opportunity for recreation, exercise, therapy, and education.
- Creates income opportunities and economic development.
- Reduces city heat from streets and car parking areas.
- Provides opportunities for intergenerational and cross-cultural connections.
Biodiversity
Biodiversity is a term intended to describe all of nature’s variety. It refers to all aspects of variety in the living world, including the variety of species on the planet; the amount of genetic variation that exists within a species; the diversity of communities in an ecosystem; and the rich variety of landscapes that occur on the planet. Biodiversity comes under threat through Habitat Destruction, Invasive Species,Pollution, and Over harvesting of Natural Resources.
Ireland
Ireland is home to approximately 815 species of flowering plants and about 80 native ferns, over 700 mosses and liverworts, 3,500 fungi,over 1,000 lichens and 1,400 algae. There are 32 terrestrial mammals, including ten bat species and two seals and 24 whales and dolphins have been observed in Irish waters. Some 425 bird species have been recorded, about half of which breed here, and the Red Grouse, Irish Jay, Dipper and Coal Tit are races unique to Ireland. The Viviparous Lizard is Ireland’s only land reptile, joined recently by the Slow Worm, which has been introduced in the Burren. We have three amphibians, the Smooth Newt,Common Frog, and Natterjack Toad. Ireland is home to many thousands of invertebrates, the most famous of which is the Kerry Slug, Geomalacus maculosus. Twenty-seven freshwater fish species are found in our lakes and rivers.
