Community
PHOTOS Limerick Growing Communities taking root across the city and county
Limerick Growing Communities planting roots across the county. Limerick Growing Communities cookout event took place at Tait House, Southill, on Friday, July 5, 2024. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick
Limerick Growing Communities planting roots across the city and county, getting people “out, getting people active, and getting people growing”
Communities are set to bloom with gardening and growing spaces as the Limerick Growing Communities initiative aims to get people to get their thumbs green.
In 2023, Social Enterprise Limerick in collaboration with the Learning Hub Limerick, PAUL Partnership (SICAP) and Limerick City and County Council engaged consultants Living Woodlands to conduct a feasibility study into the development of a citywide gardening and growing project in Limerick City. Founded by brothers Colm and John Galvin, Living Woodlands is a social enterprise dedicated to transforming forestry plantations into natural woodlands for public benefit.
Community Gardening serves a wide range of functions from the basic production of food, supporting physical and mental well-being, creating additional amenity spaces, opportunities for community and social interaction, creation of wildlife habitat, supporting biodiversity and much more.
The project aims to support both existing and new community growing initiatives through collaboration and innovative projects, fostering a greener and more connected city. The project’s primary goal is to assess the current state of community growing and identify opportunities to expand them.
Michael Gleeson, Social Enterprise Officer with PAUL Partnership, emphasised the advantages of community gardening, saying, “Limerick Growing Communities aims to get more people involved in growing their own food and gardening. The benefits are immense, from wellbeing to community engagement.”
Mr Gleeson highlighted the project’s focus on wellbeing, adding, “Getting out, getting growing, getting active, and meeting the community has a huge range of benefits for individuals in Limerick City. It has become a core part of what we do at Social Enterprise Limerick.”
He added, “We started off working with social enterprises in Limerick, most of the social enterprises I work with are based in community organisations who as it happens also have community growing spaces so I was off to a really good start, I had a bit of an advantage over other people who might try to do something like that.
“They formed a core of the project, and we were really conscious that we wanted to find out who else in the city was growing. You know, a little corner of a housing estate maybe somewhere in the city where a local enthusiast has taken it upon him or herself to grow some food, or somebody who has always been dreaming of growing some food in a community setting in a city and where do they start, how do they get going, and how can we provide a structure I suppose to support these people to get involved and get growing in the city.”
If you are involved in a community growing project in Limerick City, no matter how big or small and are interested in getting involved, you can register your interest in the project by contacting Michael Gleeson on mobile 087 4078648 or by emailing [email protected].
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Pictures: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick