What happened in 2023?
Well a lot…
In 2023, the garden was very busy as we opened our urban haven to multiple groups and organisations. There are so many that we are probably forgetting some. Drop us a line if you used the garden and we forgot to mention it. Big HELLO & shout out to our friends from:
Dublin Cycles Campaign annual Food Cycle (trip around community gardens) (May)
Refugee Health European conference visit (June)
Cruinniu na nog – Nature Mobile workshop (June)
Lets Set Sail (with Ellie O’Neill and Silver Birch) (July)
ATD Ireland (Altogether in Dignity with Saol, Pavee Point and more) – Festival of Change (July)
Sonnie Condell & Robbie Overson concert (August)
Ceili with Ceoltoiri Chluain Tarbh (August)
Rather Gather festivalito (September)
Huni Kui – Amazonian culture (September)
Kevin Murphy & friends (concert) – (October)
2 instrument making workshops with Masamba (October)
12th European Forum ECLLD Field trip (October)
Workequal – workshop about being confident (december)
Other partnership (ongoing)
NCIRL Early Learning Initiative After School projects (local primary schools) ‘Doodle Den’
A Playful City + Swan Youth Club / UCD students
Hill Street Family Resource Centre visits ( with one of our gardener Breffni’s workshop)
Cluid Housing Association residents (inspiration for their own gardens)
Liberty Park Creche
Young adults from Shaping Futures project, (INOU initiative)
Teacher Heather Gray (Creative Minds Arts & Culture festival)
Dublin City Community Co-operative
Our Organic Garden
Community Climate Action (on zoom)
EasyTreesie
Gaelic Woodland Project
8 week Get Growing training for learners of English (GreenFriends)
Common Purpose training organisation (innovative community initiatives)
Patuyu – bolivian dancing group (ongoing)
Take One Ingredient (ongoing)
Global Citizenship Education / Lourdes Youth & Community Service (LYCS)
Sea Scouts
Local Community Safety Partnership (LCSP) Probation & Community Service team
(Welcomed referrals from Social Prescribing workers & mental health workers to join as gardeners)
DCC’s biodiversity officer & DCC’s community climate action officer.
Afghan Kite making workshop (August)
CPR training (September)
East Wall Here 4 All, Cross Cultural Conversations, Intercultural Language Service and the lovely Integration officers and volunteers
from Gateway, East Wall.
TCD research
Cloud Café (adds to compost, brings us brownies and lend us their barbecue!)
Da Mimmo (pizzas & school project)
Tree craft (wood chip for garden paths)
Child Vision (delivering precious horse manure)
Forthcoming visits planned include students from Trinity’s Botanical Society and we are also looking for volunteers interested in getting involved with Heritage Keepers and do not miss out Tornaido Fire Performance & fundraiser March 23 rd (from 6pm)!
Festival in a van (with Narrative4) received a DCC Neighbourhood Grant to develop ‘the Stories of Hope’, a storytelling exchange
project in Mud Island in 2024 Date TBC.
We also helped some two film crews (short film shot in Alderborough House) & a small Film crew shooting onsite.
Promotional video for ‘Mad Dog’ (launch 24 th March 2024 in the garden!).
Our team of volunteers also organise our own events:
Table Quiz in Cusack’s (April), Spring Fair (in collaboration Five Lamps Arts Festival), Open Day (June), Harvest Festival (August), Halloween (700 visitors!) & Christmas Fair with our first Irish language festival, Féile na Láibe.
Seed to Pizza project with local primary schools (March to September).
And our first own Brigid’s celebration (February).
In 2023, we also had some ongoing activities in the garden, which will continue in 2024:
– Crochet & knitting group.
– Monthly Repair Café mending bicycles, clothes, crockery and sharpening gardening tools and knives
with potluck picnic and swap shop / bric-à-brac.
– Language classes in Arabic & Spanish from our volunteers (we’re looking for a volunteer to front an Irish one).
– Sewing classes / group.
– Relaxation Sundays.
And finally, we did win some awards (and we are so proud!). We must thank our funders without whom all these activities could not be:
In 2023, we got 2nd place in our section at Dublin City Council’s Citywide Neighbourhood Award 2023!
The Urban Land Institute‘s National Excellence in Place-making Award got us in the front page of the commercial property of the Irish Times. We are currently shortlisted for the LAMA (Local Authority Members Association) All Ireland Community & Council Awards 2024 under their Best Green Sustainable category. Fingers crossed!
Thanks to our trusted funders: Croke Park, NEIC and DCC, and IFSC Inner City Trust and new additions: Wheels We Deliver for pollinators and Central Bank.
So bring it on 2024!
