I began blogging almost six years ago and the experience has brought me on an amazing journey. I’ve made some special friends, met a tremendous amount of talented people and learnt even more from them all.
Blog Awards
On Thursday I received a message letting me know that the Greenside Up blog had achieved a Bronze Award for Health and Wellbeing at the Blog Awards Ireland, an honour and one I’m thankful for given that there were over 4,000 nominations, 1,800 entries and over 80,000 public votes for all the blogs.
Greenside Up Blog
The blogging scene has changed completely since I began writing and so has my blog. After its last big win, I spend a lot of time working on its layout to help you find articles and as a result, the blog has grown to encompass several categories in areas that reached out and enticed me once we begin to grow our own food.
From becoming more environmentally aware, learning about different food crops – both vegetable and animal – my involvement with community gardening, as well as sharing the ongoing love of the mountains, gardens and rivers that surround us here in Ireland; I try to give you a glimpse of an alternative life that isn’t dominated by a work to TV and sofa lifestyle. It’s difficult to measure how rich our lives have become since we embraced a more wholesome lifestyle, but as I scroll back over the posts I can’t help but notice how they’ve become a log of our ongoing quest to become more self-sufficient. From the beekeeping and pig rearing, hens and vegetables to the passion that’s grown to want to help others become more aware of nature and food from its source through community gardening.
I’ve always loved to write and blogging has enabled me to do that and I hope that even in the smallest way, it might have helped to inspire you to make, grow or visit something or somewhere yourself.
Apart from becoming an online and very public diary, blogging has enabled me to share other people’s stories.
Local Radio
On Friday morning I was invited to a bloggers breakfast for the start of the Savour Kilkenny food festival at Anne Neary’s beautiful 17th century cookery school at Ryeland House in Cuffesgrange. The table was heaving with produce Anne and her friends had made for the local KCLR breakfast.
It was a lovely surprise to meet up with fellow blogging friends I’ve met during the years who also care passionately about the importance of good quality, locally produced food. They too understand that strong communities will help us all to become more resilient and better able to cope with the challenges that climate change is likely to throw at us.
During the morning I was able to talk on local radio about An Gairdin Beo, the new Carlow community garden I’m volunteering with and later that evening I was talking to Martha Bolger on Kilkenny Community Radio.
There I was able to share my story with listeners about how I begin tutoring, how the first community garden I worked with in Goresbridge developed to become a beautiful food garden and how the new garden project I’m working with in Glenn na Bearú in Bagenalstown is growing.
It’s unlikely I would have had the opportunity to tell these stories without the Greenside Up blog.
So many of us share a desire to make the world a better place and our time spent in writing, tweeting, broadcasting and photographing is usually given up for free, often at a cost to ourselves, in the hope that we can help to spread the word, share the news that real food produced by passionate people is worth the extra cent.
As I become even more involved with community garden projects, I’m not certain which direction the blog will take over the next few months. If there’s an area that I write about that you’d particularly like to read or learn more from, please let me know.
In the meantime, a huge thank you for your ongoing and continued support which is tremendously appreciated and a happy and peaceful Halloween week to you all.
12 Comments
Lovely post, Dee. I love reading your blog. I’m only at the start of my self-sufficiency journey and your blog and information on growing vegetables have been both inspirational and very useful. I look forward to what’s coming next, whatever direction you choose to go!
Thank you June, that’s a great compliment given how much I enjoy reading your own blog 🙂 Congratulations on your award too.
I enjoy reading about all kind of plants, as well as your inspirational posts on a greener lifestyle.
Thanks for that, and good to know, I’ll endevour to keep them up 🙂
Thank you for sharing a little personal blogging history….a really positive and motivational read!
Thank you Tanya, appreciate you taking the time to comment 🙂
Lovely post Dee and I agree, we’ve all met so many people via blogging. In fact, I’m actually surprised now when I meet people who don’t blog or tweet …. I mean doesn’t everyone now 😉
I think that’s the wonderful thing about blogging, the blogs really show a journey. I haven’t looked back at my old blog posts in ages but I do wonder will our grandchildren be reading them in 40 years time. I know I’d love to be able to read about my grandparents thoughts and passions when they were my age.
Lovely to see you on Friday, it’s been ages!
I hadn’t thought of that Lorna. I don’t think my kids read my blogs right now but in years to come they might, particularly as they’re part of their own family history. I still meet lots of people who don’t use social media and one lady mentioned last week how exclusive she finds Facebook as she’s not using it. I did mention you in my Kilkenny community radio interview as the reason I began blogging in the first place, so should take this opportunity to thank you!
Thanks Dee for your wonderful Blog and congratulations on your award.
It inspires me and I am sure countless others to seek out a healthier lifestyle.
Continued success.
Thank you John and I appreciate you dropping by to say so 🙂
I wholeheartedly agree with all the previous comments – my first search for community gardens stared with greensideup and you are an inspiration to anyone starting a new journey in self sufficiency 🙂 well done and don’t give up x
Thank you Joanne, and now you’re inspiring me 🙂