“I was extremely happy with the community garden project delivered by Greenside Up at Carrick-on-Suir Library. Dee Sewell delivered everything she promised in a friendly and professional manner and with a very short lead time. Dee worked well with the TY boys from CBS Carrick-on-Suir and brought them, step by step, through the entire process of measuring, digging, planting, mulching and constructing raised beds. We all benefitted enormously from the gardening project learning about the advantages of growing your own food, healthy eating, exercise, fresh air and how gardening can be good for your mental health. Thanks Dee. This project was funded by ‘Healthy Tipperary’. Carol Delany, Branch Manager, Carrick-on-Suir Library. Spring 2019.
Community Garden: Carrick-on-Suir Library
Carrick-on-Suir library is located just off Fairgreen in the busy eastern Tipperary market town and is a hive of activity and community engagement.
In the early Spring of 2019 Dee Sewell approached the library manager, Carol Delany, with a proposal to transform the library’s back garden, which had very little biodiversity, into a community and wildlife food haven rich with it. Given that Carol had already installed a magnificent bug hotel and planted a few apple trees and wildflower garden, she readily agreed. Carol approached the local CBS Edmund Rice Secondary School soon after, who were pleased to involve their transition year students with this community horticulture project. Funding was sought by Carol and granted from the Healthy Tipperary initiative.
For six weeks the school sent a group of students over to the garden for a couple of hours each week, to work with Dee. Carol sourced all the materials and under guidance, the young people created a garden. They planted a variety of apple, plum and pear trees, red, white and blackcurrant bushes, a biodiversity hedge, three raised beds full of strawberries and rhubarb, and a border full of rosemary.
As a spring project, it was very successful and there are plans to continue with it during the coming months.
Last day of our library community garden project with TY @CBS_Carrick and Dee @Greensideupveg Raised beds planted with rhubarb n strawberries. Also a Rosemary hedge. Thanks to the lads n all who supported. @thesuir #YourCouncilday #biodiversity pic.twitter.com/1RGKcyENQA
— TippCoCoLibraries (@TippLib) April 12, 2019
Benefits of a Community Food Garden
- Learning new skills & how growing, harvesting and eating your own food is good for both mental and physical health.
- Learning about the seasonality of food, recipe ideas and new cooking techniques.
- Trying different foods and flavours that were once popular but may not be available in supermarkets.
- Realisation that successes and failures of growing food are normal.
- Appreciation of how difficult it can be to grow food without using chemicals and why organic food can be more expensive at markets and in shops.
- More likely to seek better quality foods and flavours once they’ve grown their own.
- Community gardens are available to people on a tight budget.
- Connects people with food from seed to plate.
