East Clare Community Co-operative
COMMUNITY GARDENS
Welcome to East Clare Community Gardens
Scariff Community Garden began over 15 years ago, started by some enthusiastic volunteer gardeners and has been growing ever since. The community gardens grow fresh salad leaves and pesticide free vegetables which we use in our cooking in the Garden Cafe when available.
Tucked in behind our building on Main Street the Garden is open to the public and it fulfils a wide range of needs. The garden itself facilitates many courses and gatherings throughout the year from Summer Pizza Evenings to Harvest Festivals to QQI Level 5 Horticultural courses.
The garden meanders around our outdoor Pizza Oven and covered stage area and is an ideal venue for outdoor events. Our dream is that all of the community and visitors alike will visit the garden and use it as a space to relax, learn, participate and generally benefit from the wonders that nature has to offer!
From a Gardeners point of view:
Exciting times at Scariff Community Gardens
Community Gardens can be the hub of a community, drawing together people from all walks of life, breaking down barriers and allowing neighbours who would not normally meet to come together and share an interest in gardening and nature.
From an education point of view, Community Gardens can draw out people’s hidden gifts and talents; they can help to increase people’s awareness of the local environment, social activities that are available, the local wildlife, as well as bringing awareness of local enterprises and what they are contributing to the locality.
At ground level in the planting and management of crops, we all encounter similar problems, and discovering what works and what does not work and why are some of the challenges that all gardens and gardeners face. With all these elements in mind it is easy to see the potential benefit of sharing experiences between different communities. At the electric picnic this year new doors were opened in the form of The Community Garden Network.
The Community Garden Network is an on line facility that aims to link community gardens throughout Ireland. At a meeting facilitated by Dee Sewell of the Community Garden Network in the (h)Edge School of the Global Green area, a panel of speakers shared their stories. As well as ourselves, Seedsavers, The Urban Farm, Cloughjordan Community Farm and Birr Growery were represented. A diverse range of approaches to community gardening were explored, from The Urban Farms Roof Top Garden, to the vast range of activities offered by Knocknaheeny Hollyhill Community Gardens. hrough conversations, networking and co-operation, the weekend was a great source of inspiration to move Scariff Community Garden forward to enrich the already abundant produce of the garden with a wider variety of fruit, vegetables and ornamental plants, to nurture further our outreach into the community and to really celebrate the unique gifts and qualities that the garden has to offer all of us.
Richard O'Gorman
Head Gardener
