I was chatting to Stephen McGirr from Carndonagh this week
and he has been telling me of the new Barrack Hill Community Gardens that have
been set up in the town. It’s a bit of a well-kept secret at the moment, but
that won’t be for long. As spring sets in there should be a lot of interest as
the movement to grow your own continues to get more popular. Stephen already has tunnels in place with
raised beds and a growing number of keep gardeners helping to get everything
ready for the growing season.
It’s an impressive collaboration of four councils along with
the North West Region Cross Border Group (NWRCBG) that have set up the NW
Healthy Living, Community Garden and Allotments Programme. The Programme has
been part funded under the European Union's INTERREG IVA Cross-border programme
managed by the Special EU Programmes Body to the value of £1,552,411.
The Project will develop a targeted response to local
health, social and economic needs through the development of allotments/community
gardens in Strabane,Magilligan, Maghera town and Barrack Hill in Carndonagh,
where Stephen is.
The allotments and
gardens will be used:
·
To create a sustainable source of food;
·
As a resource for health through physical
activity;
·
As a resource to practically impact on 'food
poverty';
·
As a community resource which brings people
together;
·
As an educational tool; and
·
As a source of creating open space and
encouraging biodiversity.
The need for the project has been proven by the research
completed by the Institute of Public Health funded by the Public Health Agency
(PHA) on behalf of the North West's INTERREG IVA funding application. The
health impact assessment provided a mechanism to inform the planning for the
development of the four demonstration community garden/allotment sites and
ensured that improvement of health was at the core of the programme.
Research has identified that local community
garden/allotment projects appear to be quite exceptional in their ability to
address a range of health and liveability issues for all ages. They provide
people with an opportunity to take responsibility for their own health and wellbeing.
There will be training courses setting up for budding
gardeners and there are also other ideas such as the “Healthy Eating Lifestyle
Programme (HELP)” With Ian Corr our local celebrity chef already doing classes.
For information about the whole of the North West
initiatives go to the www.nwcommunitygardens.com
website.
More information
If you would like to have a look around the Barrack Hill
Community gardens or would like to participate in this fantastic idea then
Stephen will be very happy to hear from you.
Check out the Facebook page : Barrack-Hill-Park-Community-Gardens-Carndonagh
or phone Stephen McGirr on 0862745886.
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