For the second year in a row, Energia and GIY have been encouraging as many community/friend groups as possible to come together to become more sustainable and connected through growing food together for the Energia Get Ireland Growing campaign.
Energia and GIY partnered for the 2nd year in a row to celebrate Energia Get Ireland Growing Day, and encourage community groups nationwide get involved. We headed to GrowHQ in Waterford with Ireland AM and Beat FM to broadcast live across the day.
Throughout the day, we encouraged everyone to get involved by suggesting a number of group activities including sharing seeds and seedlings, sharing recipes, upcycling containers into pot plants, sowing seeds and much more!
Energia are committed to connecting with local communities and the Energia Get Ireland Growing campaign is the perfect showcase. On the day, we were joined by the Waterford Grow It Yourself team who were keen to get involved in the festivities. Following the seed swap, we began sewing green manure to protect and improve the soil in our gooseberry bed.
We also visited local community group, The Hive Garden in Waterford City. We were delighted to find out more about their GIG project and to receive a tour of their growing space with new raised beds, an orchard and brand-new planters.
🏆 Competition Winners:
There were 6 awards on offer:
1. Community Hero (Ulster) – Joy Borchert – Ballybay ICA
2. Community Hero (Munster) – Justyna Traore - Hive Garden
3. Community Hero (Leinster) – Ciaran Dowling – Retired Active Men’s Social
4. Community Hero (Connacht) – Helen Murphy – Glenmaddy Community Garden
5. Best Energia Get Ireland Growing Day – OBW Resident’s Association
6. Best Space Transformation – Enniscorthy Community Allotments
🌱 Community Series:
With over 800 communities getting involved and 300 community growing starter kits given out across Ireland, we decided to visit a number of communities to find out a bit more about their involvement in the Energia Get Ireland Growing Campaign this year.
We visited Douglas-Frankfield Men's Shed in Cork, Cloontuskert Community Garden in Roscommon, Glenamaddy Community Garden in Galway and Fernhill Community Garden in Dublin to learn about the work they do and hear what community means to them. To find out more, you can watch the community series here.