COMMUNITY gardeners in Bantry are refusing to let a criminal damage setback deter them from opening their collective to new members.
Vandals knocked over tables, broke a chair, tipped over a bin, and, worst of all, destroyed seedlings at the Slip Lawn facility recently.
Members of Bantry Community Garden wrote on Facebook that they cleaned up the damage and carried on, adding: ‘It is a place to work together, grow food, share the harvest, and enjoy nature.’
They said they are keen to understand and resolve the angry outburst but added: ‘Please don’t take it out on us or the garden, we are both trying to do our best.’
With the incident having focused a spotlight on their endeavours, the members are using the opportunity to explain their shared interest in nature, plants and growing some of their own food.
‘Our philosophy is based on care for nature, mutual aid and shared responsibility. We think that local food sovereignty is very important with the world the way it is. And we think that we are a long way from being even food secure.
‘We expect interruptions to food and resource supply chains in the near to medium future and we are working to minimise the shock from this.’
In a direct appeal, the members stated: ‘We would like more of our community to join in on this. We are a small group of volunteers operating on a shoe string so we can only do so much.
‘Wed’ like to encourage people to think about what local food sovereignty might look like and how you could contribute to this.’
They said people are welcome to call to the garden to take a look around and talk to the members of the group.
Some new ideas currently being considered include the formation of a garden Meitheal group, collectively owned tools and equipment.
They are even considering establishing a growers’ network in Bantry that collaborates on growing and sharing food, as well as saving seeds, sharing skills, community composting and recycling.
Comments are closed.