Food Group
reduce food miles, increase community resilience
Activities:
- Kinsale Edible Gardens Network: network of people growing their own food who run the Autumn Food Fair and the Sow & Grow event which takes place in the spring: the later includes a seed swap and workshops on how to grow your own. The Autumn Food Fair is a celebration of food grown locally and takes place on the Sunday of the Kinsale Gourmet Food Festival.
- TTK are working with Sáile to create a community orchard and garden on their site. Sáile – Kinsale Community Sports & Leisure Project is an initiative by the Kinsale Rural Development (KRD) Community Association Ltd. More than 40 fruit & nut trees have been planted in the last year with help from the Community School’s Green Team and Foróige. Fruit & nut tree planting has also taken place in local schools, at the allotment site and in three housing developments.
- In March 2009 allotments were set up by a local farmer with the support of TTK. The development of other allotment sites is being considered.
- TTK has supported Kinsale Green Growers’ Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) Scheme which is providing veg boxes locally. TTK has also supported the new nursery business, Cambium, which has been set up locally.
- Members of the TTK CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) have grown oats locally and enjoyed eating the porridge prepared from these oats. They have also experimented growing quinoa.
- TTK’s most Exquisite ’50 Mile Meal’ was launched at the Gourmet Food Festival in 2007. This award can now be found in local shops and on the menus in local restaurants– the launch took place at the National Chowder Cook-Off May 2012.
- The Community Garden Awards were launched in 2009. In 2011 the winning garden was The Haven Bay Centre.
….and more recently
- Several meitheals have been organised over the last few years to maintain the Orchard. With the help of Tara de las Casas and Dan Benn, who facilitated the planting of the Orchard, the trees are now labelled. Meitheals, to mulch and prune the trees, have been organised by Donal Chambers and Thomas Reidmuller, of Kinsale College, with the Permaculture Students. A big thank you to them and to the students. Community Meitheals are also organised. All are welcome to join these meitheals. Despite the work (or maybe because of it!) they are fun and a great opportunity to pick up tips for your own garden.
- The Edible Trail Group have been busy over the last few years preparing beds and planting around the town. Transition Town Kinsale are delighted that this Edible Trail is signposted on The Kinsale Maps; a big thank you to the Kinsale Advertiser for facilitating this. Feel free to take some herbs, berries etc. over the growing season. Look out this year for chard and artichokes.
Some of the Edible and Birds n’ Bees planting around Kinsale
If you would like to add an area to the Trail let us know |
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New Road opposite Supervalu | calendula, chamomile, horseradish, lavender, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, parsley, rosemary, thyme |
New Road beside Supervalu | blackcurrants, mallow and rhubarb |
Garda station | calendula, lavender and sedums |
Hippy Murphy Park | blackcurrants and Chilean guava |
Lower O’Connell Street at Bruno’s Restaurant | thyme, fennel and mint |
Convent Hill | anemones, Sedum rudbecia, gooseberry bushes and nut trees |
Current activities can be found here.