Muirhevnamor Community Gardens in Dundalk - more than just allotments

This story appeared in the Louth Life magazine earlier this year

While a community initiatve's success may depend largely on how the local community engages with it, the committee behind it play a huge part in making it happen and keeping it on the road.

The committee behind the Muirhevnamor Community Gardens in Dundalk, Kevin Meenan, Bill Johnston, Laurence Naylor, Pam Hosford, Christina McKee, Jaanika Pullonen and Sionainn McCann, have certainly made the local allotments a welcoming and inclusive area in Dundalk, for people of all backgrounds and abilities.

Kevin explains that the field on which the gardens are now located, lay dormant for a number of years. “I spoke to some of the local community groups saying, 'we need to get back up and running', they were saying 'who will do it?'. So I said, I'll do it. That's when Bill and Pam and people came in and we formed the committee.”

With guidance from Tony Jordan in Louth Leader, funding from the Community Climate Action Fund, as well as a remarkable financial donation from Stephen McDowell, a man who grew up in the area and now runs a successful business, work began on the unique site, a large field of up to around three or four acres, last year.

Tony Jordan, Kevin explains, “basically held our hand, to make sure we were doing things right, corporate governance wise and stuff. That was one part of it, but the ideas and everything else, really flow from these people here.”

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Bill's introduction to the gardens came about when he came looking for an allotment for a friend. “I didn't want one”, he admits. Now he's at the gardens every day. “I never grew anything in my life until I came here”, he adds.

Then why do it? “Apart from being a challenge” Bill says, “I just thought it was a waste (the empty field) and I could see what it could be.”

Bill, and the rest of the committee's vision has certainly paid off. “We had 45 children the other day between five and seven years of age, and that was something to behold”, he reveals. “I'd say that was the best day we had here, better than the opening day, better than anything else. They all went home happy and they wanted to know could they bring their mammies.”

Christina says that her interest in the gardens are because, “I've always been interested in organic food, growing organically. I'm a local girl, I'm from Muirhevnamor, it's on my doorstep. I always knew that there was allotments here, I always used to drive past it. I think organic food is the way to go.”

The gardens however, are more than just a collection of allotments for individuals. Kevin points out. “There's two people behind you who have met for the first time.” He points to an allotment holder and another who is going to be an allotment holder. Christina has introduced them to each other and now they're talking there together for the first time.”

“It's a huge social gathering”, Pam reveals.

The new allotment holder, a carer, was accompanied by one of his service users, who Kevin says, is non-verbal. “There's so many different strands to this that happen every day, if you don't really observe them, you won't even know.”

Bill says that the Irish Wheelchair Association have a plot and points to it. “That's their first plot, I have to put a pathway in and extend the carpark for them.” He adds that they are raising all the beds to a height that the users can reach from their wheelchairs.

“Louth Travellers have taken a site. Turas addiction services are here, schools as well”, Kevin adds.

Bill explains that weekends would be the busiest time but added that “quite a few people come in after work [in the evening], and bring their children. There could be three or four or five children running about, people digging.”

“The atmosphere up here is just really magical and people will say that to you”, Pam reveals. “It just allows people to chill, relax. There's always a bit of sharing going on, people have tools, watering cans, everything is written on it, 'free to use' or 'help yourself', to spare plants, seeds, there's a lovely sharing sense. And people are really conscious of that, it's always commented on.”

Bill adds, “People just come in here and say, 'I brought you up this', maybe books, maybe wee plants.”

People's inherent good nature is one of the reasons for the gardens' success, Pam feels. “People are lovely anyway and if you can provide a space”. Kevin agrees, “it can flourish”.

The gardens' success does come back to the strength of the committee. Kevin says, “the committee has been phenomonal. I've been involved in a lot of committees, and I'm not just saying this, we have been so blessed with the committee.

“We've been blessed with lots of things. We've been handed a great place to work on, we're got funding, which has enabled us to do what we wnat. But it's only good if you've got a good committee. That's all down the tubes if you've not got somebody who has a passion. It's the passion that drives this. For me it's the passion from the members here that drives this.

“And we've got good backing as well”, Bill interjects. Kevin agrees, “from the council, from everybody, from even contractors come in, do some work, don't charge us. Everytime we turn a corner, we meet an obstacle, we get help.”

One of the local organisations that uses the group is Turas Counselling in Dundalk, an organisation that provides support to people coping with addiction.

Nicki Jordan, manager at Turas, is at the gardens and comments, “I think it's amazing, we're only getting started now but the last couple of weeks we've had two different groups coming up. I think that just on a basic level, that when someone comes into nature, their anxiety levels decrease and it's just so good for their whole mind, and their body. “

“There's also the social connections that people make while they're pottering away doing stuff that wouldn't happen as easily in our service building. And then there's also the learning, the skills, the knowledge that theyre learing about planting and growing and something that they can then be empowered to do themselves.”

Nicki says of the committee, “they really are amazing. We had our 20th anniversary. Turas is 20 years old this year and we planted 20 trees, a mix of native and fruit bearing trees. Honestly, to say that it couldn't have happened easier would be an understatement, and that was down to the committee.

“They had the holes dug. There was no water here at the time, they had buckets of water so we could water them. They had decided where the best places would be to put them, they had a marquee for the day when we were having the actual event, they had the sound system. They really couldn't have been more helpful. In terms of knowledge around this, they just want to share their knowledge, their contacts, anything they can do to help.”

Find out more about the gardens at facebook/Muirhevnamor Allotments & Community Garden.