Help Charlestown Community Garden flourish some more

IT'S brought brightness and cheer again this year, and now the Charlestown Organic Community Garden is looking for support so it can flourish even more.

Charlestown Community Garden was set up in 2017, starting off with €2,000 awarded by GIY Ireland. Enlisting the help of Charlestown Men's Shed, an overgrown wooded area is today a magical space, situated next to St. James's Church in the town.

With the Covid pandemic impacting on fundraising, a GoFundMe campaign has been launched to support the community project. You can donate here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/charlestown-organic-community-garden

The organisers have always have always raised their own funds to keep afloat each year, but now many fundraising ideas are non-runners. And there are costs to be met - €300 for insurance, and hundreds is spent each year on weedblock, wood chippings, timber, compost, and organic tomato feed. And every couple of years they invest in topsoil and Envirogrind.

This year, the group focused on bringing colour to the garden and planted lots of flowers and painted garden posts a myriad of different bright colours. Colour, they feel, is important in these dark times and of course it brings bees into the garden.

Today, they have a polytunnel where they grow tomatoes, peppers, chillies, cucumber, spinach, courgettes, as well as basil, fennel and dill.

Outside, the garden has raised beds in which they grow potatoes, carrots, parsnips, onions, chard, kale, cabbage, lettuce, spinach and rhubarb, as well as a plethora of herbs.

Charlestown Community Garden comprises a group of about 20, ranging in age from 12 to over 80 years. They come from all walks of life and the one thing that they have in common is that they love this garden – a space in which to laugh, chat, share ideas and support each other.

In previous years the group raised funds by building and selling garden furniture, kennels and bird boxes, as well as baked goods and preserves at markets.

Said the group on the fundraising page: 'It's really important to us that we keep our little garden going. We know that the garden brings pleasure, not just to us, but to everyone in the town and I know that people will want to help us survive and flourish.'

If you can help, all donations are appreciated.