When I first became involved in community gardening in 2005 at the Dolphin’s Barn Canal site, the thrill was that I was finally taking a radical environmental action. In fact, I had been living a relatively eco-friendly life up to that point: I cycled, recycled, didn’t own a car and was an active member of the Dublin Food co-op. Yet all these routine habits seemed dull in comparison to growing our own food on a site that at the time was squatted. It was an exciting year and a sharp learning curve. I knew little about horticulture, but I knew I wanted to tread more lightly on the planet.
The reasons I continue to be involved in community gardening are primarily ecological: to eliminate food miles, eliminate pesticides from the food chain and to eliminate plastic packaging. Another reason is the social side to communal growing. I’ve met lots of great people – from anarchists to architects – as we weeded and watered together.
As well as this, Christian beliefs directly inform my environmental lifestyle, in particular the goal of increased self-sufficiency. A love of God’s creation and a sense of social justice dissuade me from going to a supermarket to buy food grown on the other side of the planet by people who are suffering food and water shortages themselves.
Last Wednesday I pushed the winter garlic cloves and onion bulbs into the soil of Finglas Community Garden. I thought about the garlic and other vegetables for sale in my nearest supermarket. The garlic was grown in China. There were apples from Chile and green beans on a plastic tray wrapped in plastic from Kenya. I knew my Christian life was full of compromise but to support a system that ships green beans from Kenya seems a compromise too far!
Finglas Community Garden is located in the grounds of Saint Joseph’s Girls National School, Barry Avenue, Finglas, Dublin 11. If you would be interested in growing your own food there next season, you can contact Lara Hill on 086 1717726.