Submitted by Sean and Eileen O Rriordan:
When, in 2014 Father Tom Kearney decided to establish a garden in the grounds of the SMA house in Wilton, he wanted to demonstrate that it could operate, in as organic and sustainable a manner as possible. This was not without its challenges, as the area available consisted of a patch of poor soil; but Father Tom set about the work with energy and enthusiasm and with the help of the gardeners began planting flowers, fruit trees and vegetables and supervised the construction of a poly-tunnel, which greatly improved the variety of plants that he could cultivate.
Ever eager to experiment, he even tried his hand at aquaponics. A shoal of rainbow trout reared in tanks were used to fertilise plants growing in gravel beds, the plants in turn cleaning the water before it was returned to the fish tanks. This allowed plants to be grown alongside the fish, while using less that 10% of the water required to grow similar plants in soil.
Upon Father Tom’s sudden death in November 2021; several friends, parishioners and some members of the Wilton Justice Group that he had recruited to help him in his endeavours, decided that it would be a great pity to allow the garden to fall into decay and disuse.
So following a meeting with SMA Fathers in Wilton it was agreed to continue with the garden using a number of volunteers and some valuable involvement from a community employment worker. It was also decided that Father Tom’s ethos of operating sustainably would be continued. And so, last Spring we set about preparing the ground and planting vegetables, flowers, wildflowers, and shrubs. With the help of a friendly beekeeper, two hives to improve the pollination of the plants have been added. We also carried out some much needed repairs to the polytunnel, necessitated by the visitations of a family of foxes the previous Summer!
Perhaps our greatest achievement has been in the rather unglamourous area of composting. We received some expert advice and managed to establish a new composting regime for the garden waste, and for kitchen waste from both the SMA house and the parish centre, which has significantly reduced the amount of material being sent to landfill.
We achieved a good harvest of vegetables and fruit, for both the SMA house and the customers of the parish centre. Some of the fruit was very successfully made into Jam, which sold well with the assistance of staff in the Parish Centre. This helped to cover some of the costs of maintaining the garden.
Great social connections were formed through this project as well as sharing valuable gardening expertise and tips. One of the highlights of the year was a barbecue hosted by the SMA Fathers, on a beautiful Summer’s night in August, in gratitude for the great work done by all the volunteers. During the year the garden was also an inspirational venue for two Prayer Services one them was ecumenical and marked the Season of Creation.
The garden’s main virtue is that it remains a beautiful and peaceful space in the heart of an otherwise built-up area. It is available to raise the spirits of anyone who visits it, for social gatherings, prayer and it is also a place where Fr Tom is fondly remembered.