The Common Ground Project is inviting North Clare Communities to come together to take climate and biodiversity action
A new initiative from Common Knowledge, the project is aimed at bringing communities of North Clare together to learn the skills needed to start biodiversity and climate action projects in local towns and villages.
We are seeking eight community groups in North Clare to take part in this fully-funded, cost-free series of lively, hands-on workshops and events with our team from March to September.
Over the programme, two representatives of each participating group will have the opportunity to learn new skills, meet other local communities and enjoy shared meals at The Common Knowledge Centre near Kilfenora, connecting both with Munster’s natural heritage and with each other in a meaningful way.
What’s involved?
All activities will take place at The Common Knowledge Centre in Kilfenora.
Common Ground Workshop Days
Two representatives from each group will participate in a day-long workshop on one weekend each month, with a guest speaker in the morning, followed by an outdoor practical session on the land. Hands-on sessions will cover organic food growing, tree planting, meadow making, composting, removing invasive species, recycling and repairing, habitat creation. Educational sessions will include talks on rewilding, climate grief and anxiety, permaculture gardening, community gardening, and climate action.
-
Item description
-
Breakfast together at 8.30am
Morning classroom session:
Presentation about permaculture principles and organic food growing. How does it benefit you, your community, and the environment?
Communal lunch at 1pm
Afternoon hands-on session:
Permaculture tour of the land.
Practical gardening activities such as pollinator planting, composting and seed sewing.
-
Breakfast together at 8.30am
Morning classroom session:
Rewilding workshop, focusing on the beauty of biodiversity and how to enhance your landscape.
Lunch together at 1pm
Afternoon hands-on session:
How to identify and control invasive plant species.
Making native, local, wildflower seed balls.
-
Breakfast together from 8.30am
Morning classroom session
Climate Grief Workshop: How to transform climate grief and anxiety into climate action.
Lunch together at 1pm
Afternoon hands on-session
Waste management: Creating compost.
Hands on afternoon session:
Recycling and repairing workshop.
-
Breakfast together 8.30am
Morning classroom session
Presentation on how to set up a community garden!
Discussion on how these gardens spaces benefit your community.
Lunch together 1pm
Afternoon hands-on session
Creating a big garden space together on site. Making no-dig raised beds and woodchip path, etc.
-
Breakfast together 8.30am
Morning classroom session
Presentation: Climate change education. What are some practical ways your community can fight against climate change?
Lunch together at 1.30pm
Afternoon hands-on session
Community carbon capturing! Pollinator friendly mowing methods.
Food forest creation on site.
-
Breakfast together 8.30am
Morning classroom session
Project planning session.
Workshop supporting each community group to create their own climate action meitheal.
Lunch together 1pm
Afternoon hands-on workshop
Conversation cafe and brainstorming session!
Common Ground Workshop Days
Throughout this period, weekly Common Ground Community Days will provide an opportunity for the wider membership of each community to spend time at Common Knowledge building skills and connections across communities.
Common Ground Meitheals
At the end of the programme, each community group will take what they've learnt and go on to do their own meitheals - a community climate action - and in their towns and local areas.
Collaborators & Supporters
We couldn't be more delighted to introduce the 8 community groups from North and West Clare who are joining us on this journey:
Ennistymon Men’s Shed
Inagh Tidy Towns
Kilfenora Development (Tidy Towns & Kilfenora Sustainable Energy Community Groups)
Lisdoonvarna Fáilte
Quare Clare
The King Thomond Centre
Wild about Miltown Malbay / Tidy towns
The Common Ground Project has been awarded funding by @rethinkireland as part of their Impact for Munster Fund. Rethink Ireland is an incredible organization dedicated to supporting innovative projects that create positive social change across Ireland. Thank you to Rethink Ireland for believing in our vision and supporting us on this incredible journey!
Thanks to the fund donors in the Munster region including EI Electronics, Sunflower Charitable Foundation, Tomar Trust, the Parkes Family Limerick and the Department of Rural and Community Development through the Dormant Accounts Fund.
“We see a positive impact as people from our workshops and courses take the skills and knowledge they learn at Common Knowledge home to their own communities - we can’t wait to welcome groups from across North Clare to take part in this project”
Aoife Hammond
Community Engagement for Common Ground
“A deeper connection to nature and to our environment is often the missing piece of the sustainability puzzle. This project is intended to support people to take the first steps in improving local biodiversity and engaging in climate action together.”
Ciara Parsons
Project lead, Common Ground
Project Team
-
Aoife Hammond
Aoife Hammond has spent over 15 years working in the social enterprise and community sectors in Ireland most recently co-founding Fulacht Fia Café – a community café in County Leitrim and previously as manager of The Dublin Food Coop in Dublin 8. Aoife also works as a musician, community activist and independent events organiser, facilitating and promoting events in solidarity with grassroots organisations.
-
Ciara Parsons
Ciara is a qualified Horticultural Therapist and Permaculturist from the west of Ireland. She began her gardening and growing journey about 6 years ago, studying Sustainable Horticulture and Permaculture. This course ignited her passion for biodiversity enhancement which can be seen reflected in her gardening style, where earth-care always comes first. She then went on to study Social and Therapeutic Horticulture. Learning about the myriad of health and well-being benefits of nature connection has emboldened her to continue to work with both people, and the land, in any way that she can. Her work now branches in a few different directions including nature based therapy, permaculture garden design, facilitating workshops and retreats, and general gardening and organic food growing.