GARDENING Two decades of organic growing

LEARNING AL FRESCO?Visitors to The Organic Centre during a tour of the centre’s gardens.

Two decades of organic growing


Growing
Hans Wieland

This year, 2015, marks the 20th anniversary of The Organic Centre. Hidden in the planning documents of 1995 was the following sentence: “If The Organic Centre will become a place, where every visitor takes some new and interesting information home, it has a future and will succeed!” The Mission Statement that followed a little later reads fairly basic: “Education, information and training in organic growing and sustainable living”.
Twenty years later, the work undertaken by countless staff, students and volunteers has become an inspiration for many gardeners and growers and a model for other environmental organisations.
To celebrate those achievements, we’ve planned several events throughout the year, and many famous chefs, growers and food writers have pledged their support to raise funds for refurbishment and development of the centre.
The 20th Anniversary Programme guest speakers include Trevor Sargent, who will speak on Potato Day, March 14; Michael Kelly of GIY, who will speak on March 22; Darina Allen, who will spend an afternoon at the centre in June; Neven Maguire and Fiann O’Nuallain, who will attend our Garden Party on July 12; and John and Sally McKenna, who will preside over  Apple Day and Harvest Festival on September  27.
Looking back over the years, we have so many milestones to celebrate. The year 1997 marked our first local training initiative with FÁS and our first six weekend courses, as well as probably the first ever organic Potato Day. Two years later, the first organic school garden in the area was created, leading finally to the establishment of SEED, a national network for school gardens in 2009. Back in 2000 we linked up with local accommodation providers to develop local tourism, and in September of that year we held our first Organic Fair, hosting 800 visitors. The next year, in 2001, we opened our new visitor and training centre, developed a small woodland (the Neighbourwood Scheme) and published ‘A Guide to Home Composting’.
In 2002, Green Festivals North West kicked off, while in 2006, we launched our first FETAC Level 5 training course. In 2011, we received a Eurotoques Food Award for outstanding contribution to Irish Food, and since then we’ve run over 100 courses, including the first INTREO training course, and opened a new community garden.
Phew! As if that wasn’t enough, to celebrate, we’ve also started a newly designed ‘Food Adventures Tour’. The tour, which I conduct myself, starts with a very brief history of the centre, followed by a welcoming drink at the pop-up hedgerow bar, an exploration of a range of topics, including the kitchen garden, seed sovereignty and sowing, polytunnel wonders, soil fertility, unusual vegetables, and edible weeds. There’s also a gardeners’ question time.   
Over the past two decades we have welcomed a steady stream of Mayo visitors, all of whom benefit from our insights into growing organically in our specific Connacht climate. Here’s to another 20 years of more of the same!

Hans Wieland is training manager at The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Co Leitrim, which offers courses, training and information on organic growing and cooking, and runs an Eco Shop and an online gardening store. For more information, visit www.theorganiccentre.ie.ardening questions or comments? Contact Hans at living@mayonews.ie.

GIVE AWAY
To mark the Organic Centre’s 20th anniversary, The Mayo News is giving away an Organic Centre course voucher worth €65.
To be in with a chance to win, please e-mail the answer to the following question to hans@theorganiccentre.ie, marked Mayo News Organic Centre competition:
When did the new visitor and training centre open?
Entries must be received by St Patrick’s Day, Tuesday, March 17.