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Growing Places for Wellbeing

Meitheal FollĂĄine

Growing Places for Wellbeing or Meitheal Follåine is a Health Action Zone project. The aim is to support the wellbeing of individuals, groups and organisations in a locally sustainable way. Community Health Workers work with communities to make local biodiversity impacts in imaginative ways. 

Enhancing the unloved corners, edges and neglected green areas of neighborhoods improves well-being.

Community gardens and local growing projects contribute to both community and ecosystem resilience. Learning to grow and contribute to imagining local biodiversity improves health for all.

Making time to walk in nature improves sleep, reduces stress  and enhances sensory skills.
Eating well boosts our mood, our mental health and wellbeing

Our Local community gardens and growing groups helps improve social sustainability.

Developing community resilience connects with sources of health and promotes nature based solutions . One of the project aims is to enhance the local growing project network.

Health Action Zone builds on existing services and facilities working closely with community health networks:

  • The Glen Health Action Zone Community garden
  • The Bee Team – Community bee project – in transition
  • The Garden CafĂ© at the Foyer Blackpool
  • St. Mary’s Primary Care Campus Community Gardens
  • Eco-Therapy garden
  • Springboard Community houses – Farranree and Fairfield meadows
  • Cork City Partnership community houses
  • The Hut Rooftop & “Groovee grove”
  • Gurranabraher and Churchfield “Green Spine Initiative”
  • Churchfield Community Trust and
  • Cork University Hospital Food pilot programme
  • Niche Community Garden Knocknaheeny
  • Local Residents Groups
  • Green Spaces for health – Cork
  • Healthy Cities
  • Cork Food Policy Council
  • Mens Sheds
  • Cork City Council Parks and recreation

Our ongoing participatory project explores practical projects with individuals and groups.

The project invites participation from community referral networks. We work using community development partnerships in responding to health needs through empowerment , inclusion and sustainability.

Meitheal FollĂĄine supports local Biodiversity Impact Actions. if you have a project you want to action.

Contact Micheål  087-3479549 

We evidence key National, European and International community health action strategies.  These include Healthy Ireland, Sustainable Development Goals and Shanghai declaration 2016 –  to inform  practice and programme development process with communities across our projects.

Community Gardening at the Foyer

You are invited to the Foyer Polytunnel and community garden workspace to volunteer and learn how to grow through the seasons. The local community garden group meet on Tuesday and Friday between 2 and 5 o clock.

Getting ready for Spring 2023!!

contact Dave or Pat at the gardens

Green Spine initiative

GrooveeGroves@ 🌞 Sun Valley Park – TĂșs na Choille bhaile bheag

During March 2021 in the midt of Covid 19 over 500 native Irish trees were planted as part of the Gurranabraher and Churchfield Green Spine Initiative. A Micro -urban-woodland of mixed native trees is now growing on a quarter acre south facing bank across from the grotto at Sun Valley Park. The trees were sourced by local group “Treesplease” whose nursery is based in the Churchfield allotments. The planting is a high *Biodiversity Impact Action* that will enhance biodiversity abundance in the area. The close planting of a micro-urban-woodland enables high carbon capture from the atmosphere. Native varieties include birch, alder, hazel, Scots Pine, oak, hawthorn, willow and rowan. We will have another event in May to welcome the trees with the local youth and community groups and workshops learning to support the trees as they grow. 28 apple trees were also planted with Scoil Padre Pio, St Mary’s Primary Care Campus (orthopaedic), B45 and in Sun Valley park. Another Groovee Grove is being established on the rooftop of The Hut to mark National Tree Week and an Oak Ogham Circle in the Quod of St Marys Campus with HSE staff. The initiative is a cooperation lead by Health Action Zone and Youth Work Ireland Cork at The Hut supported by Cork City Council.

The Green Spine initiative continues with local groups in April with more Biodiversity Impact Actions “Sun Valley Park Wildflowers” – Contact HAZ worker Micheál on 087-3479549 or Joe(Youth Worker) at the Hut 0868274863
“Chíonn beirt rud nach bhfeiceann duine amhain”

“2 young people from the Bike Group based in The Hut –  Gurranabraher, who are members of Youth Work Ireland Cork, participating in some Spring activities as part of a new local ‘Green Spine’ initiative in Gurranabraher & Churchfield. Organised by local HAZ Community Health Worker MicheĂĄl O’ Connor,  young people, who were accompanied by Youth Worker Joe Curtin, planted 15 trees on the grass bank area along Sun valley Drive. The Green Spine Project is a local open group of Community Members, Residents & Organisations. The groups aim is to improve Biodiversity Impact Actions and imaginative community arts and local area enhancement. Groups participate to explore ways to reimagine, reinvent & take care of our local public spaces. Over 500 native trees were plante

Bluebell Understory Network

Bluebell understory network was a project to plant bluebells under 160 trees across 8 communities as a response to community health complaints about spraying chemicals around trees and their health.

Community Fruit

During the Spring 2021 we planted many fruit trees across the community — with the hope of bearing fruit for sharing in our communities years to come!!

Projects included : The Glen Community Garden, B4Five, Scoil Padre Pio, The Hut, and St Mary’s Primary Care Campus

Sensory Box Project

The initiative is being supported by Cork North Community Work Department and Health Action Zone’s “Growing Places for Wellbeing” programme. This initiative will complement the Keep Well Keep Moving in the winter plan initiative. Plants and flowers have been shown to improve health and wellbeing and as we know a little care and attention goes a long way.

The box contains summer perennial flowers and herbs:

Foxglove
Lupin
Delphiniums
Thyme
Rosemary

Your Sensory box is made from locally sourced Irish Larch and made within the workshop of Churchfield Community Trust. The larch will turn a natural black over time.

You Sensory box is also biodiversity friendly –

Care tips –

Keep an eye on the changes throughout the seasons
Pour a pint of water in every other day when dry for healthy plants
In August you can cut back seed heads for extended flowering
You can save some seeds also and grow new plants.
Sell your thyme and rosemary regularly for a good feeling.

In early October you will receive selection of spring flower bulbs for planting into your box. In this will be snowdrop, crocus, muscari, daffodils, tulips and bluebells.

Leave No Trace Certified Awareness Training

We are promoting our Get Active Get Connected community health month for September (link below) – as part of this and with support from CCC waste prevention grant and HAZ , we are hosting a “Leave no Trace Certified Awareness Training” on 6th and 26th of September. This will be held at St Marys Primary Care Campus. Numbers are limited to 12 on the 6th and 15 on the 26th.

It is aimed at creating a common format for growing awareness in the long term across our communities for litter prevention – From discussions with many groups the intention is to focus on Slí na Sláinte routes and community areas on the Northside of the city – the focus is to enable community organisers, agency and education staff opportunity to network and look at ways of addressing our wider littering problems through developing community awareness, and a common language – using Leave no Trace Principles adapted for city.

If you are interested give me a call and please forward relevant green flag organisers in your community building or school and other interested groups.

Download Get Active Get Connected programme https://www.healthactionzone.ie/

See further info on Leave no Trace Principles https://www.leavenotraceireland.org/

Community Composting

FREE COMPOSTING TRAINING

OPTION 1: Composting training:

SATURDAYS 11TH, 18TH, 25TH SEPTEMBER 10AM-1PM. Twelve places available. PARTICIPANTS MUST ATTEND ALL THREE SESSIONS.

Detailed introduction to composting
Hands-on experience in managing a composting site at the Community Garden
Learning to use the composting systems for different types of materials and how to use the finished compost.

OPTION 2: Make your own wormery:

SATURDAY 2ND OCTOBER 10AM – 1PM. Twelve places available.

Hands-on workshop on making your own wormery and learning to use it.
Suitable for home composting of fruit and vegetable waste, even in a small area

Facilitator: Donal O’ Leary

This is a joint initiative of Cork City Council and The Glen Health Action Zone

Venue: The Glen Community Garden (located at The Glen Resource Centre)

REFRESHMENTS PROVIDED
To book place contact:
MicheĂĄl 087 3479549 or
Barry 0894104488

Health Action Zone Projects

Old Library Building,
Cork Kerry Community Healthcare
St Marys Road, Cork.
Tel: 021 4928370
Facebook: @healthactionzone
www.healthactionzone.ie
Contact Community Health Workers:

Fidelma O’Connell –  087180 0210
OisĂ­n Hennessy – 087 389 6982
Barry Hickey – 087 165 9084
Ailish McDonald – 087 097 9707

Mallow community Health Project

Le Chéile Family Resource Centre,
Mallow Community Campus,
Fair Street, Mallow

Pauline O Grady-Noonan
Tel: 087 4335047
chp@lecheilefrc.ie
www.mallowchp.com
Facebook & Twitter: @healthmallow

Fermoy Community Health Project

Fermoy Resource Centre,
42 McCurtain Street

Jacinta McCormack
Tel: 085 8742320
jacinta.mccormack@hse.ie
www.fermoyresourcecentre.com
Facebook: Fermoy Community Health Project

Youghal Community Health Project

Blackwater Heights, Youghal

Niamh Herbert

Tel: 087 641 3468
niamh.herbert@hse.ie

Facebook: Youghal Community Health Project

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