Aer Lingus muck in at Ballymun project

OVER 100 Aer Lingus employees are being thanked after dedicating a day to help Global Action Plan (GAP) Ireland overhaul the local

‘Muck and Magic’ community garden in Ballymun.

The renovation project saw the Aer Lingus crew, local residents and community groups dig deep to revamp the garden space. Work on the day included, making the community garden wheelchair accessible with new pathways and creating an outdoor classroom space for local schools that features a canopy made from recycled boat sails from Dun Laoghaire.

In addition, the team created a new composting area, raised beds, built a new shed and fencing throughout the garden.

The garden was transformed with coordination assistance from Denis O’Reilly from event management company

‘Difference Days’. The organisation’s ethos is to help companies give something back to their community, making a real difference to the lives of everyone involved.

?It is inspirational to see another team of volunteers make a real difference to the lives of a community in one single day,

? O’Reilly said.

“The meaningful impact this project has made to the Aer Lingus volunteers and the Muck & Magic gardening community was captured on the enormous smiles on their faces throughout the renovation project.

?

Máire Hurley, project coordinator with GAP Ireland, described the transformation of the community garden as

“a dream come true for the resident gardeners, volunteers and the community

?.

“To be able to access all areas of the garden with firm wheelchair accessible path, maximises the hidden gems within the garden and allows residents and volunteers to spend time enjoying nature at its best,

? she continued.

“We could never have hoped to achieve this level of transformation in such a short space of time and it really demonstrates

‘people power’ and how working together can achieve such a wonderful result.

“It’s the

‘magic’ with the muck and some sweat thrown in!

?

The community garden is open throughout the year with over 1,400 users and visitors attending annually to participate in various activities, including food production, biodiversity enhancement and composting projects.

The garden revamp was filmed by the TV3

‘Renovation Nation’ programme, which will be aired in the Autumn. The event was funded by Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL).