Spring is nearly here and one South Galway group is urging people to “dump the gym membership and get into the garden”. Kinvara Sustainable Living, a non-profit organisation, is offering a range of classes and courses for budding gardeners, allotment holders and backyard farmers.

Anna Jeffrey Gibson and Lynn O’Keeffe-Lascar, who are keen gardeners, cooks and enthusiastic teachers, have gotten together as Kinvara Sustainable Living, an organisation aiming to encourage and support practical small-scale food production in the community to enable people to grow food for themselves and improve their quality of life.
The pair set up  the organisation early last year after they met through the Doorus Orchard Project.
“We were chatting and realised that we had the skills, interest and teaching knowledge of growing and gardening to set this up. We decided to rent a hall for classes and we also have access to Doorus Hostel for day-long and weekend courses.
To date the courses have been well attended with very little drop off in numbers. We reckon part of this is because we produce home baking and good coffee on the evening courses and a good lunch on the day-long courses,” Anna joked, but she admits the timing has worked out quite well.
“Certainly, we have hit the current zeitgeist. People have more time and less money. They also seem to need the support to give them the confidence to get out into the garden.
“Quality of life is very important and I think local food production is very important. Buying expensive organic food transported from distant lands is no longer acceptable or affordable, so growing your own is one way to reduce food miles and costs and improve one’s own well-being,” Anna explained.
With food contamination scares, increased environmental awareness and the current economic climate, growing some of your own food is an appealing option available to anyone prepared to invest the time.
Sustainable food production means looking after the land and raising plants and animals without the use of toxic chemicals and an increased awareness of the seasonal nature of locally-grown food follows.
Eating local produce is environmentally sound, it reduces food miles and if grown in a sustainable manner, it limits pollution.
“Poultry keeping and fruit growing have proved extremely popular. This summer we have added a new course on soft fruit, which will combine fruit growing and jam making and preserving.
“We restrict numbers to a maximum of 12 and will run courses tailor made for groups of six or more,” she outlined.
Kinvara Sustainable Living is offering evening classes, day-long and residential weekend courses to people interested in learning how to grow fruit and vegetables for themselves.
All courses blend time in the classroom with hands on, practical experience in the garden. Where possible, seasonal topics are covered so students can apply what they have learned when they get home.
Two eight-week evening classes on Create your own kitchen garden started on Tuesday in the Ballyvaughan area and will take place on Thursdays from January 21 in Athenry.
The classes run from 7pm to 9pm, with a practical day on a Saturday in March included to put theory into practice.
The organisation is also holding a vegetable growing course for beginners, which is planned for the weekend of March 27 and 28. Another weekend will take place on March 20 and 21, aimed at people who have a polythene tunnel or who are planning on getting one.
Growing in polythene tunnels will cover locating and erecting your poly-tunnel and cultivating fruit and vegetables year round within it.
Spring Chickens is a further one-day course covering all aspects of domestic poultry keeping, which will be run on April 10 and May 29.
Other courses include Creating a garden that grows with your children, Nature in the garden, Growing and cooking with soft fruit, Seed saving and Cob oven building.
For details of upcoming courses, visit www.kinvarasustainableliving.com, contact Lynn on 091 638099, or email Lynn or Anna at kinvarasustainableliving@gmail.com.
“Now is the time to be planning your garden. Beat the winter blues with thoughts of home-grown new potatoes and salads.
If you want to be sitting back this summer enjoying the fruits of your labours, it’s time to get started,” Anna stated.