Last updated: October 2021
Weaver Square Community Garden started in May 2011 on a derelict site owned by Dublin City Council. The site contains the Community Garden and 28 individual allotments let out by the council. The main focus of the Community Garden is to create a safe and relaxing green space for all to use and enjoy. The organizers hope in the future to have more emphasis on the garden as a learning experience, with open days & workshops and other related talks. Dublin City Council has given notice that Weaver Square Community Garden and 27 family allotments are to close at the end of 2018. (Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)
Weaver Square Community Garden
South West Inner City Network (www.swicn.ie), retrieved 09/11/2018 from Ivanna Chovgan
Overview
Nature-based solution
- Community gardens and allotments
- Community gardens
Key challenges
- Green space, habitats and biodiversity (SDG 15)
- Green space creation and/or management
- Inclusive and effective governance (SDG 16)
- Effective management
- Social justice, cohesion and equity (SDG 10)
- Environmental education
- Social cohesion
- Social interaction
- Health and well-being (SDG 3)
- Enabling opportunities for physical activity
- Improving mental health
- Creation of opportunities for recreation
- Sustainable consumption and production (SDG 12)
- Sustainable production
Focus
Creation of new green areas, Transformation of previously derelict areas
Project objectives
1. Transform a derelict space into a nicer, safer area to live with relaxing green space for all to use and enjoy (Ref. 1).
2. Provide benefits to people's minds, bodies and souls by allowing them to grow their own food (Ref. 3; Ref. 4).
3. "We hope in the future to have more emphasis on the garden as a learning experience, with open days & workshops and other related talks" (Ref. 2).
Implementation activities
Local councillors collaborated with the Dublin City Council (DCC) to develop a piece of neglected land that had the potential to be clean and green. One dugout foundation, 2 feet of topsoil and 27 allotments later, the Weaver Square Community Garden along with fellow resident growers and community groups opened its doors to the neighbourhood June 1, 2011.
1. Of the 27 allotments provided by the Dublin City Council on the site, 22 are designated for residents and five are for community groups.
2. Garden vegetation includes orchards, herbs, and vegetables.
3. A Weaver Square Garden’s open day was organised in 2012, during which members of the community were invited to share freshly picked strawberries, red currants, gooseberries and rhubarb.
4. In 2016 a group from the South West Inner City Network (SWICN) took over the community garden and developed it into well-maintained garden. SWICN strives to enable people in the southwest inner city, and in particular those who are most disadvantaged, to have a choice in what happens to them and in the development of their area.
(Ref. 1; Ref. 2; Ref. 3)
Main beneficiaries
- Citizens or community groups
- Marginalized groups: Elderly people
- Young people and children
Governance
Management set-up
- Co-governance with government and non-government actors
Type of initiating organisation
- Citizens or community group
Participatory approaches/ community involvement
- Dissemination of information and education
- Joint implementation (e.g. tree planting)
- Co-management/Joint management
Details on the roles of the organisations involved in the project
The community garden was initiated by Weaver’s Square's residents. They engaged local counsellors and collaborated with the Dublin City Council (DCC) to implement the intervention. The space is let out to the community by the DCC, and volunteers also help in the garden.
(Ref. 1)
Project implemented in response to ...
... an EU policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a national policy or strategy?
Unknown
... a local policy or strategy?
Unknown
Financing
Total cost
Unknown
Source(s) of funding
- Unknown
Type of funding
- Unknown
Non-financial contribution
Type of non-financial contribution
- Provision of land
- Provision of labour
Who provided the non-financial contribution?
- Public authorities (e.g. land, utility services)
- Citizens (e.g. volunteering)
Impacts and Monitoring
Environmental impacts
- Environmental quality
- Improved soil quality
- Green space and habitat
- Increased green space area
- Enhanced support of pollination
- Restoration of derelict areas
Economic impacts
- Increase in agricultural production (for profit or not)
Socio-cultural impacts
- Safety
- Decreased crime rates
- Social justice and cohesion
- Improved social cohesion
- Improved access to urban green space
- Increased involvement of locals in the management of green spaces
- Increased access to healthy/affordable food
- Increased sustainability of agriculture practices
- Health and wellbeing
- Improved mental health
- Gain in activities for recreation and exercise
- Cultural heritage and sense of place
- Improvement in people’s connection to nature
- Education
- Increased knowledge of locals about local nature
Type of reported impacts
Achieved impacts
Presence of formal monitoring system
Unknown
Presence of indicators used in reporting
No evidence in public records
Presence of monitoring/ evaluation reports
No evidence in public records
Availability of a web-based monitoring tool
No evidence in public records
References
Ref. 1. Caspelich, S. (2013). Community garden flourishes. [online] available at: Source link (accessed 10th September, 2020.
Ref. 2. SAVE WEAVER SQUARE COMMUNITY GARDEN AND ALLOTMENTS. [online] available at: Source link. (accessed on 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 3. Change X (2017). Tenters Community Garden. [online] available at: Source link (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 4. The Tenters Community Facebook Page. [online] available at: Source link (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 5. GreenNews (2019) Weaver Square – ‘we felt part of something so special’. [online] available at: Source link. (accessed on 10th September, 2020)
Ref. 2. SAVE WEAVER SQUARE COMMUNITY GARDEN AND ALLOTMENTS. [online] available at: Source link. (accessed on 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 3. Change X (2017). Tenters Community Garden. [online] available at: Source link (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 4. The Tenters Community Facebook Page. [online] available at: Source link (accessed 10th September, 2020).
Ref. 5. GreenNews (2019) Weaver Square – ‘we felt part of something so special’. [online] available at: Source link. (accessed on 10th September, 2020)
Weaver Square Community Garden
South West Inner City Network (www.swicn.ie), retrieved 09/11/2018 from Ivanna Chovgan