Allotment Workshops, June 2015

Mid & East Antrim Borough Council’s Allotment Services will be holding a series of Allotment Workshops this June.  Alison Diver, Mid & East Antrim Borough Council’s Growing Communities Officer, said “We would like to invite anyone interested in learning more about growing their own food along to our FREE workshops. This is a great opportunity to see what other people are growing, learn some new skills and make some new friends.”

Details of training workshops are as follows:

Saturday 6^th June – Preparing & Maintaining Your Plot for Success

·         Eden Allotments: 11am-12pm

·         Greenisland Allotments:  1pm-2pm

Saturday 13^th June – Sowing from Seed & Other Propagation Methods

·         Eden Allotments: 11am-12pm

·         Greenisland Allotments:  1pm-2pm

Saturday 20^th June – Making your own Compost & Fertilizer

·         Eden Allotments: 11am-12pm

·         Greenisland Allotments:  1pm-2pm

Participants are advised to wear appropriate clothing and footwear for these outdoor events. Some materials and tools will be provided but attendees are encouraged to bring their own.

Allotments can provide a great sense of well-being and give pleasure and satisfaction to people who through their own skills and effort produce their own food and of course in addition allotments are also beneficial to the environment and wildlife generally. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is committed to improving the quality of life for all the people of Borough through the services it provides, including our allotment service.

Woollen Woods Grand Opening

Saturday 16th May 2015 saw the grand opening of the first Woollen Wood in Northern Ireland at Diamond Jubilee Wood, Whitehead.

To mark the occasion Mid and East Antrim Borough Council held a free family fun day with arts and craft workshops such as pom-pom making, felting and origami and environmental activities including bug hunting and pond dipping.

Alison Diver (Growing Communities Officer, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council) said "This is a wonderful project in collaboration with Voluntary Arts and Lighthouse Yarns which has brought the arts and the environment together and we are pleased that so many people have gotten involved. The woollen creations on site are amazing, we even had a woolly clown and skeleton on Saturday! The wool installation will be on display throughout the summer in Diamond Jubilee Wood so why not go and see for yourself?"

More info on Woollen Woods can be found here 

For further information:

Alison Diver

Growing Communities Officer

Tel: (028) 93 358044

E-Mail:alison.diver@midandeastantrim.gov.uk

Woollen Woods

Diamond Jubilee Wood, Whitehead will be transformed into a Woollen Wonderland!

Woollen Woods is UK wide project that began in 2013 and covers five regions on the UK mainland. Diamond Jubilee Wood is the first Woollen Wood in Northern Ireland!

Woollen Woods is an enchanting outdoor art installation featuring hundreds of woodland-themed woollen artworks which have been created by schools, knitting groups and individuals all over Northern Ireland. Their contributions include knitted fruit, flowers, insects and birds. We even have a yarn bombed bicycle!

This is a fantastic project which brings the arts and the environment together and the grand opening is on Saturday 16th May 2015. This will be marked with a free family fun day at Diamond Jubilee Wood with arts, crafts and environmental activities taking place from 1-5pm. Come along and see the woolly creations for yourself!

More information can be found here