Wild About Food shortlisted for the NI Year of Food & Drink awards

The shortlist for the NI Year of Food and Drink Awards has been announced. The judging panel, made up of highly respected food writers, critics and hospitality experts, were overwhelmed with the level of entries for the inaugural year of the awards, celebrating the achievements of the Year of Food and Drink in 2016. –

Deputy Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, William McNeilly, who attended a number of the workshops said “We are delighted that our ‘Wild About Food’ initiative has been shortlisted for the Best Food Story Award.”

“Wild About Food was a collaboration between Mid and East Antrim Borough Council & Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, funded by Heritage Lottery Fund, aiming to celebrate the fantastic local produce available to us in the area. This project was our contribution to the Northern Ireland's Year of Food and Drink 2016 and we incorporated the Year of Food and Drink monthly themes.”

“Throughout the Wild About Food programme participants were educated, able to learn new food preparation skills, learn about local ingredients and learn about foraging. For example, participants foraged for wild garlic and made a wild garlic pesto at Ecos Nature Park and enjoyed learning the traditional skill of sea angling and ‘cooking their catch’ at our Cook Your Catch workshop at Blackhead Path, Whitehead. Other workshops included a Love Veg BBQ at Eden Allotment Gardens, Carrickfergus, bread baking, ice cream making, and a celebration of the apple harvest at Diamond Jubilee Wood, Whitehead.”

“The programme was also intended to act as a reminder of the ecosystem processes which continues to provide us with food, air and water reminding us of the importance of the natural world around us.  With today’s reliance on supermarkets, and the assumption that any food can be purchased at any time of the year, this programme aimed to remind people of importance of local produce and how to make the most of ingredients which have not incurred thousands of air miles and the associated carbon foot print. “

Charles Campion, Georgina Campbell, Joris Minne and Professor Una-McMahon Beattie met at Hillsborough Castle on Mon 16 January to deliberate the entries. The shortlist and winners will be announced at the awards evening on Thursday 02 February at the Culloden Estate & Spa.

Mayor meets 'Friends Of'

The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough, Councillor Audrey Wales MBE, is encouraging residents to ‘give volunteering a go’ in 2017.

She said: “Our ‘Friends Of’ volunteer groups undertake a wide range of tasks such as nest box building, tree planting, river cleans, invasive species removal and wildflower planting."

“These groups are a great opportunity to get outside in the fresh air, meet like-minded people and learn new skills, all the while protecting and improving your local green space.”

Cllr Wales added: “Volunteering can help people to gain confidence and self-esteem and can also have health benefits by being active outdoors. Volunteering provides huge opportunities to enhance your CV to impress future employers or help with university applications. And of course, it can be great fun.”

Indeed, the Mayor has herself joined the Friends of Bashfordsland Wood and Oakfield Glen and got involved in their bird ringing tasks.

Cllr Wales explained: “Bird ringing is the attachment of small numbered tags to the leg or wing of a wild bird to enable individual identification. Ringing birds allows us to learn how long our birds live and when and where they move – information which is important for bird conservation. It was great to see so many birds on site, including a rare find – a treecreeper. The ‘Friends of’ volunteers record the birds on site each year,” she said.

The Friends of Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen will continue to meet on the second Saturday of each month at Oakfield Community Centre 10am (to 1pm). 

• Friends of Ecos Nature Park, meeting at Ecos Centre, 10am (to 12pm) on Saturday 21 January, Saturday 18 February, Saturday 18 March
• Friends of Larne Town Park will meet at Bankheads Lane, 2pm (to 4pm) on Saturday 21 January 18 February and Saturday 18 March
• Friends of Carnfunnock Country Park meet at the visitor centre 10am (to 1pm) on Saturday 28 January, Saturday 25 Feb and Saturday 25 March

Local schools get involved in Ahoghill New Park consultation process

Local schools including The Diamond Primary School (pictured) have been getting involved in the public consultation process for Ahoghill New Park.

 Mid and East Antrim Borough Council own a 3.16ha site adjacent to the community centre at Cardonaghy Road in the village of Ahoghill. At October’s Council meeting it was agreed to create a park with this land and a public consultation has officially opened to hear from you, the service users.

There is still time to get involved and have your say here. 

The survey is open until Friday 13^th January 2017. 

'Friends of' goes Borough wide

The ‘Friends Of’ Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen have been meeting each month since September 2015 to carry out practical tasks in their local woodland, last month they collected materials from the wood and made festive wreaths.  

The ‘Friends Of’ volunteer programme has proven so popular in Carrickfergus that Mid and East Antrim Borough Council will be extending the programme to Larne and Ballymena sites this year.

Voluntary work can be inspiring and rewarding – a real learning experience. You can develop new practical skills, meet new people and learn about your local environment. Volunteering can help you gain confidence and self-esteem and can also have health benefits as you are being active outdoors. You can really make a difference to your local green space by protecting it and improving it for the benefit of the local wildlife and community.  Volunteering provides opportunities to enhance your CV and is highly commended by employers and of course, it can be great fun.  Why not get involved in 2017?

The Friends of Bashfordsland Wood & Oakfield Glen will continue to meet on the second Saturday of each month in 2017.  

Details of the new ‘Friends of’ programmes can be found below:

Friends of Ecos Nature Park

Meeting at Ecos Centre, 10am (to 12noon) on:

Saturday 21st January

Saturday 18th February

Saturday 18th March

Friends of Larne Town Park

Meeting at Bankheads Lane, 2pm (to 4pm) on:

Saturday 21st January

Saturday 18th February

Saturday 18th March

Friends of Carnfunnock Country Park

Meeting at the visitor centre 10am (to 1pm) on:

Saturday 28th January

Saturday 25th February

Saturday 25th March

Ahoghill New Park

Mid and East Antrim Borough Council own a 3.16ha site adjacent to the community centre at Cardonaghy Road in the village of Ahoghill. At October’s Council meeting it was agreed to create a park with this land and a public consultation has officially opened to hear from the service users.

Council’s vision is to transform this closed site and create a public park that will provide a popular community space with an array of walkways, wildlife, wildflowers, trees and wetlands area. Mid and East Antrim Borough Council is committed to the continual improvement of our Borough’s infrastructure, to creating opportunities for health and well-being, and to increasing social, environmental and economic benefits for our residents. The creation of this public open space area would enhance the offering within this village, improve quality of life for those living in the area and enhance the attractions of the area for future development.

The Parks & Open Spaces Section would therefore encourage Mid and East Antrim residents, especially those living in and around Ahoghill, to get involved in this consultation process and to provide valuable feedback by completing a short online survey before the closing date of Friday 13^th January 2017. Please see map and link to survey below. 

Ahoghill New Park

Wild About Food Winter Festival

The Mid and East Antrim Borough Council’s ‘Wild About Food’ project has been running throughout 2016 in collaboration with Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council, and was funded by Heritage Lottery Fund. The two Council areas celebrated the success of the programme with a final Winter Festival event in Mossley Mill on Saturday 10^th December. Activities included delicious winter fare workshops, wreath making, robin box building, arts and crafts and woodland creatures.

The ‘Wild About Food’ project was Mid and East Antrim's contribution to Northern Ireland's Year of Food and Drink 2016 which is a celebration of everything delicious about Northern Ireland. Throughout 2016 participants across the Borough have had the chance to taking part in a range of events and workshops making the most of our fantastic local products.

Workshops throughout the year have included Love Veg at Eden Allotment Gardens, Cook Your Catch at Blackhead Path, Pesto making at Ecos Nature Park, Ice Cream making at Dixon Park and Apple Day at Diamond Jubilee Wood, and have proven extremely popular. Our ‘Winter Festival’ was a great way to celebrate the end of this exciting programme.

 Furthermore, this project was intended to act as a reminder of the ecosystem processes which provides us with food, air and water, and remind us of the importance of the natural world around us. With today’s reliance on supermarkets, and the assumption that any food can be purchased at any time of the year, this project has hopefully reminded people of the importance of our local produce and those ingredients which have not incurred thousands of air miles and the associated carbon foot print.

Greenisland Community Orchard

The Mayor of Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, Cllr Audrey Wales, officially launched National Tree Week 2016 by planting the first fruit tree in the new Greenisland Community Orchard.

Cllr Wales said “I was delighted to plant the first tree at Greenisland Community Orchard. The community then planted the rest of the site with 75 fruit trees, including apple, pear and plum. Participants also enjoyed building a bug hotel, meeting some woodland creatures and tasting orchard food and drink. I hope this site will flourish and provide a valuable resource for the community for many years.”

National Tree Week is the UK’s largest celebration of trees and the start of the winter tree planting season. As part of our Tree Week celebrations, Mid & East Antrim Borough Council’s free activities across the Borough have ranged from practical workshops in Ecos Nature Park, Ballymena and Bashfordsland Wood, Carrickfergus, to tree planting with school children in Larne.

Anyone can make a difference to their view and to biodiversity by adding a tree. Planting a tree is a very positive thing to do and is great fun, even in the depths of winter. There are plenty of reasons to get planting –it's great exercise, children love it, and you'll be making a valuable contribution to our local wildlife. Every tree counts.

The Tree Council’s National Tree Week is the UK’s largest celebration of trees and the start of the winter tree planting season. The first‐ever National Tree Week was held in 1975 to make Britain more tree‐conscious, encourage tree planting and promote awareness of the importance of proper care and maintenance of trees.

Tree Week marks the beginning of the tree planting season which runs right through to February. Why not get outdoors and plant a tree this winter, or simply enjoy the tremendous trees we already have in the Parks & Open Spaces in our Borough?