Energia Get Ireland Growing Fund – Community groups and voluntary organisations from all across Ireland are now invited to apply to the Energia Get Ireland Growing and GIY fund 2019, for part of the the €75,000 pool of funding.
Groups and organisations have until January 18th, 2019 to apply for grants, which will enable them to start or further develop a community food-growing project in their area. The Energia Get Ireland Growing Fund will be split across three categories:
- Sow
- Grow and
- Harvest.
Awards range from €500 to €2,000 with one group selected to receive €5,000.
For more information about the Get Ireland Growing and GIY Fund CLICK HERE.
Last year there were over 700 applications for the Energia Get Ireland Growing Fund. You can see more about some of the successful groups here, but these are really just the tip of the iceberg.
Applications from Men’s Sheds, hospitals, schools, creches, mental health facilities, rehab centres, GIY groups, community centres, allotments, residents’ associations and so many more poured in to the fund. Some groups had never so much as sown a seed, others were hoping to add a polytunnel to their productive garden. Some used the funding to set up beehives or build a pond, others just needed shovels and compost. The diversity of the groups, but their common goal, to grow food, is what makes this initiative so special.
Community food growing has always been at the heart of GIY. Over the years GIY has offered practical advice and moral support, but to do great community work requires resources. Mugs of tea can only fuel so much. Clearing space for an inner-city community garden, putting a polytunnel on a school roof or creating a pond at an allotment needs more than moral support. As resourceful as community groups are, nothing beats a cheque in the door. And a cheque that comes with the message “you can do this, we support you” is ten times better.
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