This article is from page 28 of the 2007-06-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 28 JPG
ASPIRING gardeners and environ- mentalists can help funds to grow for Special Olympics Ireland by work- ing in the gardens of the Irish Seed Saver Association in Scariff.
The pay for every hour spent volun- teering at the 20-acre site at Capparoe will be donated to the ‘Support An Athlete’ initiative, to pay for the team’s trip to the World Summer Games in China this October.
Marketing Co-ordinator, Hilary Gleeson, said that the seeds of this inaugural scheme were planted by a part-time worker in Scariff.
‘Joe McGrath was involved with ‘Support an Athlete’ and he asked us if we would be interested in help- ing out. Over 140 athletes will travel to Shanghai in a few months so it 1s nice to give something back. We are aiming to raise around €1,000 so if we only got 10 volunteers for a day or two each, we would easily reach that target.”
She added that the association was hoping to cultivate an interest in its work as well as help a worthy cause.
‘This would be a unique opportuni- ty and a nice experience for someone to see how the organisation works. Summer is a lovely time to be out in
the gardens or orchards. They would be digging, mulching, using organic sprays, fixing beds to plant or work- ing in the poly-tunnels. Volunteers would also be learning about seeds, apple trees, soft fruit, herbs and veg- etables. They could even try some of our produce at lunch.”
There are no minimum or maxi- mum age restrictions to participate and no prior experience is needed. Volunteering hours run from Mon- day to Friday, 9.30am to 5pm.
Ms Gleeson explained that Scariff was the hub of the Irish Seed Saver Association, which works to promote organic and biodynamic farming and
preservation of seed varieties.
“The organisation has gone from strength to strength since it was founded by Anita Hayes in 1991. We acquired another 10 acres to add to our previous 10 in the last three years. We have a seed bank of 600 rare seeds and seeds from abroad, as well as lots of ‘old’ varieties of fruit and vegetables. There are other organisations saving seeds but Clare is very important in the scheme of donb enoacn
People interested 1n raising money or volunteering can contact the as- sociation on 061 921866 or, for more information, visit irishseedsavers.ie.