GIY Week

Interested in Growing your own Food this year?

Interested in growing your own food this year? GIY Week (March 12^th to 19^th) is the moment you have been waiting for! GIY is a not-for-profit organisation which started in Ireland, that aims to make home-grown food the norm – during GIY Week the organisation is trying to encourage people that have never grown anything at all to sow a seed for the first time. Whether you would like to be self-sufficient or just want to grow some herbs and salads on a windowsill, GIY wants you get growing!

GIY Week 2011 is timed to coincide with the start of the 2011 growing season - GIY groups around Ireland will be hosting events, demos and meitheals to provide would-be GIYers with the skills that they need to grow their own successfully. On Facebook, GIY plans to get over 100,000 people to take a pledge to grow something they can eat (www.facebook.com/giyireland).

To mark GIY Week, GIY patrons such as Clodagh McKenna, Ella McSweeney, Klaus Laitenberger and Joy Larkcom are all hosting events. There will be expert web-chats each evening on the GIY website; a "meitheal Mor" in Seven Oaks Community Garden in Dublin; yoga for GIYers in Darthmouth Sq in Dublin; new GIY group launches in Offaly, Drumcondra, Leitrim and Donegal (including the first off-shore GIY group at Árainn Mhór). GIY will also be at the Inish Food Event in Donegal (organised by the Irish Food Bloggers and Harry's Restaurant supremo Donal Doherty) and the Potato Day in The Organic Centre, Rossinver, Leitrim. There will also be visits to some of Ireland’s most inspiring vegetable gardens, including Mount Congrieve in Waterford and the OPW’s Victorian Walled Garden in the Phoenix Park. Local GIY groups will also be working with schools around Ireland to support them as part of the Incredible Edibles programme.

About GIY

GIY is a registered charity (CHY 18920) that inspires people to grow their own and gives them the skills they need to grow successfully. They do this by bringing GIYers together in the community and online so that they can learn from each other. There are now nearly 100 GIY groups around Ireland and approximately 7,000 people involved between the groups and our online network.

GIY group activities include monthly meetings, talks and demos; garden visits, seed and seedling swaps; produce bartering, mentor panels and grower’s meitheals. Meetings and membership are free of charge, and open to all – beginners and experts, young and old.

GIY Ireland was founded by author and journalist Michael Kelly. Patrons of the organisation include Diarmuid Gavin, Darina Allen, Duncan Stewart, Ella McSweeney, Klaus Laitenberger, Clodagh McKenna and Joy Larkcom and the organisation is proudly supported by The Arthur Guinness Fund, Woodies DIY and Garden Centres, Ashoka and AIB. For more information visit www.giyireland.com. To take the GIY Pledge, visit www.facebook.com/giyireland.

GIY Week Activities:

• Tie-in with Agriaware on the launch of Incredible Edibles Initiative in Schools – local GIY groups helping school-kids to grow their own

• GIY Groups hosting events, talks, meetings during that week

• Live GIY expert web-chats each evening on the GIY website

• Guided Tour of the OPW Walled Garden in Phoenix Park

• Butter-making demo with Ella McSweeney, Live Streaming to GIY site at 7pm on Wednesday

• Meitheal Mor in Seven Oaks Community Garden in Dublin

• “Grow Your Own Vegetables” author Joy Larkcom talk in Cork

• Yoga for GIYers in Darthmouth Sq in Dublin with Victoria Mary Clarke

• “Grow your Own” talk with Klaus Laitenberger in Bray

• “Grow it/Eat it” event with Clodagh McKenna and Klaus Laitenberger in Offaly

• Inishfood Event in Donegal

• Potato Day in Leitrim

• New GIY Group Launches in Offaly, Drumcondra, Leitrim and the first off-shore GIY group in Arrain Mhor

For more information on GIY Week Events, visit www.giyireland.com/markets/events