Gardening Workshops and Horticulture Courses in Community Gardens in Ireland

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If you’re looking for gardening workshops or horticulture courses or training for your community gardeners, there are several places you can turn to for help and advice, often at very low-cost.

Adult Education from Education Training Boards

Most of the community garden coordinators involved with Community Gardens Ireland are registered with their local Education Training Board (ETB). ETBs can provide you with horticulture tutors who are qualified to deliver shorter ‘hobby’ Community Education courses in gardening as well as Back to Education Initiative accredited courses that cover everything from planting and potting, garden design, outdoor vegetable crop production as well as fully accredited major FETAC Horticulture awards.

If you’re looking for a gardening workshop or a longer course, contact your nearest ETB. If you’re involved with horticulture and would like to teach in community gardens, contact your ETB and ask to be added to the tutors list. They will let you know how you can become involved.

Organic Garden Advice for Community Gardens

In addition to the ETB’s there are several training providers in Ireland that can offer advice and training about running your community garden using organic and/or permaculture principles. These include:

Cavan

Aisling Blackburn, Jampa Ling Cavan – Community education & Level 5, willow weaving, apple pruning.

Carlow

Dee Sewell, Greenside Up, Carlow – provides social, community and therapeutic environmental & horticultural education & community garden consultation, talks & advice, Community Education & up to & including QQI Level 5.

Donegal

Joanna Lindsey Butler, Ourganic Gardens, Donegal – Chairperson, Community Gardens Ireland. Organic garden tuition, Community Education & Level 4

Wicklow

Suzie Cahn, Carraig Dulra, Wicklow – Courses in Permaculture design and practice, organic growing, gardening in community, natural building, tiny homes, sustainable leadership and facilitation.

Regular Meet Ups and Support

Community Gardens Ireland aim to meet at least twice a year in different villages, cities or towns in Ireland and Northern Ireland, offering workshops designed to help community gardeners and support. Sign up for the newsletter to receive information on when and where these take place.

Dublin Community Growers are a network of gardeners that can offer support and advice to community gardens in the Dublin with meetups and training events.

Let’s Get Galway Growing – an initiative of Galway City Partnership

Leitrim Community Gardens Network

Donegal Community Gardens Network

Other Lectures, Gardening and Horticultural Training Providers

An tIonad Glas, Limerick – Level 5 and Level 6 Organic Horticulture

Technological University of Dublin offer part and full-time Certificate and Level 8 Degree courses in Horticulture

SETU – level 8 in horticulture

Teagasc – Offer Fetac 5, 6 and BSc in Horticulture

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Bridget’s Garden, Galway – School and community garden courses and environmental education

Cultivate, Tipperary  – Permaculture and other education for sustainability and community resilience workshops

Dunmore Country School Laois, – Horticultural courses with Tanguy de Tourney

Global Action Plan Ireland (GAP), Environmental Charity, Ballymun, Dublin GAP Provides training programs and workshops for community groups, councils, schools, and corporate groups

GIY Ireland offers online and in-person growing courses for beginners

The Hollies – The centre for practical sustainability in West Cork that offers various training initiatives as well as working examples of what a sustainable society might look like.

Huntingbrook Gardens, Wicklow – If you want to considerably improve your plant knowledge, this Plantspersons Course from Jimi Blake is very popular.

Irish Seedsavers, Clare – A variety of workshops for the kitchen, garden and orchard

National Organic Training Skillnet – Low cost training in the organic sector

Sonairte, Co Meath – Interactive visitor centre promoting ecological awareness and sustainable living who offer courses in horticultural therapy through a collaboration with the UK charity THRIVE

The Organic Centre, Leitrim – On site community garden, courses, workshops and seed supplier

The Botanic Gardens, Dublin – lectures, visits and workshops

Gardening Workshops and Horticulture Training in Community Gardens in Northern Ireland

Social Farms and Gardens can point you in the direction of horticulture training providers in Northern Ireland and they include:

Greenmount – College of Agriculture, Food and Rural Enterprise

Groundwork – delivers programmes and services aimed at boosting local regeneration, community cohesion and grassroots development.

TCv Employment & Training Services

Also the following colleges provide horticulture training:

South East Regional college
Southern RC
Northern
North Western RC
Belfast Metropolitan College
South West Regional College