Community gardens and allotments are powerful tools for climate adaptation and combating biodiversity loss. They provide spaces where communities can connect, grow, and thrive, offering evidence-based physical and mental health benefits while fostering social inclusion and cohesion.

The Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss highlighted the importance of green spaces and the vital role urban areas play in preserving biodiversity.

The European Nature Restoration Law includes the following in the list of restoration measures:

Increase urban green spaces with ecological features, such as parks, trees and woodland patches, green roofs, wildflower grasslands, gardens, city horticulture, tree-lined streets, urban meadows and hedges, ponds and watercourses, taking into consideration, inter alia, species diversity, native species, local conditions and resilience to climate change.

The current programme for government was the first time allotments and community gardens have ever been mentioned in a programme for government. Ireland also provides one of the lowest number of allotments and community gardens per capita in Europe.

Community Gardens Ireland therefore have put together the above 6 asks of all political parties and candidates in the upcoming General Election, to ensure that allotments and community gardens are included in future programmes for government.

We will be contacting all parties about this, and encourage you to discuss details of this directly with any candidates over the coming months.

Posted on 10/09/24 by Dónal McCormack. Image created by Justyna Traore. For more details on this post, contact info@cgireland.org