19th January 2010

Local Partnership Celebrates Green-Fingered Success

Representatives from Carrickfergus Council, Conservation Volunteers and the local mental health charity, MindWise gathered at the charity’s housing service in the town recently to celebrate their joint success in recently winning a national environmental award.

The three organisations along with a local drug and rehabilitation group have been working in partnership for over a year now on the Garden of Eden project at Eden Allotment Garden. The allotments are operated by Carrickfergus Borough Council and are located within a five hectare site off Beltoy Road just outside Eden village near Carrickfergus. Eden allotments are provided and administered by Carrickfergus Borough Council.

The Garden of Eden Project was awarded BTCV’s Project of the Year award at the charity’s 2009 annual Green Heroes awards in which were held in London in November 2009 after being nominated by project manager, Helen Tomb.

The project won the award for its success in involving tenants from MindWise’s Carrickfergus housing service and participants of a local drug and alcohol rehabilitation group to get involved in a new physical activity which has positively benefited their mental health. The group have worked hard to create an allotment which is used to its full potential to produce organic home grown fruit and vegetables.

Speaking at the party to celebrate the achievement, the Chair of MindWise’s Board of Trustees Seamus Mullan was keen to commend all concerned for their efforts and achievements and to thank the partners on the project for their support and hard work. He said “It has been an amazing achievement for the Garden of Eden project to win such a prestigious award and my thanks go to Carrickfergus Council and Conservation Volunteers for making this project possible. The project has enabled individuals we support in MindWise have been encouraged to participate in physical activity and to learn more about the benefits of a healthy diet by enjoying the crops they produce. Research has demonstrated that both are beneficial for an individual’s mental health”.

Stephen Daye, Parks & Countryside Development Officer for Carrickfergus Council who manages the Eden Allotment Gardens was also keen to congratulate all involved on their success, he said “The council is delighted to have supported this project to date and we look forward to watching it go from strength to strength in the future. The Council is very proud of the community resource we have in terms of the allotments in Eden and it is great to see one of them having been utilised in such a worthwhile way”.

BTCV is an environmental charity which supports 300,000 volunteers to take part in practical environmental projects in their communities. If you would like to know more about BTCV, please visit www.btcv.org and go to the Northern Ireland section of the site to learn about projects happening in your area.

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