Seed of an idea bears fruit

THE seed was sown by an adult education programme but a Clare community has received a top award after branching out with its own horticulture project.

The West and North Clare Growers’ Association is only a few months old, but the idea was planted in the minds of people in Mullagh after seeing the popularity of locally-run horticulture classes.

They were set up in 2005 under the Back to Education Initiative, after the Mullagh Women’s group asked Co Clare Vocational Education Committee (VEC) to establish adult education classes in the area.

“There was such a positive uptake in the classes, it was amazing. We had retired people and young people who were working full-time, but they all loved gardening,” explained Mary Donnellan, joint secretary of the association.

“Our tutor Tom Barry got everyone infected by the horticulture bug, so we set up the association a few months ago. There’s nearly 30 people involved now and some are supplying product to local farmers’ market, and others are still just doing it as a hobby,” she said.

The Learning to Grow project picked up the top local award for Munster at the Star adult education awards yesterday. The scheme was set up by national adult learning organisation AONTAS to recognise innovative projects run by community and voluntary groups, private groups and state agencies.

Among the highly commended projects was Mothers Making a Difference, a project at Waterford Institute of Technology working with parents of Traveller children, or pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Noreen Reilly, visiting teacher for Travellers in Carlow and Kilkenny, said parents visited the college and were given information about access programmes and financial supports.

The aim is to have them encourage their children to aspire to reaching third-level education by breaking down barriers which normally prevent those from such families from doing so.

A pilot partnership between Dun Laoghaire VEC, the Health Service Executive and St John of God’s Carmona Services to help young adults with an intellectual disability won the overall nationwide award.

AONTAS director Berni Brady said the projects demonstrate the importance of Government investment in measures to give adults continuing access to education and it is vital that these initiatives continue to be resourced during the recession.

*A full list of winners and highly commended projects is available at www.http://www.adultlearnersfestival.com/starawards