Tag: fingal libraries

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All Posts Peter Donegan in the Media

Fingal Independent – November 22nd

This article appeared in The Fingal Independent Tuesday 22nd November 2011:

Garden podcast puts Peter up for award

By JOHN MANNING

Tuesday November 22 2011

A BALLYBOUGHAL man is up for a national award for his Podcast that introduces the listener to the joys of gardening. Ace landscape gardner and community stalwart down Ballyboughal way is Peter Donegan and his popular podcast called The Sodshow is up for a national web award this year. Peter is the man behind Ballyboughal.net and a great champion of life in Ballyboughal as well as an enthusiastic promoter of all things green-fingered. He is an award winning landscape gardener and designer with Peter Donegan Landscaping and has had several eye-catching exhibits at the Bloom festival. Apart from imparting his gardening wisdom on the Podcast, Peter has had more face-to-face encounters with budding horticulturalists in Fingal classrooms over the last few weeks. Fingal Libraries in conjunction with Peter Donegan are hosting a series of classes with primary school children to teach them the real facts of nature through October and November. The sessions cover topics such as gardening, water, the great outdoors, how plants make their own food and how we grow ours, fruit and vegetables, trees and flowers, making a living edible garden and staying green at home. The classes give the children the opportunity to get their hands dirty and do some planting themselves and at the same time have fun while exploring the natural world and biodiversity. The garden classes entitled, Adventures in Green Gardening, started Tuesday 16th October and run for six weeks. Even if you missed the classes, a list of books has been compiled by Peter Donegan and Fingal Libraries for children to read themselves and also a list of more detailed books for parents. All of the books are available from Fingal Libraries.

– JOHN MANNING

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All Posts Garden Talks and Events with Peter Donegan

Fingal Libraries/ Peter Donegan Schools Gardening Classes

fingal libraries gardening

Fingal Libraries in conjunction with gardener Peter Donegan are hosting a series of classes with primary school children to teach them the real facts of nature. The sessions will cover topics such as gardening, water, the great outdoors, how plants make their own food and how we grow ours, fruit and vegetables, trees and flowers, making a living edible garden and staying green at home.

These classes will give the children the opportunity to get their hands dirty and do some planting themselves and at the same time have fun while exploring the natural world and biodiversity.

The garden classes entitled, Adventures in Green Gardening, start Tuesday 16th October and will run for 6 weeks.

A list of books has been compiled by Peter Donegan and Fingal Libraries for the children to read themselves and also a list of more detailed books for parents. All of the books noted are available from Fingal Libraries.

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All Posts Garden Talks and Events with Peter Donegan

Fingal Libraries – Growing Your Own Garden Talks

After doing a series of garden talks some weeks ago with Fingal Libraries for local schools, I was asked once again to do another week long session of grow your own garden talks to the library members were all [except one] were done in the evening time.

The talks differed extremely from the more educational and behind the scenes that I did for the schools sessions. Instead I chose to do a more, how I grow my own in my home, to suit those with an average of 20 minutes per evening to spare.  I gave those attending an insight into what is considered best practise, but in reality not always practical, if at all possible. It was then a case of making it quite specific to each individuals size of space within which they wished to grow their own.

Credit were it’s due to the staff of all the libraries who were absolute gentlemen and ladies. From the most simplistic offering of a glass of water to being so friendly when the clock was rolling after the 7pm mark. It really did make my time there with them so much much enjoyable.

I’ve have done previous garden talks in the libraries of Balbriggan, Baldoyle and Malahide libraries. Blanchardstown library was new to me and sits on the peripherals of the [very large] shopping centre. I never knew one could go in read the most current of every magazine available. Take a peak next time you are nearby it is stunning inside. Swords library, although smaller has a great little childrens area and a brilliant range of garden books. It is also worth noting that they are free to use wi-fi buildings.

That aside I did regret not doing a little video of the view from the upstairs in Baldoyle library the last time I was talking there. I got it second time round.

More details on fingal libraries and the garden classes/ talks contact:

Siobhan Walshe
Development & PR Department
Fingal County Libraries
County Hall
Swords
01 8905532
www.fingalcoco.ie/Library

For more information on garden talks & demonstrations you can contact me in the following ways:

Categories
All Posts Garden Talks and Events with Peter Donegan

Fingal Libraries Public Gardening Talks

I did a sesssion of gardening talks with Fingal Libraries for some of Fingals primary schools about two weeks ago.

Taking place once again in Fingal’s Libraries, I will be doing a second series of gardening talks for anyone who would like to attend. Whilst the talks are as such free to attend, I am told that booking is essential and you can do this through your local library. As I said before, I’m more familiar with the mobile library so I’m unsure of what is the easiest way to do the actual booking. Also places are limited.

update: To book any event just contact or drop into the relevant library

The following talks are so far confirmed:

  • Malahide Library – Monday 18th April @ 3pm
  • Baldoyle library – Monday 18th April @ 7pm
  • Swords Library – Tuesday 19th April @7pm
  • Blanchardstown Library – Wednesday 20th April @ 7pm
  • Balbriggan Library – Thursday 21st april @ 7pm

More details on fingal libraries and the garden classes/ talks contact:

Siobhan Walshe
Development & PR Department
Fingal County Libraries
County Hall
Swords
01 8905532
www.fingalcoco.ie/Library

For more information on garden talks & demonstrations you can also contact me in the following ways:

Categories
All Posts Garden Talks and Events with Peter Donegan

Fingal Libraries Schools Gardening Talks

I mentioned last week that I was doing some gardening talks with Fingal County Council Libraries. The classses were for 4 primary school classes and took place over a two day period.

To deviate mildly, because of where I live, the mobile library is there should I need it and to that it has been a while since I was in a library building. I was so impressed. Blown away, is most probably a more apt description.

If you thought libraries are dull, boring and dreary places reticent of ’80’s Ireland, you are miles nee kilometres off the mark. Childrens areas, wifi, bright and bustling – with areas of quiet – is what they are; all complete with modern meeting rooms – which is were my talks were held.

I centred my talks, in [extremely] short, around a plant starting as a seed, maturing into a plant in order to produce a flower which in turn produces a seed, basically it’s life cycle, only for it to start all over again. Examples and samples of my apples trees in bud, actual apples, bananas, carrots, onions, onion plants and sets [i threw in a leek and a flowerless daffodil for the craic], as well as potato seeds and potatoes, to name but a few.

To the staff in all I extend a massive thank you for being so amazing and so very kind. Also to Siobhan Walshe who was my point of contact for the week and such a pleasure to chat with.

As a by the way, Rush library, [pictured above] formerly an old church building if for nothing else is well worth a visit for sake of the architecture, the interior and the way in which modern technology has interacted with it. The compliment can be extended, albeit in a varying light, to Baldoyle library semi wrapped in glass and overlooking the waters leading to Irelands eye; Malahide library get my applause for their front garden which I love dearly and Balbriggan library I actually got lost in it.

More details on fingal libraries and the garden classes/ talks contact:

Siobhan Walshe
Development & PR Department
Fingal County Libraries
County Hall
Swords
01 8905532
www.fingalcoco.ie/Library

More information on garden talks & demonstrations:

You can also contact me in the following ways: