Award-winning climate education programme to expand from Westport to the Royal Canal
Food Forests Ireland (FFI) has announced the national rollout of its award-winning Community Food Forest Programme, bringing its outdoor climate and biodiversity education initiative to communities along the Royal Canal Greenway.
Following the recent success of its pilot Community Food Forest Programme in Westport and expansion along the Great Western Greenway, FFI is now collaborating with TU Dublin Blanchardstown and Global Action Plan Ireland to establish its first site on the Royal Canal Greenway (130km through Kildare, Meath, Westmeath and Longford).
FFI is also inviting Tidy Towns groups and other local community organisations along the Royal Canal Greenway to register their interest in being part of Ireland's growing network of community food forests. As an introductory educational step, regional community leaders are invited to attend an immersive Food Forest Workshop in Westport on July 25th from 11.15am to 4.15pm to work with the train timetable.
The Royal Canal Greenway marks the next stage in FFI's ambition to create a nationwide educational footprint in schools and residential areas along or adjacent to the greenways. FFI wants to transform public infrastructure into living classrooms. The food forests are small and easy to maintain and manage by the participating groups.
Community, Tidy Towns chapters, and local groups interested in registering for the late-July Westport Workshop should express their interest directly via the official Food Forests Ireland Contact Page.
Caithriona McCarthy, Programme Director, Food Forests Ireland, says: "The success of our Great Western Greenway pilot has shown what communities can achieve when they come together around food, biodiversity, and education. Our initiative is about utilising existing greenways as a catalyst for environmental education and climate action. We want to empower young people and adults alike to move from passive consumers to proactive stewards of the land, building local food resilience independent of global energy disruptions."
Operating under the Infrastructure Enabled Edible Landscape (IEEL) initiative, the Community Food Forest Programme project uses public infrastructure as living classrooms where communities can learn about biodiversity, sustainable food production and climate resilience through hands-on participation. The real star of the show is the systems-designed Community Food Forest Programme based around the food forest; it really helps participants understand food forest management.
Caithriona adds: “We provide the workshop and education to get the food forest up and running, then participating groups can manage and maintain for generations to come.”
The expansion establishes a continuous educational network alongside major commuting and tourism corridors, using interactive ecosystems to teach local communities about sustainable food production, circular bio-economies, and climate resilience.
Food Forest Workshop in Westport July 25th from 11.15am to 4.15pm. Attendees will:
- See the award-winning pilot ecosystem to observe multi-layered food forestry in action
- Discover more about how the food forests are small and easy to maintain and manage by the participating groups
- Participate in hands-on workshops focused on (biodiversity mapping), agroforestry frameworks, and systems thinking
- Collaborate directly with FFI expert coordinators to begin to map out tailored, edible landscape designs for their local areas
- Express their interest directly via Food Forests Ireland Contact Page