Rush open Organisation for Transition status ?????

Cardinal Richelieu

LeoB wrote: »

Rush open Organisation for Transition status


This Tuesday in Rush Community Centre at 8.30 the official launch of R.O.O.T.S. takes place

What R.O.O.T.S. could do is

• re Establish the farmers Market
• Set up a community garden
• Develop a small business centre
• Establish a local skills network
• Set up a food cooperative
• Organise local food events

Why bother

• Kenure house gone
• Derilict buildings
• We have lived with Baleally
• Have impositions from Eirgrid and Tesco in Town
• The final straw could be the sewage plant

Tuesday night 8.30 is your chance to play a part. So please put it in your diary and breathe more energy back in to Rush


Now its time we turned the tables and re-activate the community, YOUR COMMUNITY

Whats this all about? I would like to show the head but got caught out a couple of times by the crowd running these type gigs so a little more info appreciated. Is it the Scientologists, Hari Krishna, the Green Party or those guys trying to sell pyramid schemes in the Balkans running this gig Tuesday night? Just speaking from experience.

eddiem74

Spotted a notice in the Ocean Inn Chinese on Saturday about this, no information on who is running it, and Trevor Sargent will be the guest speaker apparently.

The Hill Billy

It all sounds very good up to "What ROOTS could do is..." The "Why bother" bit strange to say the least.

In what way would the fact that Kenure Manor was demolished (how many years ago?) & the various issues of derelict buildings/Baleally/Eirgrid/Tesco/the sewage plant prevent the community from setting up a Farmers Market/community garden/small business centre/local skills network/food cooperative/local food events?

It seems like there are two distinct agendas here:
One really good - building on local expertise & produce.
The other... well, it is just a bit of a rant at local government really, without any clear thought put into it.

The Hill Billy

Ahh... This makes it a bit clearer.

Dizzyblonde

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Ahh... This makes it a bit clearer.

....as does THIS

Cardinal Richelieu

The Hill Billy wrote: »

It all sounds very good up to "What ROOTS could do is..." The "Why bother" bit strange to say the least.

In what way would the fact that Kenure Manor was demolished (how many years ago?) & the various issues of derelict buildings/Baleally/Eirgrid/Tesco/the sewage plant prevent the community from setting up a Farmers Market/community garden/small business centre/local skills network/food cooperative/local food events?

It seems like there are two distinct agendas here:
One really good - building on local expertise & produce.
The other... well, it is just a bit of a rant at local government really, without any clear thought put into it.

Yes had me very confused,seems to be advocating that we should shoot ourselves in the foot to spite our faces.


The Kenure House rant always comes out when someone wants to attack FCC. People can accuse me of being a FCC employee all they want but for those with a more open mind the non rose tinted facts about Kenure House are below.

Fact 1
FCC did not exist then, it was all one big Council for Dublin then and Kenure House wasn't the only great house in Dublin to be carelessly left to fall into wrack and ruin. Anyone that has drove throuh Blackrock Co.Dublin will have passed Frascati shopping centre, one of the few reminders left of Frescati House. Yes these incidents even happened in sacred Blackrock.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frescati_House



Fact 2
It was finally demolished in 1978 as anyone from Rush would well know not 40 years ago as claimed by the Facebook page for this event. But 40 is a nice round number for hyperbole.

Fact 3
Yes it would be great to have an intact Kenure House and Gardens with a walled estate. It would be far and away the jewel in the crown for NCD but then if you think about it St Catherines, the estates at Clifflands and St Maurs estate would not exist. Rush would be a substantially smaller population or a very high density housing in the other areas of the town. Rush families conceivable due to the lack of social/affordable housing would have had to move to other parts of NCD. Also back in the day when most Rush families were part time farmers a good majority of them benefitted from the Land Commission and ended up owning part of Kenure Estate.

eddiem74

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Ahh... This makes it a bit clearer.

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

....as does THIS

Still not clear who is running this? Is this being run outside of the Rush Community Council / Tidy Towns ?

The Hill Billy

eddiem74 wrote: »

Still not clear who is running this? Is this being run outside of the Rush Community Council / Tidy Towns ?

It would appear to be an independent group organising this.

Cardinal Richelieu

Whats the Skerries group like? See from Dizzy link Skerries is a Transition Town since 2009.


I couldn't really figure what it was all about from the Irish site, its all over the place with no core mission page but the UK page is far better Link

What is a Transition Initiative?

It's a place where there's a community-led process that helps that town/village/city/neighbourhood become stronger and happier.

It's happening in well over a thousand highly diverse communities across the world - from towns in Australia to neighbourhoods in Portugal, from cities in Brazil to rural communities in Slovenia, from urban locations in Britain to islands off the coast of Canada. Many of these initiatives are registered on the Transition Network website.


These communities have started up projects in areas of food, transport, energy, education, housing, waste, arts etc. as small-scale local responses to the global challenges of climate change, economic hardship and shrinking supplies of cheap energy. Together, these small-scale responses make up something much bigger, and help show the way forward for governments, business and the rest of us.

Really, it's the opposite of us sitting in our armchairs complaining about what's wrong, and instead, it's about getting up and doing something constructive about it alongside our neighbours and fellow townsfolk. And people tell us that as a result of being involved in their local "transition initiative", they're happier, their community feels more robust and they have made a lot of new friends.

LeoB

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Whats this all about? I would like to show the head but got caught out a couple of times by the crowd running these type gigs so a little more info appreciated. Is it the Scientologists, Hari Krishna, the Green Party or those guys trying to sell pyramid schemes in the Balkans running this gig Tuesday night? Just speaking from experience.

It appears to me to be an iniative to get people up and involved in the community on a number of fronts. Dont think any freaks or terrorists will attend or anyone looking to take money from us.

As it was explained to me by an organiser a community garden would be one of the big objectives, allotments another. It would also build on the huge local horticultural experience and thus enpower people to grow some produce. A big majority of people living in Rush today have no experience of growing veg or fruit and this is one of the objectives as explained to me. some Self sufficancy?

The Hill Billy wrote: »

It all sounds very good up to "What ROOTS could do is..." The "Why bother" bit strange to say the least. .

Its a negative comment ok. Most locals would admit HB that as a community we have been in slumber land for years all doing our own thing but now Rush is wide awake with good things happening locally because people have Finally bothered instead of moaning about what other areas have got.

The Hill Billy wrote: »

In what way would the fact that Kenure Manor was demolished (how many years ago?) & the various issues of derelict buildings/Baleally/Eirgrid/Tesco/the sewage plant prevent the community from setting up a Farmers Market/community garden/small business centre/local skills network/food cooperative/local food events? .

I think the point being made here here is, Rush has been very disorganised when it came to things being pushed on us, or like Kenure house taken away. Kenure House was regarded by many as the finest house in North Dublin and at the time the people who stood up to saving it were deeped "Off their rocker" Malahide and Skerries didnt let it happen to them. Look at what Malahide and Ardgillen are today. Kenure should be the same. We know all about Eirgrid, Balleally and derilict buildings

The Hill Billy wrote: »

It seems like there are two distinct agendas here:
One really good - building on local expertise & produce.
The other... well, it is just a bit of a rant at local government really, without any clear thought put into it.

I think there is only one agenda with the people involved and that is building on local experience, expertise and knowledge in horticulture and build a local network base so Rush, "The Market Garden capital of Ireland" can put on Farmers Markets, food shows, develop the knowledge of the local people.

If group like Community Council, Chamber of Commerce, Tidy towns, R.O.O.T.S and others can work together Rush will thrive. Its a major challenge but as I stated earlier Rush is really up for this challenge. The people in R.O.O.T.S might have spotted or felt the good vibes about the town and felt this was a good time to launch.

Yes "Trendy Trevor" is guest speaker

The Hill Billy

Fair comment on all points there Leo. It just goes to show how important it is to phrase promotional literature correctly. If it isn't done right - it can make the whole movement/organisation look silly & send out a confusing message.

Had they simply put the "Why bother?" as a rhetorical statement first & then followed it up with "Well, what we could do this time is..." it would have made a whole load more sense & appeared to be positive. The promo as it was phrased was negative, albeit unintentionally.

Cardinal Richelieu

As ever LeoB a well composed reply. Too much to cover so I will take the last half of your post.

LeoB wrote: »

I think there is only one agenda with the people involved and that is building on local experience, expertise and knowledge in horticulture and build a local network base so Rush,

The problem I have with this Leo is that it's not local grower knowledge, they bring in horticulture experts from outside pushing a particular Green Party agenda. Most likely Trevor will appoint himself as an expert to the group as I heard he was a great man at giving Growers who had over a 100 years growing experience a few tips from his horticulture knowledge. More likely GIY and not local growers or locals that grew up in horticulture will be advising and passing on knowledge.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPyQMOl-SjI

The other thing with these schemes is that Rush is not a typical example. Plenty of the local fruit and veg shops source directly local produce as does Gerry in Skerries.These self sufficient groups are aimed at combatting large supermarket chains that have long distribution chains were product goes from the farm to a middle man then a distribution centre and on to store. A food coop would only increase the pressure on these fruit & Veg guys rather than Tesco in the town.

LeoB wrote: »

"The Market Garden capital of Ireland" can put on Farmers Markets, food shows, develop the knowledge of the local people.

Not so sure of that title now, even seen a Lusk website claim that Lusk was the Market Garden of Ireland.:pac:

LeoB wrote: »

If group like Community Council, Chamber of Commerce, Tidy towns, R.O.O.T.S and others can work together Rush will thrive. Its a major challenge but as I stated earlier Rush is really up for this challenge. The people in R.O.O.T.S might have spotted or felt the good vibes about the town and felt this was a good time to launch.

When the open day phase is over will they drop the "O" from R.O.O.T.S:D

LeoB wrote: »

Yes "Trendy Trevor" is guest speaker

What exactly did he do as Minister of Horticulture? For what I hear he had a grand plan for us to be all self sufficient by growing our own produce or buying organic food at farmers markets so there by forcing most of the commercial growers out of business, its like a Minister of Communication asking us to deliver our own mail.

eddiem74

LeoB wrote: »

If group like Community Council, Chamber of Commerce, Tidy towns, R.O.O.T.S and others can work together Rush will thrive. Its a major challenge but as I stated earlier Rush is really up for this challenge. The people in R.O.O.T.S might have spotted or felt the good vibes about the town and felt this was a good time to launch.

For me this is the key point "working together", what we don't want/need now is different groups going off independently to each other. There ideally needs to be some central reference point (http://www.rushcoco.ie/ ?) where the objectives of each organisation are clear, who is runnning it, how to get involved, when they meet, etc...

Additionally when such events are advertised making clear who is running it, where more information can be found, etc... would be helpful.

Dizzyblonde

"What R.O.O.T.S. could do is
re Establish the farmers Market
Set up a community garden
Develop a small business centre
Establish a local skills network
Set up a food cooperative
Organise local food events "

That all sounds great.

"Why bother
Kenure house gone
Derilict buildings
We have lived with Baleally
Have impositions from Eirgrid and Tesco in Town
The final straw could be the sewage plant"


Maybe it's just me, but this sort of stuff always makes me wonder if there's a political agenda - which would be fine but I'd rather it was clear.
No doubtTrevor Sargent's heart is in the right place but I've always thought he's very naive and not quite in touch with reality.

LeoB

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Fair comment on all points there Leo. It just goes to show how important it is to phrase promotional literature correctly. If it isn't done right - it can make the whole movement/organisation look silly & send out a confusing message.

Had they simply put the "Why bother?" as a rhetorical statement first & then followed it up with "Well, what we could do this time is..." it would have made a whole load more sense & appeared to be positive. The promo as it was phrased was negative, albeit unintentionally.

Yes I agree with you reading back on the flyer. Have I not learned to my cost with some pretty hastey replies in the past!!!!!

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

As ever LeoB a well composed reply. Too much to cover so I will take the last half of your post..

Thank you your Grace

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

The problem I have with this Leo is that it's not local grower knowledge, they bring in horticulture experts from outside pushing a particular Green Party agenda. Most likely Trevor will appoint himself as an expert to the group as I heard he was a great man at giving Growers who had over a 100 years growing experience a few tips from his horticulture knowledge. More likely GIY and not local growers or locals that grew up in horticulture will be advising and passing on knowledge.

Agree with you to point but I think they may have lined up a few growers or former workers from local farms to help/assist/advise. Thats what I took from it but yees the growers would be bringing in people from I.F.A or Teagarc .

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

The other thing with these schemes is that Rush is not a typical example. Plenty of the local fruit and veg shops source directly local produce as does Gerry in Skerries.These self sufficient groups are aimed at combatting large supermarket chains that have long distribution chains were product goes from the farm to a middle man then a distribution centre and on to store. A food coop would only increase the pressure on these fruit & Veg guys rather than Tesco in the town. .

I dont think it will be big enough to cause a ripple its more to get people involved and see how it works and give the some knowledge of how to tend friut and veg.

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

Not so sure of that title now, even seen a Lusk website claim that Lusk was the Market Garden of Ireland.:pac: .

Well we are on the up I feel ready to claim anything going;) And that it with much respect to the good people of lusk. Lusk always had more Cattle and sheep so maybe they might consider promoting a Prime Lusk beef. All Fingal towns and villages have great strengths and its high time they were recognised by ourselves



When the open day phase is over will they drop the "O" from R.O.O.T.S:D

Cardinal Richelieu wrote: »

What exactly did he do as Minister of Horticulture? For what I hear he had a grand plan for us to be all self sufficient by growing our own produce or buying organic food at farmers markets so there by forcing most of the commercial growers out of business, its like a Minister of Communication asking us to deliver our own mail.

I never liked his way, just never warmed to him but I dont really know the man.

eddiem74 wrote: »

For me this is the key point "working together", what we don't want/need now is different groups going off independently to each other. There ideally needs to be some central reference point (http://www.rushcoco.ie/ ?) where the objectives of each organisation are clear, who is runnning it, how to get involved, when they meet, etc...

Additionally when such events are advertised making clear who is running it, where more information can be found, etc... would be helpful.

You hit the nail on the head Working together is vital. If for a moment I thought they were going to go off on a solo run I would not be in favour. That said, Any group are entitiled to set up. Would agree Rush C.C. or Chamber of commerce should be the central point of reference

Dizzyblonde wrote: »

"What R.O.O.T.S. could do is
re Establish the farmers Market
Set up a community garden
Develop a small business centre
Establish a local skills network
Set up a food cooperative
Organise local food events "

That all sounds great.

"Why bother
Kenure house gone
Derilict buildings
We have lived with Baleally
Have impositions from Eirgrid and Tesco in Town
The final straw could be the sewage plant"


Maybe it's just me, but this sort of stuff always makes me wonder if there's a political agenda - which would be fine but I'd rather it was clear.
No doubtTrevor Sargent's heart is in the right place but I've always thought he's very naive and not quite in touch with reality.

I sincerley hope there is no political agenda. I try and support every local iniative there is in Rush as I believe this is the only way we can continue to move forward. The pros and cons as stated above show what needs to be done and can be done while on the negative side it shows what we let happen through our in activity. Now there is a positive mood about the place I would just like to see it grow.

J Appleseed

Can anyone tell me how this meeting of ROOTS went? I'm interested in setting up a community garden or forest garden in NCD and getting involved in any transition initiatives in the region. [I just returned to Ireland and am staying near Swords]

Cardinal Richelieu

J Appleseed wrote: »

Can anyone tell me how this meeting of ROOTS went? I'm interested in setting up a community garden or forest garden in NCD and getting involved in any transition initiatives in the region. [I just returned to Ireland and am staying near Swords]

The words of Trevor himself. A bit about the Rush meeting and a ramble about Monaghan, WW2 and freezing apple juice.


Trevors Kitchen Garden Blog

TRANSITION TOWN AND GIY MEETINGS MAKE FOR ENJOYABLE SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS – THIRD WEEK IN DECEMBER 2011

Posted December 15, 2011 by Trevor Sargent in General. Leave a Comment
It is heartening to be asked to visit and speak at meeting all over Ireland where people are developing greater self-reliance in food growing, but also in energy management, sustainable employment and all kinds of ways to live in harmony with nature.
Local people in Rush who are in tune with global challenges coming down the tracks have set up R.O.O.T.S., in other words Rush Open Organisation for Transition Status. Dermot Higgins, a local teacher with a young family, called the meeting and it was packed, in Rush Community Centre. In fact a bigger room in hindsight would have been handy. Nonetheless, everyone got involved, had their say and planned the next stage towards making Rush a ‘transition town’.
For my part, I spoke about the need to look seriously at how this countrycould feed itself, given that Irish imports of fruit and vegetables have risen from €344 million in 2003 to over €496 million in 2010. Buying Irish grown produce is vital. Likewise supporting farmers’ markets and local shops will help maintain local economies and growing a wider variety of fresh produce locally is key to making us more resiliant. The current quest for food security has parallells with the measures taken during the Second World War. ‘Dig for Victory’ was the cry then. Today the danger is not so muchm about merchant shipping being bombed, it is that everyday shiploads of imported food, tansport fuel and agri-chemicals could in time be unable to afford the oil they currently take for granted to carry on the globalised food business.
Monaghan Grow It Yourself group understands better than most people the pleasure as well as the necessity to grow more of our own food. Monaghan GIY asked me to drop in and do an apple juicing demonstration last night. I was delighted to take up the invitiation. The venue, Monaghan Market House is now beautifully restored and a very spacious, bright art gallery and concert venue as well a community meeting place. Having arrived and washed my hand, I set up the juicing equipment. While Gavin Shipley, who invited me, Seán PRO and the 30 or so GIY-ers attending broke in to pods to discuss the intricacies of growing, storing and using garlic, I dispensed a sup of homemade apple juice to everyone there.
The waste of apples in neglected gardens and orchards around the country is a terrible reflection of how ill-prepared we are as a country to store good homegrown food and feed ourselves. Meanwhile Ireland imports about €57 million worth of foreign apples every year. The value of Irish apples sold is just €6 million. Our biggest commercial variety is the cooking apple Bramley. Some great dessert apples are also grown and sold here like Elstar, but most of the Royal Gala and Pink Lady types are imported from slightly warmer climates. Warmer climate apples tend to have a longer shelf life as their flesh is often denser. They are not as good for juicing however, I find.
My objective in Monaghan therefore was to encourage people to club together, buy a good juicer, and juice any apples which would not store for long periods. This juice, if not drunk within 3 days, could be frozen in clean lunchboxes etc as ‘blocks of juice’, ready to be thawed and served any time until next year’s apple harvest.
The second objective was to suggest how apples can be stewed with some spices and sultanas and then cooled and frozen for use when no local apples are in season. I know many people who make and freeze apple tarts and many other such delicacies, but space in my freezer is too limited for all that pastry as well as apple. Others just chop up the apples and freeze the pieces for making pies, sauces and other apple dishes when required.
Many people at the meeting were already growing one or more apple trees. While the trees are bare at this time of year, the pleasure of enjoying the gift of a fruit harvest which keeps on giving throughout the Winter and Spring is just one more reason to become involved in G.I.Y. by looking up your local group’s contact details on www.giyireland.com.

I don't think his idea of freezing apple juice 8-9 months of the year is a starter now that electricity prices keep increasing and freezer space for normal families is limited. Surely home pasteurisation and bottling would be more practical and would involve less energy usage?

alexanderomahon

Any website or facebook page for this group?

alexanderomahon

Don't know if there is link between Rush Open Organisation for Transition Status and the Grow it yourself movement, but I see GIY are holding a meeting in the Strand Bar on Wednesday night at 8pm http://www.giyireland.com/giy_groups/group/107

Eoineo

alexanderomahon wrote: »

Don't know if there is link between Rush Open Organisation for Transition Status and the Grow it yourself movement, but I see GIY are holding a meeting in the Strand Bar on Wednesday night at 8pm http://www.giyireland.com/giy_groups/group/107

There isn't but if anybody is considering growing their own fruit & veg then it's a handy meeting to go to.

alexanderomahon

alexanderomahon wrote: »

Don't know if there is link between Rush Open Organisation for Transition Status and the Grow it yourself movement, but I see GIY are holding a meeting in the Strand Bar on Wednesday night at 8pm http://www.giyireland.com/giy_groups/group/107

My mistake Tuesday night. That is TONIGHT!! Sorry if my info messed anybody up