Maria Young is the co-ordinator of a project that has helped to set up 25 (and counting) community gardens around the city. Recently, she won a Lord Mayor’s Civic Award for sustainability for her work with Green Spaces for Health under the Cork Healthy Cities banner.
Maria first became involved in environmental work as a volunteer.
“I came from the arts, I was an oboe player and I worked in theatre for most of my life. I love nature and I was getting more and more concerned about what was happening to biodiversity as a consequence of climate change. There was nobody talking about it.
“I went from being somebody who was a bit downhearted and worried and not knowing how I could do anything about it, to being somebody quite empowered. I began to volunteer with SHEP, the Social, Health and Education Project in Cork. Then I was tasked with organising a lecture series and I got training in the Schumacher College in Devon and I did a course in the Netherlands on reconnecting with nature,” she said.
Her own climate anxiety is greatly lessened by the knowledge she is doing what she can.
“It’s not that I don’t worry about it any longer, but I am doing something about it. There’s an awful lot of work to do and there’s no shortage of volunteers. People are very committed, there is a lot of engagement, and there is nothing more beautiful or satisfying than planting a tree.”
She talks excitedly about a frog being spotted at a new pond in a local community garden, about ground nesting birds and cleaning rivers in the city, and it is evident she is passionate about what is being achieved.
“Last night I was out until 9pm watering. I don’t really have boundaries, I was never in a 9 to 5 job. In theatre you work morning, noon and night and your focus is to get the show on stage. The fact is I love this,” she said.
The Green Spaces for Health project is funded by Healthy Ireland, Cork Healthy Cities, the Social and Health Education Project, and Cork City Council.
