GIY Group Ethos
GIY groups are inclusive and open to all – young and old, urban and rural, experts and novices. Nobody is excluded.
GIY meetings are free of charge and held in publicly accessible locations.
We rely on the enthusiasm, passion and sense of civic responsibility of our local GIYers to keep the show on the road.
Local GIY groups are happy to share information, tips, expertise with other groups – a rising tide raises all boats
Over the years we will continue to reach out to potential new members, no matter how “complete” our group might feel.
GIY believes that the future of the food chain is organic, local & seasonal – but we recognise that GIYers have a broad range of views on the best way to GIY. We respect and embrace diversity of opinion.
Our focus is on growing things that you can eat. We are not gardening clubs!
Things we don't like: committees, latin names for plants, horticultural snootiness, making veg growing sound more difficult than it is, and SLUGS.
Things we like very much: sowing seeds, things that grow, the harvest, good soil, the comforting cycle of the seasons, and GOOD FOOD.
Where did it all start?
Journalist and author Michael Kelly set up the first GIY group in Waterford in 2008. Michael and his wife have been growing their own food for about five years and went in search of a local food growers group for them to join so that they could learn from some real experts and get to know other like-minded folk in the area. But there was no such group, and being a sucker for a hare-brained project, Michael decided to set one up.
100 people showed up at the first meeting of GIY Waterford and the group continues to meets monthly in the city. Not long afterwards other GIY groups were formed in neighbouring towns. So an idea that started local, has gone regional, then national and now international – GIY has recently launched in Australia and will launch in the UK in 2012.
GIY Regional Champions
Leinster: Lorraine Foster
lorraine at giyireland dot com
Connaught: Cristiona Kiely
cristiona at giyireland dot com
Munster: Carmen Cronin
carmen at giyireland dot com
Ulster: Mick McEvoy
mick at giyireland dot com
Downloads
Get Involved - Start a GIY Group
Our vision is to create a society that is healthy, connected and sustainable by inspiring and empowering people to grow their own food.
We do this by bringing people together in community groups and online to help each other grow. There are over 100 GIY groups and approximately 12,000 people involved between our community groups and the online social network.
Join the GIY revolution and help us to make home-grown food a reality in your community!
What is a GIY group?
A GIY group is part of a global network of community groups where people who are interested in growing their own food come together so that they can learn from each other and exchange tips, information and produce.
GIY group activities include monthly get-togethers, talks and demos; garden visits, seed and seedling swaps; produce bartering, mentor panels and grower’s meitheals (‘working gangs’).
GIY groups are active in their community, helping GIY HQ to promote home-grown food and reaching out to potential new GIYers at local events; working with local schools to establish and support school vegetable gardens; working with other not-for-profits and community organisations to establish community gardens. GIY groups also act as the local 'arm' of GIY national projects such as the Get Growing campaigns.
GIY meetings are free and open to people interested in food growing at all levels - from growing a few herbs on the balcony to complete self-sufficiency, from beginners to old hands.
Who runs a GIY group?
Generally, a GIY group is run by a steering group of approximately 5 people, led by what we call a GIY "Local Champion". A steering group is like a committee, only without the fancy titles, chains of office and all round stuffiness. The steering group is typically made up of people who love growing their own food and are passionate about helping other people to experience GIY JOY. They come together because they truly believe in the power of home-grown food to transform their community. They are not typically expert growers.
The local champion is the main point of contact for GIY HQ and for people that wish to get in touch with the GIY group. In most cases a local champion will lead the steering group for a couple of years, and then will hand over the role to someone else on the steering group. In this way, the workload is shared.
Sometimes a group of people come together and form a steering group in advance of launching their GIY group - this works very well. Other times a local champion goes ahead and organises a launch meeting and gets people at the meeting to join a steering group.
If you are reading this, chances are that you might be willing to join a steering group to run a GIY group or indeed be willing to become a local champion. If so, get in touch with your regional champion or email us at info@giyireland.com and we can talk you through the next steps.
Where do I start?
There are just 5 simple steps to starting a GIY group:
Step 1 - Have a good read of all of the information on this page and download the help-sheets below.
Step 2 - Come along to another group meeting in your region to see how it works, and to meet the organizers.
Step 3 - get in touch with your Regional Champion (see contact details in the side bar) and register your GIY group with us.
Step 4 - become official! Your regional champion will go through the GIY Charter with you and send you a GIY Group pack - it contains loads of cool GIY stuff including advice on meeting formats and content, suggested activities, press releases, forms, handouts, fliers, posters, wallcharts and much more. We will also help you get your group set up on the GIY website.
Step 5 - Organise a launch meeting .. and off you go!
GIY Group Launch Night
A GIY group launch night is an event to bring likeminded people together to get a great idea off the ground. The idea is to create a bit of a buzz locally about your GIY group and bring as many people along to the launch night as possible.
With so many groups launched around the country, there is a wealth of experience available on how to organize and promote your event.
Supports and Tools
From when you plant the first seed to grow a local group, you are never alone. You can get support, help, advice or assistance at any time from the following sources:
- Your GIY Group Buddy – each local champion is assigned a buddy (a local champion from another group) who they can call or email directly to discuss any issues or ideas with.
- Your peers – other local champions in your county or nationally. There is a dedicated forum for local champions based here on the website.
- Your regional champion.
For our part, at GIY HQ, we are delighted to help you in any way we can - call us on 00 353 51 302191 or email info@giyireland.com:
- Unlimited assistance and mentoring!
- Bring you together with other local champions at regional and national level to help you stay motivated and so you can learn from each other and share best practice
- We will email your members the GIY ezine each week to support them in their growing and keep them informed about GIY events and meetings.
- Access to the GIY Awards programme – the annual GIY Gathering has a GIY awards element - GIYer of the Year and the GIY Group of the Year - which recognises and rewards the trojan efforts of our local groups.
- Insurance – we provide public liability insurance for group meetings and other activities.
“I think it matters that we are part of something bigger. It matters to know that other groups are doing the same thing and that together we are making a difference. There are 5,000 members online now and these members are networking with each other as well as within their own groups. It’s great to be part of that.” Paul Sweetman, GIY Bray.
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