Creggan Community Park celebrating Community Fridge’s first birthday

A host of activities is planned for Creggan Community Park as it celebrates the first birthday of its Community Fridge.

The event is taking place on Saturday (April 15) from 12 noon until 3.00pm and it is free, thanks to funding from Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland.

Activities will include: Inflatable assault course, outdoor games, face painting, nature therapy, bug hunt games and messy play in the Nature Hub, and recycled art with artist Sheila, photo scavenger hunt.

Get up close to nature at Creggan Community Park.

There will also be stalls to peruse, from: Northern Ireland Resources Network, Foyle Foodbank, Zero Waste North West, and the Northern Ireland Bat Group.

Anyone who is interested will also be able to pick up information on how to join Creggan Community Park’s environmental volunteering programme and the  Moor Environment Forum.

The Tasty Reel café will be open for lunch and  is fully licensed. Booking a table is recommended as it is expecting to be very busy. 

Speaking to Derry Now, Environmental Officer Karen Healy said: “'Creggan Connected' is the community fridge at Creggan Country Park which was officially launched in April 2022.  

“The project was one of only 300 across the UK to secure funding from a pilot programme from the National Lottery Community Fund and IKEA called 'Places called Home.' 

“A community fridge is a social space that brings people together to connect, learn new skills and reduce food waste. No registration is required, and food is collected and redistributed on the same day. Visitors can go for a walk, bring along a reusable bag and just take what they want from the fridge and shelves during its opening hours.

“Community fridges help tackle climate change at a local level as food waste can produce large amounts of greenhouse gases. In 12 months, the community fridge has saved 5.4 tonnes of carbon dioxide and distributed 1.6 tonnes of surplus food (4021 meals),” said Karen Healy.

Karen added that Creggan Community Park is used as a base to deliver free environmental events throughout the year including Dawn chorus, Bat Walk, ‘Painting Nature’ classes, Nature Therapy, climate change and biodiversity talks, and planting activities.

She added: “A community fridge is not a food bank, instead it aims to bring people together, reduce food waste and take action to help the planet at a local level.

“The wider project also installed a wheelchair friendly picnic bench at the nature hub and buddy bench for children; provides free tea/coffee and comfortable seating area for people to enjoy after their walk around the park. Toys, games and mini library are available for children to enjoy so that parents/guardians can sit and relax with a cuppa. 

“Leaflets and posters of local services will be on display so that local residents know where to go for help in the area - from money worries to healthy eating we will signpost people to local community groups for help.

“We have been overwhelmed with the support and interest in our community fridge this past year. We achieved what we set out to do which is to provide a home from home for people to relax, take part in nature themed and cooking workshops and to help tackle climate change locally,” said Karen.

Karen said she would like to thank the six students from St Joseph’s Boys School, our volunteers, and our artist Sheila for helping to create the community fridge space. 

She added: “Looking at the amazing transformation of the space just shows how hard they worked, and they should be very proud. We continue to use the space to raise awareness on climate change and biodiversity issues that affect us all. 

“We would like to thank our funders, The National Lottery Community Fund, IKEA, Department for Communities and Halifax Foundation for Northern Ireland for making it all possible. 

“We also want to thank Northern Ireland Resources Network and Foyle Food Bank for their fantastic support over the past year and to Derry City and Strabane District Council’s Environmental Health team for all the help and advice when we were getting our hygiene rating in place."

Eimear Montague, from Northern Ireland Resources Network said: “Creggan Country Park offers activities which support the local community as well as promoting environmental projects. 

“Creggan Connected is a fantastic initiative. Since April 2022, the community fridge has prevented over a tonne of food waste and over five tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions. This helps tackle climate change at a local level, enables food to be shared, improves lives and strengthens the local community. Many congratulations to all involved.”

For opening times and updates visit www.creggancountrypark.com, Facebook: Creggan Country Park. Twitter: @CregganCountry1 or Instagram: @CregganCountryPark18.