Lord Mayor of Dublin, Alison Gilliland visited the site of the new Ballyfermot People's Park to mark the official opening with a plaque. This project was brought to life after an empty green space was redeveloped into a beautiful park with grassed and planted mounds, wild areas, play, meeting and performance spaces, vegetable patch, bee sanctuary and market space.
A sculpture commissioned for the park as part of 'Sculpture Dublin' has also been unveiled.
Speaking at the opening, the Lord Mayor said: "The new Ballyfermot People's Park is a wonderful addition to community life in the Ballyfermot area. It is great to see projects like this come to fruition and I know the park will have a long-lasting and positive impact on the lives of local residents. I was also delighted to today officially unveil the wonderful sculpture 'Éirímís – Together We Rise', which was developed in collaboration with the park design team and members of the local community to develop a people's sculpture for the people's park."
While Ballyfermot has a number of parks and open spaces, it was felt that the neighbourhood was lacking a 'village green' or park which could be a focus for the community. There was a fenced off open green space at the rear of the Civic Centre. The site was disconnected from the Civic Centre and was undeveloped to the extent that it did not even have a footpath.
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Following eight months of onsite conversations and consultation to elicit the views of the local community, Dublin City Council's Parks, Biodiversity and Landscape Services team has completed the construction of the new park.
The park includes a winding perimeter path that wraps around gentle earth mounding and among a diverse range of trees. Along the way is bespoke curved seating, objects that invite play and infrastructure for a market or events.
Over 100 trees have been planted to create a mini native woodland that includes oak, birch, and alder and a number of specimen trees such as beech, larch and pines that we hope will live for over 200 years, establishing this site as a significant veteran parkland for the area. The boundary has been planted with a native mix hedge and large areas of the park with perennial plants enhancing biodiversity providing shelter and food for a diverse range of species.
Responding to the desire by residents for the inclusion of elements for play and exercise for all ages and abilities, a movement trail among the trees has been created as well as the provision of outdoor gym equipment. This addresses the goals of the Dublin City Play Strategy and has been supported with funding from the Department of Health's Sláintecare Healthy Ireland program that aims to improve the long-term health and well-being of people living in these communities.
The park will provide a gathering place for the community with spaces designed to hold events and activities such as markets and an outdoor classroom for local groups and schools to build awareness of the biodiversity of the park and the wider city.
"The sensory garden will not only be of benefit to our hub in the Civic Centre, our National Learning Network centre in Kylemore road, Ballyfermot, will also be involved," said Helen Morris from the National Learning Network. "The aim is for it to become a safe and engaging space for our students to develop a range of valuable skills, such as integration in their community, promoting health and wellness by way of being out in the fresh air, while also growing fresh produce. Additionally, students will make use of the produce in our cookery and baking classes. This will be a wonderful opportunity to bring learning outside of the classroom and into an inclusive, supportive, therapeutic environment."
