Cork Urban Soil Project

03/06/2022

Upcoming free webinar from the European Compost Network: "As soil resources are depleting faster than the nutrients can be recycled, soil erosion alongside the effects of climate change can present a huge risk to global food security." Registration at https://bit.ly/3MbS3mE "

Join us at the "Healthy Soil Healthy Life" Webinar on and in the !

31/05/2022

Free workshop hosted by Donal O Leary this Wednesday the 1st of june. Green Spaces For Health Cork Food Policy Council Cork Healthy Cities Cork City Council The Lantern Project Cork

26/05/2022

At Cork Urban Soil Project, we are all about seeing what is currently considered "waste" as a resource and putting it to good use. So we were really intrigued to see this peat-free potting soil made from recycled paper by an American firm (https://pittmoss.com/), and we would love to try some out. Does anyone know of a similar product being made in Europe?

13/05/2022

We had a fun visit yesterday from the team at Acorn Farm - I Can Grow team. 'I Can Grow' is providing over 250 families in Derry and Strabane with equipment, mentoring, and compost(!)to help them learn how to grow their own food. Wouldn't a similar initiative be great to see in Cork? More about the project here https://www.derrystrabane.com/Subsites/acornfood/I-Can-Grow

11/05/2022

Here's a little video of our recent workday for those who haven't already seen it from My Goodness (CUSP's creator & super patron!). If you or your neighbourhood have a big project coming up, consider calling in the friends and neighbours for a good meitheal. Sharing is a big part of the "circular" economy, and our friends sharing their labour, tools, and leftover materials made it possible for us to move mountains in just a day....mountains of compost we've been making out of kitchen prep waste and cardboard packaging in our biodigester! Many hands helped mix our compost with topsoil to fill 13 mobile planters built from reclaimed pallets and election posters. And of course, we shared plenty of laughs, too, while closing the loop on linear waste streams/ turning waste into a resource.

03/05/2022

CUSP is hiring a part-time gardener/composter! More details at www.activelink.ie/node/90463

29/04/2022

Feeding time! Our biodigester munches through 35 buckets of waste every week. In a month, the waste will be transformed into compost that will be used to grow more food. Today's menu includes vegetable prep waste from My Goodness and customer waste (like paper serving trays and wooden forks) from the Farmers' Market at Mahon Point Shopping Centre.

We are grateful for the Circular Economy Innovation Grant from Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, which is providing CUSP with an opportunity to explore community-scale, decentralised strategies for converting urban food waste into a resource.

21/04/2022

"CUSP is an innovative solution-based experiment that harnesses food waste and transforms it into a biologically alive soil for growing crops in an urban setting." https://www.echolive.ie/corklives/arid-40854920.html

20/04/2022

Let's Compost! Join us for a free talk this Sunday to find out everything you need to know to start composting or troubleshoot some common compost problems as part of the project in Tramore Valley Park. (Limited spaces so booking is required via Eventbrite) https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/lets-compost-registration-322470888107?fbclid=IwAR1op0Rm4tJaEGUnseGTT2gLkg1NgJ_J2UstLBmWtys8fajTcLm2kxG40oA

Let's Compost! The Clean Technology Centre at MTU Cork and Donal O' Leary of Waste Down and Cork Urban Soil Project (C.U.S.P.)

19/04/2022

Have you seen the Circular Economy Bill that was published last month? It's a step toward changing how we produce and consume.

"In a circular economy, waste and resource use are minimised. The use and value of products and materials is maintained for as long as possible. When a product has reached the end of its life its parts are used again and again--to create further useful products--instead of being discarded." Read more at https://www.gov.ie/en/press-release/e24d9-cabinet-approves-landmark-bill-that-will-introduce-world-leading-moves-to-reduce-waste-and-influence-behaviour/

11/04/2022

"We should all be obsessing over the magic of soil." https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/we-should-all-be-obsessing-over-the-magic-of-soil-1.4839182 🌱

09/04/2022

Always wanted to try composting, or suffering from a smelly bin or other issues? Get helpful tips and a greater understanding of compost with Donal O'Leary (CUSP Composter/ Waste Down) on the NeighbourFood podcast. You can listen in here: https://shows.acast.com/the-neighbourfood-podcast/episodes/how-to-compost