Reports: Derek Mooney, Michael Sheridan, John Bela Reilly, Daniel Keating & Niall Hatch

In addition to listening to us on RTÉ Radio One at 22:00 every Monday night, don't forget that you can also listen back to each of our programmes any time you like at https://rte.ie/mooney. There, you will find an extensive archive of past broadcasts, conveniently split into different topics and segments.

Given that tonight’s programme is all about Bord Bia Bloom, our suggestion for you from the Mooney Goes Wild archives this week concerns another much-beloved Phoenix Park institution, the resident herd of Fallow Deer. First broadcast in July 2018, for this segment our roving reporter Terry Flanagan travelled to the park to speak to Laura Griffin, a research MSc student at University College Dublin, about the arguments for and against feeding the park’s deer.

To listen back to this clip from the Mooney Goes Wild archives, visit

https://rte.ie/radio/radio1/clips/21392851/

The winners of this years Board Bia Bloom can be found at

https://bordbiabloom.com/2023winners/

Blooming wonderful!

Bord Bia Bloom, Ireland’s largest and most spectacular gardening event, has just finished for another year, it’s 17th. Held over the course of five days in Dublin’s Phoenix Park each June Bank Holiday Weekend, the show has proven itself to be an invaluable platform for highlighting pressing issues such as climate change, sustainable living, health and wellbeing. Tonight’s edition of Mooney Goes Wild is a celebration of some of the most ambitious, innovative and inspirational exhibitors and gardeners at the festival.

For more information about Bord Bia Bloom, visit

https://bordbiabloom.com/

Citroën Power of One

Did you know that the average weight of a car has increased by 100kg over the last 10 years? In Europe alone, the consequent increase in harmful emissions represents the same environmental impact as adding 200,000 additional vehicles to the roads, according to a report from Green NCAP, a vehicle assessment programme which works with European governments.

The less you weigh, the less you consume; the less you consume, the further you go: that’s the guiding principle of Citroën Power of One. It’s also the name of the showgarden that this well-known French vehicle manufacturer developed for Bord Bia Bloom this year. At its heart was the Citroën Ami, an ultra-low-weight electric quadricycle that could be the future of urban transport.

For tonight’s programme, Motoring Journalist Michael Sheridan spoke with designer Nicola Haines and Marketing Manager at Citroën Ireland, Trevor Hunt in the Citroën Power of One showgarden.

For more information about the Citroën Power of One showgarden, visit

https://citroen.ie/about-citroen/citroen-power-of-one-showgarden.html

A Breathing Space for Fingal

According to the World Health Organisation, urban green spaces, such as parks and playgrounds, can promote mental and physical health, while also reducing morbidity by providing relaxation and stress alleviation. They encourage social cohesion, support physical activity and reduce exposure to air pollutants, noise and excessive heat.

This is the very ethos behind the Bord Bia Bloom showgarden called A Breathing Space for Fingal, commissioned by Fingal County Council. Divided into three sections to bring visitors organically along, quite literally, a path to tranquillity and to give them an opportunity to experience first-hand the benefits of "forest bathing", the hope is that similar garden designs could soon feature in urban parks right across Fingal and the rest of Ireland.

For tonight’s programme, Niall Hatch spoke with the designer of the Fingal showgarden, Jane McCorkell, about the key elements of her creation, the challenges of providing genuine immersion in nature in such a small space and her use in the garden of discarded materials that she reclaimed from Fingal County Council depots.

For more information about A Breathing Space for Fingal, which was awarded a Gold Medal at this year’s Bord Bia Bloom, visit

https://fingal.ie/news/gold-fingal-bloom-2023

Virtual Haven

The next installation to feature on tonight’s programme is a showgarden with a difference. For Bord Bia Bloom this year, designer Darragh Collopy created an Asian-inspired Irish cottage garden aimed at a nature-loving vegetarian with a passion for biodiversity and meditation. Sustainable practices and materials were integral to the design of the garden, including the use of reclaimed fencing for the edging of the path and reclaimed oak boards for the meditation circle.

However, the real innovation was the use of cutting-edge virtual reality technology in the creation of the showgarden. Niall Hatch spoke with Darragh about just what this entails and how visitors to the show were given the opportunity to don a virtual reality headset in order to explore the initial design concept before enjoying the completed garden in real life.

For more information about the Virtual Haven showgarden, visit

https://.bordbiabloom.com/virtual-haven/

Embracing the Elements

The large concept garden called Embracing the Elements was designed by Benny Magennis to reflect the role that climate plays in Ireland’s agricultural sector, while recognising the responsibility that farmers have to protect our natural resources and combat climate change.

As Benny tells John Bela Reilly on tonight’s programme, he saw an opportunity to combine art and landscape with a sustainable approach to dairy farming. His showgarden replicated a field pasture, along with its hedgerow boundary, focussing on the key species and field layouts that benefit both bovines and biodiversity.

For more information about the Embracing the Elements showgarden, visit

https://bordbiabloom.com/embracing-the-elements/

The First 5 Garden of Wonder and Discovery

The next showgarden to feature on tonight’s programme is the First 5 Garden of Wonder and Discovery, a celebration of how children benefit from outdoor play in the natural world. Sponsored by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth as part of the First 5 strategy to improve the lives of babies, young children and their families, the garden was designed to evoke the magical atmosphere of an untouched woodland, with a network of winding paths and bridges over a glistening stream.

Designers Liat and Oliver Schurmann spoke to Derek Mooney about their key aim when designing this arresting showgarden; namely, to express how important it is for very young children aged five and below to experience nature as intensively as possible. By playing games and building structures from natural materials, such as sticks, stones and mud, infants can learn both to understand nature and to appreciate how complex, vulnerable and precious it is.

For more information about the First 5 Garden of Wonder and Discovery, visit

https://bordbiabloom.com/first-5-garden-of-wonder-and-discovery/

The Know, Act, Prevent Garden

The Know, Act, Prevent Garden was designed to represent a typical family home with a kitchen/laundry, garden and storage shed. Sponsored by the National Poisons Information Centre and the Health and Safety Authority, the aim was to create awareness of the best safety practices when using garden chemicals and the importance of reading labels and keeping children safe from substances that might be dangerous.

As the garden’s designer Declan Mc Kenna discusses with Derek Mooney on tonight’s programme, the planting scheme includes a colourful palette of low toxicity plants. These allow adults to garden safely and children to explore and play without the worry of them eating or touching plants that may be harmful.

For more information about the Know, Act, Prevent Garden, visit

https://bordbiabloom.com/the-know-act-prevent-garden/

Green Cities Europe Parklet

Imagine a future city where you wake up to a chorus of bird song, rather than traffic. As you walk down the street, the breeze rustles through the branches of the city forest. The roadside where the neighbours once parked cars is now a green sanctuary: a place to rest, where children can play safely on their walk to and from school. As we move towards a Net Zero future, wondrous opportunities emerge to rethink our city spaces.

The Green Cities Europe Parklet – literally a tiny park – showcases how we can create, manage and grow green spaces in our towns and cities. It is a space for biodiversity with a safe, accessible and inclusive design and layout that serves to connect the community with horticulture.

As designer Daibhí MacDomhnaill of Áit Urbanism + Landscape tells us on tonight’s programme, green landscaping is hugely beneficial in urban areas, as it helps to cool the cities, filter pollution and provide drainage. By removing 2 or 3 on-street parking spaces, we can free up room for a parklet on the street: a micro landscape that children and adults can access, play in and rest.

For more information about the Green Cities Europe Parklet, visit

https://bordbiabloom.com/green-cities-europe-parklet/