Join Brigit’s Garden for a creative, inspiring and practical weekend of hands-on skills that will help you live more sustainably, all taught by expert tutors.

Saturday 23rd
Willow Basket Weaving with Thomas Delaney, day 1 of two-day course
Learn the ancient craft of weaving baskets out of willow from a master basket-maker. This is a two-day basket weaving class where you will make a shopping basket from start to finish. Choose a style from the examples and change the shape or size to suit yourself. No experience is needed.

Dry Stone Wall Building with Fergus Packman, full day
Learn from a master wall-builder how to construct a traditional and beautiful drystone wall out of local limestone. You will be hands-on, learning the techniques of laying the foundation, choosing the best stone, building the wall and capping it off. This workshop will be held outside so please dress appropriately. Steel-toed boots are recommended if you have them. Gloves will be provided.

Foraging for Wild Food with Olwyn Williams, full and half day options
Come and spend a day outdoors getting to know wild food plants with forager Olwyn Williams. The morning will be spent outdoors meeting the plants in Brigit’s Garden and getting to know them through the senses, learning how to safely identify them, know their seasons and habitat, learn about any poisonous or non-edible lookalikes, and chat about the ways they are useful to us. In the afternoon, you will use freshly picked plants to make an infused vinegar for food or medicinal use and a wild herb or flower salt. We will also make a fresh herbal tea. Practical and hands-on, we will also cover foraging safety practices, respectful harvesting and chat about why foraging is important in a modern context. If you are a gardener, you might find that some of your most vilified weeds are actually highly nutritious foods!

Sunday 24th
Willow Basket Weaving, day 2 of two-day course

Botanicals Eco-Printing Workshop with Gabrielle Blandy, full day
Celebrate the arrival of Summer with a creative day of botanical eco-printing inspired by the ancient festival of Bealtaine. We will explore the seasonal gardens and discover how to transfer the shapes and pigments of leaves and flowers directly onto fabric using natural dye techniques and steam. Working with plants of the season, you will create your own unique printed textile, such as a scarf, wall hanging, or table piece. During the workshop you will discover how to eco-print with plants, which leaves and flowers create the most beautiful prints and how to prepare and bundle fabric for botanical printing. The workshop is guided by visual artist Gabrielle, who works with natural colour and plant-based printing.

Herbal workshops for natural skin care with Maria Buitenhuis, full and half day options
Open your senses to the sounds, colours and scents of the Gardens and discover the joy and benefits of creating your own natural skincare creams and tonics. Take one workshop, or make a day of it with both.

Spoon Carving with Andrew Ilsley, full day
Come and spend a day in the woods learning to make your own hand-crafted spoons. Using simple hand tools we will be carving beautiful, functional spoons from green (unseasoned) wood from native Irish trees. You’ll learn how to use the carving axe, carving knife and spoon knife safely to make your spoon, and how to care for your spoon once you’ve brought it home. No prior experience is necessary. As you will be using extremely sharp hand tools this workshop is open to participants ages 16 and up.

Learn to Crochet with Dilly Jauncey, half day afternoon
Crochet is a very versatile craft. You can literally make everything from a baby blanket to a poncho to a shopping bag and much more besides. Dilly will cover all the skills needed to get started – selecting the right hook and yarn, colour choices, choosing patterns and finding inspiration for your project. Starting with making a ‘granny square’, you will learn how to join colours and darn in ends, and how to join squares together to make a rug or bag.
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Lunch is included in full-day workshops and can be booked separately for half-day workshops. It will comprise of hearty soup, homemade brown bread, a selection of salads, and tea/coffee with cookies.

Numbers are limited so early booking for workshops is advised.

This weekend has kindly been supported by funding from SSE Airtricity Generation Green Community Fund.