In December 2017, with the lead up to Christmas, Tony Lowth and the Gardeners arrived one day to find that the Garden gate had been arbitrarily chained up to prevent us access to a space that we diligently maintain. This act was done with zero forewarning, communication, and ultimately any level of human respect or considerations toward the Caretakers of the Garden. This lack of communication, empathy, and essentially acts of adult bullying, hit Tony particularly hard over Christmas - where he became ill with Shingles from the stress of the situation. The slogan of our Community Garden is "Grow Me" to highlight the concept of "no-dig organic gardening" and "growing" positive social economy - by specifically focusing on soil and compost production, by using local waste around Dublin to "grow" new soil. We source our "soil food" through local businesses which helps them to reduce unnecessary bulk waste; minimizing city rubbish collection output. For instance, we collect coffee grinds from local businesses, leaves and grass cuttings from parks and streets, wood chip and other material from local stables, etc. The Garden essentially acts as a hub for this "waste" by transforming it into incredibly fertile soil - which needs to be maintained daily through physical labour to optimize its effectiveness. Tony Lowth, the founder of the Garden space, has been a pillar to the community by transforming a once neglected space FULL with cans and rubbish, into an amazing plot of green. This space is now home to an array of organic vegetables, herbs, flowers, trees, wildlife, and to the people that pass through. Speaking as a Volunteer Gardener, this space has offered me an opportunity to learn planting and composting wisdom directly from Tony which has been invaluable to me. I have further benefited from being in nature which has been extremely beneficial to my well-being and mental health. And the Garden has allowed me to feel a connection to a community which has inspired me on so many other levels. Going to the garden twice a week was the best part of my week. The purpose and benefit of a Community style Garden, is that it weaves all walks of life together to express, inspire, grow, learn, and connect in an open space. These are all concepts that a school - or any form of creative institution, should be promoting at grassroots level, not ostracizing with a lock.

Barry's teabags are not compostable, they contain 20% polypropylene. This really disappoints me as a long-term loyal Barry's tea drinker. Other teabag manufacturers are able to construct fully compostable teabags, so why can't Barry's? Too often the onus is on the consumer to protect the environment. I believe that corporations also need to step up and do their part. We don't need anymore unnecessary plastics in the world. This petition asks Barry's to change their teabags to make them compostable. A small change that can make a big difference! PG Tips have recently made changes to the way they make teabags. Why not Barry's https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2018/02/28/pg-tips-switches-plastic-free-tea-bags-200000-sign-gardeners/

We are drowning in plastic. RTE should lead by example. If you do this it will inspire others too.

An Taoiseach is our representative abroad. When he accepts prejudice, racism and bigotry, it shames the people of our country. We feel that such an alliance is not good for our country's reputation and undermines our relationship with other countries. Trump is a despicable human being. A point must be reached where falling at the foot of a powerful man, at the expense of our values and morals and international reputation is not acceptable! "'Shame'rock for Trump: Not in our Name"

72% of sampled Irish drinking water is contaminated by microplastics [1]. Fish that we eat have been shown to have consumed plastics [2]. We are eating and drinking tiny fragments of plastic - this has become a human health issue of massive proportions. The Government promised to ban microplastics within a year in 2016, but we are still waiting. [3] Countries all over the world are taking action, and we can too. Richard Bruton, it's time to take decisive action and ban all products containing microplastics! We're asking Richard Bruton to follow the lead of other countries across Europe and put in place a ban on the manufacture and sale of plastic microbeads in this country. They do not biodegrade and persist for a very long time in the environment,[1] https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/our-drinking-water-is-widely-contaminated-with-tiny-bits-of-plastic-36104664.html [2] https://theconversation.com/bait-and-switch-anchovies-eat-plastic-because-it-smells-like-prey-81607 [3] http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/micro-beads-there-will-be-more-waste-plastic-in-the-ocean-than-fish-by-2050-3667684-Oct2017/

The situation in direct provision is cruel, and people are stuck there for up to 7 years. Sign and share our petition here: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/end-direct-provision-avoca What's wrong with the food it provides at direct provision sites? Lack of nutritional food, chips almost every second day, a menu change every fortnight, little to no access to fresh fruit, no access to self-cater or ethnic foods. This will be one of the biggest shame's on the Irish state since the Magdelene Laundries. Aramark is a US owned company which provides the catering for 3 direct provision centers. It's big, and it doesn't care about small protests against its own name. Aramark bought out Avoca during the summer from an Irish family, and it's quickly becoming one of their most important assets. This will be highly impactful two days before Christmas. It's Avoca's busiest shopping period, and we intend to highlight Avoca and Aramark's ties to direct provision. Sign and share our petition here: https://my.uplift.ie/petitions/end-direct-provision-avoca Let's make some music, and cause a bit of a jam this Christmas. More information here: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/lives-in-limbo

The planning committee have a duty to represent ratepayers and seek to establish if these are unlawful decisions. These decisions may be unlawful if there has been no study of the combined health impacts on the people living in the area. Downwind, and in the six miles between these two developments, lie the homes of tens of thousands of people, as well as recreational water bodies, holiday sites and the shores of Belfast Lough. The human cost of poor air quality is huge causing the deaths of more people per year, in Northern Ireland, than passive smoking or road accidents combined and costing the NHS over £20 billion per year. (1) At a time when the World Health Organisation are saying that the greater Belfast area air already exceeds safe levels by 20% we deserve a cumulative health impact study before any further work proceeds. (2) Read more on FB @Stop the Newtownabbey Pig Factory & Stop Hightown Waste Incinerator 1. https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/belfast-air-pollution-levels-among-the-worst-in-uk-35636923.html 2. http://breathelife2030.org/ 3 https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2017/11/13/air-quality-breaches-stops-development-which-threatened-to-exacerbate-them/

It would be an altogether too powerful body and they would have a complete monopoly on pesticides, fertilizers, seeds etc. Monsanto is a producer of genetically modified crops. A merger between these too would spell disaster for farming and farming produce in Ireland.

M&S made £115.7 million profit this year. M&S customers that made this possible. We are tired of being ripped off. Excuses such as currency changes do not explain why customers are being overcharged. https://www.irishtimes.com/business/retail-and-services/m-s-charges-irish-shoppers-up-to-39-more-than-uk-counterparts-for-christmas-products-1.3252787

Roundup is ‘potentially carcinogenic’ according to the World Health organisation and is being sprayed in places such as playgrounds close to where children play. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/widely-used-herbicide-linked-to-cancer/

Ireland finds itself under increasing pressure to reduce its agricultural GHG emissions. Climate change is upon us and is a serious threat to our environment, social and economic world, subsequently affecting our ability to continue a business-as-usual approach to food production. The state cannot continue to ignore the fact the expansionist agenda in agriculture is not working. It is not environmentally, economically or socially sustainable. Environmentally Unsustainable: Under Food Harvest 2020 and Food Wise 2025, our emissions under a best case scenario are set to rise by 6/7% to 2020 Over 53% of water pollution is directly related to agriculture, with one in three rivers and lakes now at risk of further pollution. What’s more, biodiversity continues to decline, with rare species on the verge of extinction Economically Unsustainable: Ireland’s agri-sector is dominated by small farmers, who are struggling to survive. Farmers find themselves caught between pressures in trying to get a fair price for produce and a CAP ( European Common Agricultural Policy) that rewards the bigger land-owner. Farm incomes continue to decline, a fact blamed on falling milk and grain prices, with the OECD-FAO outlook predicting that markets will continue to remain weak Socially Unsustainable: A shocking and unacceptable fact is that only 1% of Ireland’s agricultural land is used to grow vegetables. Ireland has to import vegetables worth 1.2 billion euro each year, making us vulnerable to fluctuations on the market. Earlier this year, a drought in Spain resulted in higher prices for vegetables. Food prices hikes impact everyone forcing many to substitute vegetables with cheaper, nutritionally poor, energy dense foods. Leading to various health problems. Climate change, political instabilities and other factors can affect imports, if imports stopped today we would have approximately 4 weeks of fresh produce left on our shelves. We are not food secure! We stand on the side of small farmers, who risk it all, day in day out, to produce healthy food, true custodians of the land, protecting the environment, preserving biodiversity, keeping skills alive and ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to produce nutritionally good food. These farmers continue to be pushed to the fringes, by the state and the EU. With this petition we want to show that we stand with these farmers. That we care and all want a sustainable food future. If you care about what’s on our plate, care about local economies and about a sustainable future. Make you voice heard by signing this petition. Let’s speak as one voice to the Irish government and tell them: - to support small farmers financially - to support farmers in diversifying their holdings - to offer supports to increase the amount of vegetables produced in Ireland for food security - to increase environmental standards in agriculture beyond carbon footprints and give incentives to those who meet and surpass those standards - to practice the polluter pays principle and heavily fine those who continue to pollute our land and waterways - to increase reforestation with native species in and around farms, to support farmers in transitions to agroforestry 1. http://www.epa.ie/pubs/reports/air/airemissions/2020_GHG_Projections_2016_Bulletin.pdf 2. http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/water-quality-in-one-in-three-irish-rivers-and-lakes-is-at-risk-of-deteriorating-35850649.html 3. http://www.thatsfarming.com/news/curlew-ireland 4. http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/beef/beef-farmers-will-again-struggle-to-cover-costs-in-2017-35290234.html 5. http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/ifa-president-says-farmers-again-struggling-to-make-a-living-1.2057112 6. http://www.independent.ie/business/farming/schemes/system-failure-massive-difference-in-cap-payment-rates-35118778.html 7. http://www.irishtimes.com/business/agribusiness-and-food/average-family-farm-income-down-9-to-24-060-1.3102770 8. http://www.agri-outlook.org/

These chemical based weedkillers are highly carcinogenic and linked to a variety of potentially fatal diseases. Monsanto's Roundup weedkiller, Pathclear, Gallup, Pistol, Weedol and Mossgo are to name but a few of the weedkillers currently on the market that contain the cancer causing chemical glyphosate which is lethal to all living organisms. Ireland has the second highest level of glyphosate in our surface water in the EU and the third highest death rate of cancer in Europe. To ensure a safer, cleaner living environment for our current and future generations we want a complete ban of glyphosate weedkiller. We are extremely concerned that our Agricultural sector/farmers are bombarded with misinformation and pressure from government bodies that are directly lobbied by toxic chemical companies. 1. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/environment/farmers-weapons-of-mass-destruction-carry-cancer-fears-1.3148492 2. http://greennews.ie/why-is-ireland-diluting-legislation-on-banning-hormone-changing-chemicals/ 3. https://www.euractiv.com/section/agriculture-food/news/france-tables-eu-wide-non-agricultural-pesticide-ban/