Champion of the wild Mary Reynolds comes to Cloughjordan
Having won the biggest awards in Landscape Gardening - including the Chelsea Flower Show - had a Hollywood movie made about her called 'Dare to be Wild', and been commissioned for some of the most striking and creative landscaping projects in Ireland, Mary Reynolds stopped being a landscape gardener. So what came next? Oliver Moore of Cloughjordan asked this and other questions ahead of Mary's upcoming visit to the Ecovillage.
The 'We Are the Ark' idea has really taken the world by storm. There are hundreds established in a very short while. Where did the idea come from?
“It’s very simple. I was working at my drawing board, when I looked out onto the garden. A fox ran across; it was probably winter/spring last year, which isn’t that unusual. Then a couple of hares ran after him, and I thought, 'well, that is unusual'. And then a family of hedgehogs.
“Now, they are nocturnal, so I knew something was going on. I went for a wander and it turns out a digger had gone in across the road. It used to be an acre of gorse, bramble, hawthorn, blackthorn, but someone got planning and had cleaned out the whole field to replace it with a garden.
“I stood there in horror – and I realised that I’d done this myself so many times in my career. They had nowhere else to go.
“We’re taking away their habitats, the agricultural land is poisoned, old growth forest decimated, and now the only hope they have is abandoned land or gardens. It just reminded me of Noah’s Ark, all those animals going onto the boat, but in reverse.
“So I decided to give up my job. I have to dedicate myself to righting the wrong I’ve done.”
So it's about creating some space for nature?
“It became clear that all land not used for growing food, we should give it back! Unless kids are playing on the grass, just give it back, give it back.
“I wanted to write a book, but I don’t know if we have the time. We’re almost out of time; I didn’t want to waste time publishing.
“So I decided to set up a website. ARK stands for Acts of Restorative Kindness to the Earth. The aim is to empower people to restore health and sanctuary into as many places they can fit – it ranges from 1,700 acres in US to window boxes.
Are there any examples in Ireland you’d like to mention?
“There’s four on the map in Thomastown, including a community garden called the Upper Paddock that has developed itself into an ARK. It's gorgeous and really inspiring. People came together; now it's a town park, but it's also an ark. There are some heritage fruit trees, but otherwise, it’s about allowing what’s there to emerge.”
What happens when people get involved in ARKing – how does it impact them?
“If we can tip that balance, with as many people as possible, to go from gardeners to guardians, it empowers people; once you empower then a little, there is no stopping them. Gardens become sanctuaries. It comes back almost overnight. It then gets more complete. People start to leave deadwood around, put in ponds, they start to get excited.
“Responsible for all these creatures you’re responsible for… a network of protectors. It’s a powerful movement; It’s very simple. Rewilding. People might see it as pointless but it’s not; it's consciousness shifting. We can’t keep waiting for governments to step up. They can’t. We have to work with each other, on the ground.
“It can spread via individual action. It’s one of the most powerful movements that has emerged. It could have huge scope for change.”
Mary Reynolds is the key conversationalist at the upcoming speakEATsy in Cloughjordan Ecovillage this Saturday, September 21st, from 7pm. There she will be interviewed by Ella McSweeney (RTÉ, BBC, The Guardian) and joined by poets Mel White, Sarah Clancy, Clarinetist Deirdre O Leary and hosts Oliver Moore and Davie Philip. Mary is also participating in a guided nature walk from Sheelagh na Gig Bookstore from 4pm, as part of the 2019 Apple Festival in Cloughjordan.
For speakEATsy bookings: http://cultivate.ie/community-resilience/1314-speakeatsy-sep-2019.