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In this episode we speak to Kay Synott, an organic horticulturalist, gardener and educator from Moycullen about what is happening to our natural world where we live, and what we all can do about it.   

One of the ways you can make changes is by looking at your garden, balcony, estate or even your business and see what you can do to help our non-human neighbours like bees, birds, butterflies.  

We all have probably noticed the natural world a little more this year, and for many people it has been a lifeline to, feeling positive and getting a sense of perspective sometimes.

It is important to point out though, that our natural world, and that includes us, is in jeopardy.  

Whether it is climate change or just the massive reductions that have happened in biodiversity in recent decades, we do have to realise that as humans, we have a massive impact on all the other species around us.    

Kay has been working with us over the last 2 months to provide seminars on rewilding, growing organic veg and fruit and generally about giving more space to let our animal and plant friends thrive.  

And spoiler alert, we can achieve a lot by doing less, which is always good news!

Contact email for Kay Synott - [email protected]

https://laois.ie/wp-content/uploads/Garden-Wildlife-Booklet-WEB-17MB.pdf
http://www.wildflowersofireland.net/
https://www.irishwildflowers.ie/
https://www.treecouncil.ie/
https://www.biodiversityireland.ie/
https://birdwatchireland.ie/
All Ireland Pollinator Plan 2021-2025 & guidelines -  https://pollinators.ie/resources/

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

In this week’s episode Ruth chats to Rachel Maher and Danni Burke from Galway Community Café, a new out of hours mental health service in Galway city. Rachel and Danni are both peer connectors with the service and talk about how and why the service was created, what it means to them to be involved in it and their vision for the future with this model in our community. 

www.galwaycommunitycafe.ie 

Facebook -  @galwaycommunitycafe

Twitter: @communitygalway

Email : [email protected]

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

This week Donncha speaks to Barry Dillon, Programme Manager with Venture Out Wilderness Project.   Venture Out is a charity  that provides outdoor activity based mental health and well-being, and personal development focused intervention to people and communities most in need, at little or no cost to the participants involved.   Barry and Donncha chat about the benefits of engaging with the outdoors particularly at the moment.

More information on Venture Out Wilderness Project

Website: https://www.venture-out.ie/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Ventureoutwildernessproject/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ventureoutWP
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ventureoutwp/
LinkdedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/venture-out-wilderness-project-clg/


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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

This week Ruth chats to Paul, Aggie, and Victoria from the Vincent’s team about the work of the charity, the role that charity shops play in our community and the impact and upsurge of donations over lockdown as they open their doors this Christmas! 

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/svpwestside and https://www.facebook.com/SVPIreland

Website: www.svp.ie

Twitter: https://twitter.com/SVP_Ireland

Links to their current roles

Treasure Hunter Volunteer Role: https://bit.ly/3niqeOh

Shop Assistant Volunteer Role: https://bit.ly/3mCCE2r

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

Breathing in New Life- the quality of your breath can determine the quality of your life- This week Ruth chats to local yoga teacher Sinéad Mc Kiernan about her own personal journey towards wellness after experiencing chronic anxiety and how today her current yoga practice has grown into a thriving business with a very supportive community. 

www.loveyoga.eu

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LoveYogaLoveLiving/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sinead.loveyoga/

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

 This week Ruth chats to local Salthill-based fitness instructor Eoin O'Donnellan on the mental health benefits of staying active and carving out some 'You Time' in the week. With a variety of group activities from choir singing to working out on the beach in Salthill, Eoin speaks about his passion for helping others stay active and engaged in their community. 

For more information on classes check out 

https://ubfitsports.com/

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/UBFit.Galway 
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/ubfitsports/

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

This week Ruth chats to Laura and Evelyn, two NUIG students who are organising and taking part in a month long challenge of getting into the sea every single day for November to raise money for a local mental health charity. 

Now it’s in third year, they speak about what is behind the campaign, what sea swimming does for their own mental health and why they are so passionate about this cause. 

For more information on Coldvember and to donate to the cause go to - idonate.ie/coldvembernuig or if you want to tag them in an Instagram story of your swim @coldvember_nuig or check out their Facebook page @coldvembernuig

For more information on Helplink Mental Health please check out https://helplink.ie/ or their facebook page @helplinkmentalhealth 

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode we had the absolute pleasure of speaking to Brendan ‘Speedie’ Smith about an amazing new initiative he is kick-starting to make Galway a National Park City.  I speak to him a little bit about his previous community activity which spans probably every social issue you can think of,  but also I find out about what this whole National Park City initiative is about. 

To get involved in the initiative you can email [email protected].  You can also check out National Park City London, and the National Park City Foundation.
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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.

Send us Fan Mail

On this show Donncha speaks to Sue Redmond, who is, amongst many other things, an experienced teacher in meditation and mindfulness practice.  We take a look at the benefits of meditation, some of the myths around in, and Sue gives some practical advice on how to go about getting started.

Next week from the 21st of September we are celebrating National Volunteering Week.  If ever there was a year to celebrate volunteering, its 2020.  

This year the focus of the week is thanking volunteers and organisations for everything they have done this year and encouraging everyone focus on their own health and well-being. 

It’s been a tough year for everyone so it’s important to make sure we’re all looking after ourselves too!

During National Volunteering Week, Sue will delivering 2 free online Introduction to Meditation sessions on the morning of Monday 21st and the evening of Tuesday 22nd – part of these sessions will be a short piece of meditation practice, so if you are interested in joining us just click here for more info and to register.

For more information about Sue and her work check out 

website: https://www.sueredmond.com/
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sueredmondphd/
twitter: https://twitter.com/sueredmondphd

Send us Fan Mail

Yes we can! - a message from Galway International Arts Festival Volunteer manager Carly Zimmerman who speaks to Ruth this week about the newly launched GIAF Autumn programme and how the festival has adapted and continued to move forward in these challenging times

For more information on GIAF check out 

website: www.giaf.ie
facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GalwayInternationalArtsFest/
twitter: @GalwayIntArts
instagram: https://www.instagram.com/galwayintarts/

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Volunteering in Galway
Check out all our latest volunteering roles at http://www.volunteergalway.ie/volunteers/volunteer-vacancies.  You can click through on any of the roles and you can see more information and the ‘apply now’ button to contact the specific organisation advertising the role. 

If you are already registered with us, just put in the email address you used to register and confirm your interest.  What happens then is that the organisation gets an email with your contact details and you get an email with their contact details.  The next step is for the organisation to contact you.

If you are not registered just go the volunteer registration page on the website and register with us,  once you have that done you can apply for any of the roles on the website using your email address.