Person to Person: My proudest moment...finding a frog in Togher a year after digging the pond

Tell us about yourself;

I am Maria Young. I am the co-ordinator of Green Spaces for Health. My work is wonderfully varied; on two mornings a week, I am in Togher Community Garden, a few hours on Tuesday afternoon are spent in Páirc Eoin. The rest of the week I could be doing anything from visiting the garden in Hollyhill Library, applying for grants, growing food in Castletreasure, or attending meetings. I’m constantly looking for new opportunities for saving or creating habitat, I am very keen on creating ponds, we don’t have enough of them at all.

We help organise Cork Rivers Alliance Group and the Cork Community Garden Network. Both groups meet monthly. We are members of the Cork Food Policy Council. I also run the Biodiversity Hub in Ballincollig with two other great women. What I do depends on the time of year really. From September, I will be looking looking for tree seed and the planting of trees will begin when the weather gets cold. I am forever starting new projects.

Where were you born?

Cork.

Where do you live?

Castlewhite.

Family?

I have three siblings, four wonderful nieces, plus one beautiful nephew.

Best friend?

Tina Horan; choreographer, dancer, and the greatest fun to be with, we never run out of things to talk about and are dedicated adventurers.

Earliest childhood memory?

In my cot, staring up at the tree tops and clouds.

Person you most admire?

Right now, the Mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani.

Person who most irritates you?

Anyone in the media who tries to suppress the truth about the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Where was your most memorable holiday?

Pakistan

Favourite TV programme?

Any good comedy.

Favourite radio show?

At the moment, Rosebud with Gyles Brandreth.

Your signature dish if cooking?

Lentil Dahl.

Favourite restaurant?

Hunter’s Hotel in Wicklow.

Last book you read?

Land, by Maggie O’Farrell.

Best book you read?

Seize The Day, by Saul Bellow.

Last album/CD/download you bought?

The Bothy Band - 1975.

Favourite song?

Any song from The Sound Of Music or Oliver! These have special memories for me.

One person you would like to see in concert?

Henrik Freischlader.

Do you have a pet?

My cat passed away recently.

Morning person or night owl?

Morning person in the summer and night person in the winter.

Your proudest moment?

Seeing other people really happy in the garden, finding a frog in Togher a year after digging the pond.

Spendthrift or saver?

Spendthrift

Name one thing you would improve in your area in which you live?

I would plant many more trees and try to engage the community here to protect what cover still exists.

What makes you happy?

Stretching time by leaving my watch and phone in a drawer and rambling across places unknown.

How would you like to be remembered?

As someone who loved to laugh, made people happy, and was passionate about helping all the seen and unseen beings we share this space with.

What else are you up to at the moment?

We are embarking on a project to learn how to monitor the water quality of the Glasheen River as part of (CRAG) Cork River Alliance Group. This is a project close to my heart; the Glasheen is in a very poor state and we wish to improve the water so species of invertebrates, fish, and other aquatic creatures can hope to survive in its waters and thrive.

Currently, we are planting crops for the autumn and winter season at Togher Community Garden and Castletreasure, we are also preparing our oak trees for winter planting. We hope to plant 1,000 native trees with Tracton Biodiversity Group in the winter months. Many will have been grown by school children across the city as part of our Duneman Project. There is so much happening!

We are also involved in the creation of the Cork Food Strategy that is due to be published shortly. I will be saying goodbye to the swifts, these birds will head back to Africa in August, we pray for their safe journey and their return next May.

The swift is an amazing bird and it is such a joy to see them in the boxes we installed at MTU and other locations.

• As part of Cork On A Fork, Green Spaces For Health, Community Gardens Network, and Sow Diverse are collaborating to host a community heritage seed swap at the Christchurch Courtyard. Bring your envelopes and your heritage seeds (open-pollinated only please) and exchange them for something different— please label each variety with its name, original source, and where it was grown and saved. Do not worry if you don’t have any seeds to swap, we will likely have surplus to share. Remember to bring your own envelopes. Swap, learn, and help keep seeds diverse, local, and in community hands.
• Heritage Seed Swop Courtyard at Triskel - Celebrate Biodiversity & Food Culture takes place on Sunday, August 16 from 12.15pm to 2.15pm.