The Glen River valley is an urban parkland with a unique history and biodiversity.
Cutting through the Northside of Cork City this ancient glacial valley still bears the scars of its industrial past and holds the promise of a natural rewilding that has taken place over recent decades. This unique and precious green space is under threat from the pressures of urban sprawl and interest in developmental opportunities.
Gleann a’ Phúca aims to raise awareness and promote active citizenship through a programme of creative offerings and activities in the park. Delving into the rich cultural and industrial heritage of the river valley the project invites participation in the (re)mapping of the Glen by acknowledging individual histories and relationships with the place. In the creation of new rituals which call forth its biodiversity and heritage, we seek ways to cultivate new habits in relation to the river and the health of its waters, from source to where it enters the Lee.
Reflecting on its industrial past, we engage in the present, and prepare for the future of the water that runs through the park.
Through a series of Sensory, creative, science-based and celebratory activities spread over one year, Ordinary Gifts intends to encourage participants to increase their sensitivity and perception, knowledge and understanding of the life of the river. The aim is that people will become advocates for the Glen River and our part in the water cycle, from rethinking what is discharged from our homes as grey water while becoming more aware of local sources of pollution in the river.
We also intend to look at the International movement for the rights of rivers and environmental personhood through the Universal Declaration of River Rights 2017, while also exploring the relationship we have to rivers in Ireland through the lens of mythology and folklore.
Through their mapping, drawing and storytelling workshops Spoon and Bloom is future looking, focussing on positive action, building on our intimate relationship with the topography of the park, its natural heritage and what it can and does mean in our lives.
At cross quarterly events, beginning with Samhain 2023, Spoon and Bloom will conduct excursions into the park, sharing memories and collecting stories along the way, participants will co-create a living archive about their connections with the Glen.
Out of this archive Spoon and Bloom will create an animated map which reveals this multi-layered approach to the park.
