‘Lungs’ of the city in Terryland celebrate 20 years

From this week’s Galway City Tribune – The saplings that were planted 20 years ago in what became Terryland Forest Park are more important today than ever before.

In a world facing into the unknown as a result of climate change, the forest park stands as an example of what is possible when communities and authorities work together to achieve what can initially thought to be impossible.

On March 11, 2000, nearly 3,000 people turned up to what was previously a pasture, dissected by Bóthar na dTreabh, where grazing cattle roamed and very little else prospered.

As veteran environmentalist and community activist Brendan Smith explains – in the space of a few hours, volunteers from all sectors of Galway life planted thousands of native Irish trees – the first phase of the first urban forest park in Ireland.

“We called it Terryland Forest Park, a zoned green area of 180 acres lying within the boundaries of Galway City. It was an inspiring sight to behold.

“Months of hard work and lobbying by members of the park’s multi-sectoral steering committee led by Stephen Walsh, who had been appointed in the previous year to the new position of Superintendent of Parks of what was then Galway Corporation, came to fruition,” recalls Brendan.

The idea for the park first came about in 1995 when a small group of community activists, including Brendan, living in housing estates along the Headford Road came together to discuss long-term solutions to the urban sprawl in Galway City – anticipating that in the coming years, a rapidly growing city could see the agricultural lands that still existed could be subsumed into a concrete jungle.

“Unlike many other Irish cities, Galway didn’t possess a public park of any major size. Reviewing the Development Plan for Galway City, we agreed that either side of the Terryland or Sandy River that started at the River Corrib and continued towards Castlegar village should be preserved for posterity as a mix of leisure, farming and wildlife habitats.”
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