History
FADA is part of a rapidly emerging international grass-roots response to these most pressing challenges faced by our community, our nation and our globe.
On these islands, FADA is connected to the Transition Towns movement, with over 12 towns/communities coming on board in Ireland, and almost 100 towns/villages/cities in Britain (see www.transitiontowns.org).
FADA was established in June 2006 by a group of volunteers, the majority of whom are from the County Kildare region and who were motivated to act by a concern for the twin issues of Peak Oil and Climate Change and their implications on our community.
October 2006: we organised an Energy Fair, which featured booths on solar power, wind power, home heating, insulation and other practical solutions for homeowners in a time of rising energy rates and a faltering economy. The event also featured expert speakers, including:
• Duncan Stewart, architect and host of Ireland’s television programme “Eco Eye.”
• Jim Power, Irish economist and activist.
• Declan Meally of Sustainable Energy Ireland.
• Siobhan Higgs of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas, Ireland.
• Michael Layden, energy consultant and wind power expert.
December 2006: FADA hosted a talk on composting and recycling at the Newbridge Parish Centre. Representatives of the Mountmellick Environmental Group (MEG) spoke about their group and offered practical advice on waste management in the home, and talked about how to get schools and students involved in local recycling projects.
January 2007: FADA hosted a talk by public relations expert Marty Whelan on how to use the media and publicise issues.
February 2007: We began running a weekly column in the Kildare Nationalist newspaper. The column deals with a wide variety of issues: how to preserve food, make sprouts, find edible wild food, make yogurt and sourdough, conserve power and build community, as well as broader topics like peak energy, climate change and what the future might hold.
March 2007: FADA member Herman Geissel talked about Irish bog-lands, an important habitat for plants and wildlife, and their current threatened status.
April 2007: FADA, together with Newbridge Concerned Residents (NCR) and Newbridge Community Development (NCD), organised a General Election debate with seven candidates of the South Kildare area. FADA’s segment of the questions focused on food and energy localisation.
April 2007: Local farmers Angela Nolan and Liam Ryan spoke about how farmer’s markets operate and what would need to be done to organise one.
May 2007: FADA members Mary Ash and P.J. Dooley gave talked about how community groups like FADA can obtain funding.
November 2007: FADA hosted a lecture from Irish television celebrity and economic expert Eddie Hobbs at the Ryston Auditorium in Newbridge. The long-time consumer advocate talked to the public about peak oil, the global economy and what might happen next.
December 2007: FADA organised a number of public Christmas cooking courses with Newbridge Chef William Crowley. Crowley shared tips and advocated seasonal produce from farmer’s markets, and showed how to make delicious and healthy dishes from fresh, basic ingredients.
January 2008: Three FADA members spoke to students at Feile Bride Primary School about our organisation and the work it does.
February 2008: FADA toured the eco-village being built in Cloughjordan, County Tipperary, which will use clean energy and green architecture to create a sustainable community.
April 2008: Brian Kaller gave a lecture to teenaged students from several local schools on what their future might hold and how to prepare. The talk was followed by a showing of the film The Power of Community. The talk was filmed and put on YouTube, and DVDs were sent to various Transition and related initiatives around the world. Each school received compost, pots, seed trays or incubators and every pupil was given seeds before they left, courtesy of Johnstown Garden Centre. After the event, Theresa Carter hosted the first meeting of a FADA group for young people, FADA Og.
April 2008: FADA organised a free Energy Workshop to educate local residents in home energy systems like wood pellet boilers, hot-water solar panels and heat pumps. The workshop was attended by Belfast energy consultant Patrick Waterfield, who discussed alternative energy methods and insulation. FADA members Triona Muldoon and Katerina Karantzi provided practical information on building Energy Ratings and how to apply for grants. Dr. Jean Fletcher and Adrian Geissel also gave presentations, on the advantages and difficulties of solar panels and wood pellet boilers.
July 2008: FADA members attended Transition Town training in Dublin, and hosted a workshop to train others. Sixteen area people attended – some of whom, before the year was over, would found Transition Town Kildare. The Transition Town movement has long been allied with FADA, and began around the same time in Kinsale, Ireland. Kildare is now Ireland’s second official Transition Town, a network of communities that has spread to over a dozen nations around the world. Transition Town Kildare has been off to a great start, hosting talks by peak oil experts as well as Food and Horticulture Minister Trevor Sergeant.
November 2008: FADA hosted a community Halloween festival, the Feile na Samhna, which was a major success. Hundreds of people attended the event, which included stalls, talks, workshops and theatre. Davie Phillip spoke to attendees about how communities can power down; Theresa Carter explained Transition Towns, and Brian Kaller spoke about peak oil and the world’s future.
Local theatre students enacted skits they had written themselves about life in a post-peak world, children enjoyed a puppet theatre, and young filmmakers showed a series of short films about the area. Local organizations like Future Forests, the Steiner School and the South Kildare Beekeepers hosted booths, and craftsman hosted workshops for adults and children on making wormeries, baskets, and other home crafts. Finally, teenagers presented their interviews with local elders, to describe what life was like in earlier eras.
March 2009: FADA members hosted a permaculture course in Castledermot, County Kildare, presented by certified permaculture teacher Graham Strouts. We helped plan a productive forest garden on the property of FADA member Kate Park.
May 2009: After months of trying to obtain a space in town for a community garden, FADA acquired a space behind the Newbridge Town Hall. FADA members received the keys to the lot May 12 and began adding garden beds, water barrels and other amenities at the end of that month. The space will be used to give local residents an opportunity to grow their own vegetables.
July 2009: The community garden, named “Bia Linn” , opens to the public.
October 2009: A Benefit Concert by Newbridge’s own, Luka Bloom, in aid of Féile na Samhna was held
