Past News Events
November 2013
Poles for the new ‘Bird Hide’ were graciously donated and delivered by ‘Eircom’.
We would like to thank Heat Merchants for their generous contribution of tiles, fixtures and fitting for the refurbishment of our gents toilets.Work will begin next week from 11th November.
Our fundraiser Teresa has been very busy working hard in obtaining donations from Irish Suppliers, we would like to thank Heat Merchants for their generous contribution of tiles, fixtures and fitting for the refurbishment of our gents toilets, we would also like to thank Fleetwood for their generous supply of paint which will be used to brighten up Sonairte during our winter “hibernation” (January 2014) also thank you to Country Crest for their kind donation of funds to help with the renewal of our Nature Trail signage.
Our Cider Course was a great success and well attended. We are looking forward to having David Llewellyn again next year.
Coming up we have our Christmas Decoration Making from Natural Materials for the Family with Caitriona Lowney on the 7th December 10am – 4pm at a Christmas special rate of €20 all welcome. Also on Sunday 1st December we have our Food & Craft Market (Free) and then on Sunday 15th December we will have our Christmas Food & Craft Market which we are all very excited and getting prepared for Santa Claus in his Grotto.
Feel free to see our main web page for all information needed.
August 2013
CELEBRATING THE RICH HERITAGE OF EAST MEATH IN SONAIRTE WITH YOUR COMMUNITY
On Sunday 25th August Sonairte Eco-Centre and Gardens will celebrate its 25th Anniversary along with Heritage Week and our Gathering. To honour these huge events we welcome you to join us in a family fun day out to celebrate. All ages are welcome and you can even bring the dog!
If you are a past volunteer who generously gave your time and help to Sonairte or you have some fond memories of visiting Sonairte, we invite you to please ‘BRING a MEMORY’ on the day. It can be a photo or maybe a written story which you can share on our memory collage in the Great Hall.
Some activities will have a small fee but ADMISSION IS FREE for everyone. The Sunflower Café will be serving their delicious variety of dishes and remember there is no corkage charge so BYO! Please also feel free to bring a picnic with you.
Some of the events to be enjoyed on the day are;
1pm-2pm
Children’s Treasure Hunt through the garden and nature trail. Registration is at 12.30pm. Ages 7-12, Max. of 40 participants (€3 per child)
2pm-3pm
Historical Walk & Talk with Luk Van Doorslaer to the Rath in Sonairte and to the Burial Mound of Laeg Mac Riangabra (Cuchulain’s charioteer) in Laytown. Meeting point is in the classroom above the Sunflower Cafe for welcome address.
2pm & 4pm
Crafts in the Great Hall– Using Recycled Materials and building bird/bat boxes with James Ellis (€4 per child)
2.30pm-4.30pm
Birds of Prey Display in the Walled Garden with Trevor Roche
3pm-4pm
‘X-Madra’ Competition judged by Linda Martin. Does your dog have the X-Factor? It’s time for your canine friend to shine! Registration at 2.45pm (€3 per entry) Categories to follow soon!
4.30pm-5.30pm
Live Music by local band Grace Wilde
6pm-7pm
‘The White Horse of Ballygarth’ play by Julianstown Drama Group. Followed by more live music and a raffle with some exciting spot prizes to be won!
Also between 1pm-5pm…
Oldstyle Games & Archery
Fancy Dress – The Ages of East Meath
A Talk/Demonstration on Beekeeping through the ages in the Bee Museum
Demonstrations – Spinning, Weaving, Woodturning, Pottery
Pony & Cart rides for children
We would like to thank the Julianstown and District Community Association, Laytown Tidy Towns, Laytown Village Enhancement, Meath East Community Association and the Heritage Council in helping to organise and contribute towards an exciting range of activities for the day. A big thank you also to Equipet Drogheda who are generously donating prizes for our dog show. We look forward to bringing the many communities of East Meath together to enjoy the celebrations and create some new memories!
Here’s To Another 25 Years of Sonairte!
Thank you so much to everyone who joined us on Sunday 25th August to celebrate our 25th Anniversary along with Heritage Week and our Gathering. It was a very special occasion for the centre and it was so nice to see so many people from the local communities come along to support and enjoy the day. Of course the stunning weather really topped it all off! A huge thank you especially goes to the many organisers and volunteers who helped create an exciting agenda of events.
We would also like to send a huge thank you to Funtasia who supplied the selection of goodies for the children’s treasure hunt. They went down a treat! Also another big thank you to Equipet Drogheda who generously donated an array of prizes for our ‘X-Madra’ competition, we really could not have asked for more! We also appreciate the time that Linda Martin
gave to come along and judge the competition on the day. She made the event fun, relaxed and enjoyable for all dogs and owners.
We would also like to say a very special thank you to all the local businesses who donated spot prizes and gifts to our Raffle on the day. Some of those were The Sunflower Cafe, Shaws Department Store, Scholars Town House, Tesco Drogheda, Woodies, The Brownhound Bakery and Relish Bettystown, The Sonairte 25th Birthday cake was brilliantly decorated by Janet in the Sunflower Cafe, using fresh berries from the organic garden. 
Photos by Tanya Adair
We were recently honoured to welcome a group of Russian students to Sonairte for a day. They were a great help to us in the garden and on the nature trail. To mark their trip to Sonairte and with the help of Zaneta, they planted a Pear tree in the permaculture garden, which can be seen from the nature trail.
2012
What a day we had on Thursday 13th September. To celebrate Organic Week Trevor hosted an Apple Day with tours of the orchard on the hour, followed by apple juicing and tasting. There were guided talks and walks through the walled garden to look at the amazing variety of apples and Trevor spoke of the importance of preserving our old Irish varieties, not just of apples but of other fruit and vegetables as well. People came throughout the day and were amazed at the diversity in the garden and increased their knowledge of old apple trees and of the Irish Seed Savers who do such marvelous work in preserving our native varieties. The trees have such lovely names such as Lady Sudeley, Clear Heart, King of the Pippins, Golden Spire to name just a few. Call in to the Ecoshop and pick up a map and a list of the trees and explore the orchard for yourself. There are more than 27 different varieties!
The courses in Cider Making, Candle Making and foraging were all a great success and participants left with great enthusiasm to develop their new found skills. There are two courses coming up in October. On Saturday 13th there’s a Mushroom Identification walk and talk, with Dr. Emma Reeves at Girley Bog, a National Heritage Area. Time 2.00pm to 5.00pm, Cost €20. Then on Sunday 28th October there’s Pumpkin Carving and Halloween Crafts with Deirdre Rogers – www.deirdrerogers.com – Time 11.00 am to 1.00pm. Cost €20 for one adult and one child. If you would like to book a place on either course call Sonairte on 041 982 7572 or check out our website www.sonairte.ie
If you ever wondered about alternative treatments but were unsure about trying them out then call into the Ecoshop on Thursday morning throughout October from 10.30 to 1.00. and sample one or two. On offer are Taster Treatments in Reiki or Indian Head Massage at just €10 for 15 minutes. On Thursday evenings there is a Group Meditation class facilitated by Geraldine, from 6.30 to 8.00 p.m. and the first night is free.
The Sunflower Café goes from strength to strength, with warming soups, delicious lunches and cakes. In the garden the Autumn Raspberries, Apples and Pears are producing a wonderful harvest. Check out both at our next Food and Craft Fair on Sunday October 28th.
Volunteers have always been vital to Sonairte and our development over the past ten years could not have happened without the time, energy and skills of many people from near and far. If you have some spare time on your hands and would like to help us please contact our Volunteer Coordinator Eileen on 041 9827572 or apply on line at www.sonairte.ie
Just a few comments from our Visitors Book
:”Perfect place for everyone”
“Lovely tranquil place for a visit”
“Amazing, kids had a ball”
“So beautiful”
Call in and discover this hidden gem on your doorstep ADMISSION IS FREE in other words ITS PRICELESS!
October
FETAC Hortculture classes are now being taught in Sonairte by Meath VEC as part of the BTEI (Back to Education Initiative). These are very much hands-on classes, start at FETAC Level 3 and progress to FETAC Level 5 and are free. Contact Geraldine on 086 2337867 for details.
Trevor very kindly donated some copies of his book “Trevor’s Kitchen Garden” to Sonairte to be sold at the very special price of €9.50, normally retailing at €18.99.
It’s an excellent guidebook for anyone who loves gardening and growing their own food. Call in and pick up a bargain before they sell out, as there are not too many cop- ies left. We would like to say a very special thank you to Trevor for his ongoing sup- port of Sonairte over many years.
New products are arriving weekly in the Ecoshop with Irish, Fair Trade, Organic and educational gifts and everyday essentials for young and old. Check us out for products that don’t cost the Earth and do take a look at our humane mousetraps! Taster Treatments in Indian Head Massage, Reiki and Angel Readings are avail able in the Ecoshop on Thursday from 10.30am to 1.00pm and the Meditation classes continue every Thursday at 6.30pm.
Sonairte and the Ecoshop are open 10.30am to 4.30pm during November and December but the Sunflower Cafe is closed on Wednesday.
Our Farmers Market is on November 25th with lots of foods and crafts then our Christmas Markets take place on Sunday December 2nd, 9th and 16th. These markets are a chance to get all your Christmas shopping done in a relaxing atmosphere with free parking. A big thank you to Mary Lou for all her hard work in organ- isng these events. Holistic Hands on Aromatherapy takes 3 place on Saturday 17th November with Carol Davis, Learn how to make your own moisturising cream and environmen- tal air freshener. Then on Sunday 9th it’s the Christmas Crafts Course with Deirdre Rogers where you will learn to create your own Christmas decorations visit www. sonairte.ie and www.deirdrerogers.com.
This month we welcome two new TUS participants, Geraldine and Carol, who already have contributed much to the smooth working of the centre. Come down to Sonairte this month, check out the Bird hide and falling leaves on the trail and in case you don’t know ENTRY IS FREE