Earth Hour celebrations to launch the Earth Garden at Blackrock Castle Observatory

Across the globe on March 28th up to 1 billion people are expected to take part in Earth Hour, and Cork will have a special opportunity to celebrate the event with music and stargazing at the Blackrock Castle Observatory. Earth Hour started in 2007 in Sydney, Australia with 2.2 million homes and businesses turning their lights off for one hour. A year later the event had become a global sustainability movement with up to 100 million people across 35 countries participating. Global landmarks such as the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, Rome’s Colosseum and the Coca Cola billboard in Times Square all stood in darkness as symbols of hope for a cause that grows more urgent by the hour.

For Earth Hour 2009 Blackrock Castle Observatory in association with Cork Food Web is holding an event of music and stargazing, making very special use of the dark conditions. Domestic, business and street lights in the area will be turned off between 8.30-9.30pm and, weather permitting, visitors can look at a much darker sky through the observatory’s telescopes. Entertainment will begin at 8.30pm and run though ‘til late, with a line-up of positive music that includes reggae from The Italics, dub from Green Monitor and soul and funk from Brian Deady, with inspiring visuals from VJ Present of Wiggle. Earth Hour will also be the final celebration of the Globe at Night star count in the constellation Orion at the Observatory and is an event billed as A Dark Skies Awareness cornerstone for the International Year of Astronomy 2009 events at Blackrock Castle Observatory.

Refreshments will be available in the Castle Bar & Trattoria. Global actions from cities around the world during Earth Hour will be streamed onto the screens at Blackrock Castle Observatory’s award winning exhibition Cosmos at the Castle.

An entrance cover charge of €5 will be used to support Cork Food Web, a grassroots initiative bringing people together to create a network of community gardens, allotments, urban and rural farms and food parks all over Cork city and county. Proceeds will be used to help fund the Earth Garden at Blackrock Castle Observatory, a small community garden which will act as an educational tool and living workshop for visiting school and community groups and which will also produce food for the Trattoria, using biodynamic methods of planting which take account of the astronomical calendar.

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** Please note Photo Credit for attached image (NO REPRO FEE) "Planet Earth at Night (IAU & NASA)"

Editorial Information:

http://www.earthhour.org

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Message from John Baker of Earth Repair, consultant for creating the Blackrock Castle Observatory 'Earth Garden'

“Of all the bodies in the universe, only one - our home, planet Earth - is known to host the miracle of life. The 'Earth Garden' aims to celebrate and honour the vital relationship between the Earth and the Sun, as well as the influences of the moon, planets and stars.

As the stars helped our ancestors to navigate long journeys through dark nights, so today our imagination maps our way through times of uncertainty. As inhabitants of this planet, we are entirely dependent upon other forms of life for the fulfillment of our needs.

The Earth Garden is a place where we can come together to learn, through observation and practice, how to nurture necessary relationships with the Earth, and with the diversity of life with whom we share this home.

CORE FEATURES of this garden:
Food sovereignty,
Sustainable living,
Biodiversity
The influence of the stars upon the Earth (e.g biodynamics).

CENTRAL AIMS:
Producing nutritious food,
Raising awareness,
Sharing skills,
Building social networks.

We look forward to meeting you there...

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Comment by Clair McSweeney on March 26, 2009 at 11:28am

Great social last night! Please bring your dancing feet and things to share to Blackrock Castle on Saturday night. We're looking forward to celebrating Earth Hour around the world...