Stillgarden Distillery's Social Botanist Project
The Social Botanist Project was created to bring together our community of gardeners, botanists, harvesters and foragers.
Science, Community, Nature
This is the blueprint behind everything we do. We strive to contribute to, and create dialogue with the community through gardening and other exciting projects.
Our first project transformed an area of wasteland into a beautiful botanical garden for the local community to enjoy.
The area went from this….
… to this
The Social Botanist Project was created to bring together our community of gardeners, botanists, harvesters and foragers. This project inspired our Social Botanist Scheme – local advocates who are collectively bringing life to the world as they grow their very own botanicals at home.
Anyone can be a Social Botanist, whether they are growing herb pots on their window sill or knee deep in topsoil trenches.
Growing
We distribute seeds, grow kits which allows our Social Botanists to cultivate their botanicals from home.
Planting
Once the seedlings have matured, Social Botanists are invited to plant their homegrown botanicals in Stillgarden’s Community Garden to help turn Inchicore green, while adding fresh, local flavours to our socially sourced spirits.
Tasting
When the Community Garden is flourishing with beautiful and delicious botanicals, Social Botanists are invited back to the distillery to contribute to the final product. Ireland’s first community sourced gin, Stillgarden’s Social Gin, was born as a result, thanks to the Social Botanist!
Fortnightly Meet-Ups
The social botanists tend to meet on Saturdays, to tend to the garden or travel wider afield for foraging trips & wildlife walks. After all the hard work they get to enjoy a Spritz or G&T on Stillgarden’s Terrace.
The Community
The Social Botanists are part of a group network on both Facebook and Instagram, where they can swap growing tips or just chat in general. A large percentage of the group are bartenders, as this project was a good distraction and a support during the dark days of lockdown.
All Ireland Pollinator Plan
We are proud to be a business supporter of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan, an initiative that aims to help pollinators and improve biodiversity across the country, thanks to our Social Botanist Project and our Community Garden.
The Future
The Social Botanist community continues to grow. Looking to become a Social Botanist?
You can sign up here https://stillgardendistillery.com/the-social-botanist-project/
We’re always on the lookout for other areas of wasteland that we can transform, our mission to turn Dublin 8 green!
