Pippa Hackett (Green Party) | Oireachtas source

Today marks the start of Bord Bia Bloom 2022 in the Phoenix Park. It provides a fantastic opportunity for people to engage with nature, gardening and biodiversity. Bloom is open from today until bank holiday Monday, from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. each day. It is to be hoped there will be plenty of opportunity for people to attend and enjoy the show.

This year's show incorporates 19 show gardens and nine postcard gardens, more than 80 Irish food and drink producers, 17 nurseries in the nursery village, more than 25 cookery demonstrations, and 130 retailers, all within a 70-acre site. I am particularly pleased that my Department has sponsored an organic edible garden at Bloom this year. The garden illustrates how to grow a range of organic vegetables and fruit crops within a linear urban space and demonstrates the steps we can take to protect the environment within our gardens. It also highlights the need to restore hedgerows, meadows and trees within our wider landscapes and environments.

I encourage everyone attending over the next five days to stop by and see what they can replicate in their own garden, however big or small, and how they can play their part for nature and biodiversity. Bloom will attract more than 110,000 visitors and has evolved to become one of the most popular events over the June bank holiday weekend.The festival is an opportunity for the public to experience and sample the very best of Irish horticulture, food and drink direct from Ireland's world-class designers, growers, producers and suppliers. Bloom is not only a great family day out but also a platform to obtain a wide range of information and to engage with important topics like sustainability, biodiversity and mental health through beautiful floral design, expert talks and family-friendly exhibits.

This year's festival celebrates the renewed public appreciation for outdoor spaces and their role in promoting positive mental and physical health. For example, Coolmine Community School, Blanchardstown, has designed a garden space for students to calm the mind and focus. Its postcard garden is inspired by a garden that currently resides in the school to offer students a relaxing open-air space. In addition to being a space to promote positive mental health, the Zen garden promotes biodiversity by featuring plants that attract bees, butterflies and other pollinators as well as a range of sensory and edible plants.

Bord Bia is encouraging as many people as possible to come by public transport if that option is available to them. That is how I intend to travel with my hard-working constituency team from Laois-Offaly tomorrow. There will be shuttle buses running in the Phoenix Park throughout the weekend. I recommend this to anyone looking for something to do this weekend. I believe the weather is - touch wood - to be nice. I have heard different opinions but I hope it will be on the sunny side. I encourage people to get to the Phoenix Park to see how they can help nature into their own gardens.