Photos gathered by staff members involved in planting project
Receipts for lavender plants and gardening drill submitted by email to linda@changeX (from June and July 2022).
Autumn planting (pupils and parents) ongoing.
1. Further planting underway:
- some hazel plants to fill in gaps in our native hedgerow (done last week)
- autumn planting with the classes (daffodil, tulips and snowdrops - Oct, Nov and Jan respectively
2. Autumn tidy up of garden
3. Class visits to Botanic Gardens
4. Parent School Gardening club going strong
What's been happening
1. Planting of wildflower meadow outside classroom windows, in bloom for summer 2023
2. Planting of lavenders in bloom for summer 2022 and 2023
3. Planting of pocket forest on school grounds autumn with first class
4. Class involvement in gardening with class teachers
5. Set up of parent gardening club with HSCL teacher and parents 22/23 school year
Our action plan for the project is as follows: form an initial group to steer the project. Look for some volunteers to join us to maker it happen along with our Home School Liaison Officer. Inform the children, parents and community why we are carrying out this project. First classes will be designated to explore the grounds around our school and map the area along with the caretaker. They will then along with the caretaker identify areas where we can take action to increase pollination. These areas will be plotted on the map by first classes and signs put up to inform others that this area is protected. The area selected will be protected and care will be taken to mow the main playing field less frequently as well. A lavender lane will be planted along the school fence to attract more bees and wildflowers planted. The steering group will monitor and assess progress along with the children.
In terms of timeline, we have already formed our steering group made up of teachers, Principal and caretaker (May). A map has been drawn of the school grounds by one of the First class teachers along with her class. The principal and care taker have visited sites on the school grounds and selected a strip of grass in front of the school to protect for our pollinator project. It is hoped that our wildflowers will be sown in September. The caretaker is hiring a rotavator to prepare the soil. We also plan to plant lavender plants along the fence to the front of the school as part of our summer camp project during the first week of July. Parents from the committee will help to prepare the soil before end of June.
We have a Covid response plan already in place which we will implement.
We expect the impact of the project to be the creation of an outdoor wildflower area which the children can benefit from in terms of learning about bees and different types of wildflowers and how the the eco system works. We hope the sensory nature of the lavender lane will benefit the local community as well as the sensory needs of our children. We could use the lavender as part of our art.
In terms of measuring the success of the project, we have 180 children and 30 adults who will benefit from the pollinator project in terms of all the learning that will come from its creation. It will also benefit the school community.
The team have managed to have three meetings to date the most revent being Wednesday 25th and Friday 20th may. We hope to have one more before the summer holidays.
Budget will include cost of rotavator from tool hire in cabra to prepare soil as well as lavender plants from future forests as well as native wild flowers.
We plan to spend the money allocated on plants such as wildflowers and lavender plants. We need three lavender plants per meter and the area is approximately 60m long. We will hire a rotavator from tool hire at a cost of 50e. We will buy ply wood to make signs for the protected area as well as some type of rope and poles to cordon off the pollinator area.
