Autumn is here and we have entered a new cycle in our pollinator plan. The funding for this project gave us an opportunity to get started on a gardening project that we had planned for some time. As well as the finance, it gave us a focus and impetus to get a team of committed volunteers in place and get going.
We have had a lot of positive feedback from residents in the community on the areas in the neighbourhood that have been brightened up with flowers and plants. Our community garden has become a much valued meeting place, providing a space to meet for a chat, or a quiet time to just sit and watch the flowers grow. It was lovely to recently see it being used by a local choir to practice (see photograph).
As well as enhancing the area, we noticed lots of butterflies, bees and other insects attracted to the pollinator plants.
We are committed to continue with this project. We are currently tiding up the areas, collecting wildflower seeds and getting ready for some spring bulb planting.
We have engaged with a local school who are developing a pollinator plan for the school and we have invited them to visit our project with the opportunity of sharing learning and sharing plants for propagation.
We have also formed a Garden Club for interested residents and are currently gathering names. (see poster).
Overall, this has been a very positive initiative in terms of community development and enhancement and has a lot of potential for further development going forward. It has also provided awareness in the community of pollinator gardening and we continue to promote this on our social media platforms.

We appreciate the funding provided so far, and have plans for fully utilising the final funding.

September update: We had some lovely flowers in bloom throughout the Summer, and we noticed lots of bees and butterflies attracted to new areas.
We met with a local school who are developing a pollinator plan and we hope to work with them, sharing ideas and plants.
We met with Dublin City Council and agreed potential areas where grass can be left uncut next year.
We move towards Autumn and plan to get some bulbs in for Spring.
We also have a plan in place to invite residents to join a Garden Club.

June Update: We have planted up some areas with pollinator perennials and are pleased to seem them progress. Also some of our wildflowers are now in bloom, after a slow start.
We are now focusing on maintenance and keeping plants watered in dry weeks.
Lorraine Bull, Biodiversity Officer and Joe O'Reilly, Senior Parks Officer from Dublin City Council, visited recently and gave us some valuable advice, and new signs.

We are getting lots of positive feedback from residents, and are looking at ways to create more engagement. A local school is interested in linking their biodiversity project with ours in September, and we are also looking at possibility of setting up a Garden Club for Marino residents.

1st May - Lá Bealtaine : a perfect morning for continuing with our planting. We planted up some more perennials and scattered some wildflower seeds to give us colour this year while perennials are establishing. We sourced the native wildflower seeds from the family business https://www.bloomingnative.ie/ We look forward to seeing them in bloom this Summer.

Here's a list of the perennial pollinator plants that we have planted so far. We propose to use the same plants in all locations so that ongoing maintenance instructions will be clear. We may add some to the list if core group of plants are not available, or if we find some other similar plants.

Salvia Hot Lips
Salvia nem. Mainacht
Nepeta faassenii Pursian Blue (catmint)
Nepata Snowflake (catmint)
Rosmarinus officinalis
Rosmarinus officinalis
Lavandula an. Hidcote
Lavandula s. Grande Purple
Erysimum hybrida Purple (wallflower)
Mentha (Mint) spic. Moroccan
Scabiosa colum. Butterfly Blue
Stachys byzant. Silver Carpet (lamb’s ears)
Fuchsia Patio Princess
Fuchsia Tom Thumb

Saturday 24th April. The team set to work on the corners of one of the greens in our plan. The ground was very dry and hard to dig. We planted same set of perennial pollinators in two corners, and will be returning next week to complete this area. A number of residents who live on the green joined us and are committed to watering and ongoing maintenance. We plan to communicate a future management plan for resident volunteers.

Our first section was planted on Saturday 17th April. We planted a mixture of perennial pollinators - rosemary, lavender, salvia, perennial wallflowers, nepeta. We will be adding some native wildflower seed layer. The plants will be watered by one of the team who lives across the road.

Background: We had already carried out an assessment and identified a number of areas in Marino that are suitable for planting for pollinators. This is part of a potential project in the lead up to celebrating the Centenary of Marino in 2024 with a focus on the original Garden Suburb concept. Dublin City Council Parks Department had already agreed that we can plant these areas.

Team Meeting: Our meeting was held outdoors. We discussed the broader plan and what might be achievable in 2021 within the framework of this funding. One of our team is a professional horticulturalist who was able to advise on work to be carried out and estimated time involved. We selected 6 locations from the plan which are suitable at this stage. We agreed that the team will meet on Saturday mornings from 10.30 - 12.00, and commence preparation work on one of the identified areas. We will get this area planted and when this is completed we will have a better idea of how much work is involved, and move to the other selected areas. At a later stage, there are a wider group of residents who we can recruit if needed and we will also approach residents who live near the planted locations who might agree to keeping an eye on the planted area near them.

Funding: We will use the seed funding primarily on perennial pollinator plants and seeds and some mulch or compost if needed. Later in Autumn we will get bulbs for spring flowering. We will also get some signs printed and laminated (using the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan signage) for marking the areas we plant, and a larger poster (All Ireland Pollinator Plan) printed and enamelled for display in our Community Garden.

Safety: We will ensure that volunteers will work as small teams of no more than 5 people in one area and individuals will be socially distanced by 2 metres and will wear masks at all times. We will comply with all Covid-19 regulations. As new people join we will communicate the safety issues to them.

Benefits to community: There is an increasing interest in biodiversity and in community spaces in the area. We will use our social media platforms (Marino Residents Association presence on Twitter, Facebook & Instagram) to promote this project. We will also promote it in our regular Newsletter and, when it is safe to hold meetings, at community meetings.
The regular attendance by volunteers working on these areas will create an opportunity for residents to engage with volunteers and learn about the project.
Our open spaces are used by many more people since Covid restrictions, and the enhancement of some areas in those spaces will have many benefits for the community.
As well as enhancing the open spaces, cheering peoples day and the obvious goal of creating areas for pollinators, we see this as an educational project which will encourage residents to create spaces for pollinators in their own gardens.