The story so far

When it came to deciding on a worthwhile project in which the whole school could engage;

A project which…….

• would improve our school environment
• would  involve the whole school community
• would impact positively on all children’s learning, their creativity and their wellbeing
• would teach the values of sustainability and biodiversity
• would involve the children in the ideas, design and planning stages right through to the end result
• would allow children to experience first hand the joys of gardening and growing food

The idea of creating a School Sensory Garden and Outdoor Classroom emerged as the perfect vision. We had the ideal site at the back of the school, a stunning space under the overhanging boughs of  ancient beech trees with the mount as a backdrop, a site where children would be absolutely surrounded by nature. One of our greatest assets, this space was crying out to be developed as an area of learning and play.

Unfortunately it contained the derelict remains of a garden that had been created back in 2009 and lay in a tangled mess of rotting wood and overgrown weeds. This would all have to be cleared. A massive metal goal post which had been concreted down many decades ago also needed to be taken up.

Our wish list included an arched entrance, 8 permanent raised bed growing boxes, 6 octagonal tables with integrated seating all made from eco-friendly composite material. This eco-friendly composite material lasts forever but is very expensive.

We are blessed here in Mount Temple with a very proactive parents association. They took on several fundraising initiatives, got the community behind them and raised the money to fund this ambitious project. Massive thanks to the Parents Association of An Grianán NS who worked so hard to raise the money for this project and thanks to all of you who supported the fund raising activities.

Parents and our caretaker Noel got together over a few Saturdays and prepared the site. Noel has been a tremendous help every step of the way and put a lot of hard work and long hours into helping us develop many areas of the garden.

Annette Corkery, specialist from Heritage in Schools guided, supported & inspired us every step of the way.  She came to the school regularly and worked with all teachers and classes in the school. Under Annette’s tutelage the children designed the garden, sowed hundreds of trees, planted the boxes, dug the pond, built the willow dome and willow teepees. Annete sought every opportunity to weave in exciting science experiments and art lessons throughout the entire project.

Trees on the Land, from Co Cork provided the school with 250 free native trees. The children chose a spiral shape, which has become a repeated pattern in our garden. Two giant spirals were dug out by parents, teachers and children working together. Every child in the school planted their own Hawthorn tree. Each child wrote or drew  their hopes and dreams for their future on a piece of paper and planted it under their tree.

The school garden undoubtedly nurtures the children's interest in maximising our green areas and develops their interest in gardening and biodiversity. Having 8 permanent raised bed boxes  provides a wonderful resource for every child to get involved in growing plants, flowers, fruit, vegetables, herbs and whatever else they want. Each class plans for and cultivates their own box, year after year using the crop rotation model they have learned and devised with Annette.

We have been awarded funding from The Arts Council as part of the Creative School Programme. Ms Cahalin, our creative schools coordinator, has taken a keen interest in our garden project since its inception. Ms Cahalin has been liaising with the student council, linking up with outside creatives and artists in the community, who are working with the children to develop our garden space into a hive of creativity. Local artist Patsy Preston worked with some of our students to create the colourful hand printed bunting around the garden which is made out of recycled tents left over from festivals. As part of our Creative Schools Programme, every child painted a rock which has become part of the sensory pathway into the garden. The opportunities for creative play afforded by our willow dome and teepees and our hand woven willow puppet theatre are limitless. We have exciting plans in 2024 for the creation of a fairy forest, outdoor art installations and a performance area made by our talented and creative students.

Sixth Class are working on the BLAST project with mixed media artist, Martina Coyle. They have been inspired by our beautiful garden and are working on a fabric and fibre tapestry based on the theme of biodiversity and our school garden. We hope that the finished piece will be displayed as a colourful backdrop in our garden in the spring.

The outdoor classroom, made from an eco-friendly, composite and extremely long lasting material, itself a lesson in sustainability will be there for decades. It  seats 36 children. It is used as a space for learning and play and is also used as a picnic area where children could have their lunch.

Our sensory garden with its appeal to all five senses, is a place of sanctuary, beauty, mindfulness and interest for every child in the school. It has a positive impact on children's Wellbeing and teaches them through direct experience the importance of nature and the positive effect it has on our mental health..

It is great when parents get involved in school initiatives. We want to extend a big thank you to the parents who so generously gave up their time and came into the school to help us. Parents cleared the site, they helped dig and plant with the children, they loaned us tools, transported gravel and offered advice and encouragement. A group of  parents got together and undertook to look after the garden over the summer.

In conjunction with Athlone Education Centre, our school  hosted a week-long summer course for teachers. Myths, Heritage & The Outdoor Classroom. Facilitated by Annette Corkery and Ann Gerety Smyth from Heritage in schools, this hugely enjoyable and extremely practical course explored  local mythology, heritage and biodiversity, as well as ways to make better use of the school garden. Twenty five teachers from the midlands, including four teachers from our own school, completed the course. The course was a tremendous success.

The development of our sensory garden and outdoor learning centre is an evolving centre of learning in our school. It will continue to give teachers and children the opportunity to engage in fun and meaningful lessons across a wide range of curricular areas outside in our natural environment and will go on supporting biodiversity, sustainability, creativity and wellbeing in our school for many years to come.

Our most recent learning experience has been the development of this Blog which Annette has developed with the children, linking our School Sensory Garden and Outdoor Classroom with our digital learning strategy.