Tree Nursery Project at Donadea Forest, October 2012

In the autumn of 2012 we carried out our LA21 funded project - Native Tree Nursery Project at Donadea Forest in North Kildare. We worked with three local primary schools, three different classes, 2nd class from Scoil Naomh Mhuire, 4th class from Rathcoffey NS and 6th class from Tir Moghan NS.

The schools came to Donadea for a full immersion in the woods, we gathered tree seeds from the sweet chestnut, maple, beech, sycamore, Hawthorne berries and rosehips from the wild rose, horse chestnut and a small amount of ash keys, there were no oak to be found this year, and we were too late for hazel.

We also played various sensory games to raise the childrens' awareness of their surroundings, we did bug hunts and pond dips, and had wonderful days all in all in the woods.



We followed this up with a trip to the schools to build and set up a tree nursery in the school itself. With the class we built a small raised bed, filled it with soil and leaf mould, and then put in our gathered tree seeds, in separate sections so we can identify the baby trees as they grow, this was topped with leaves to replicate the forest floor, a system called the Dunemann System.

To finish we made a wire mesh lid to keep the vermin at bay, mice especially love to eat tree seeds. And tree nursery beds done. The class have to keep an eye on the beds, water it in especially droughty periods and take the lid off in spring when the trees hopefully start to grow!

Woodland Heritage Project in Wicklow

Early in 2012 we received LA21 funding from Wicklow County Council to run a  Woodland heritage Education Programme in Hollywood Woods,, Hollywood, Co. Wicklow. We worked with four different primary schools in the local area, bring them to the woods for a complete woodland immersion day. We played tracking and hide and sneak game, we deprived the kids of their sight by blindfolding them and leading them through the woods, we hunted for the bugs of the woodland, we tasted all the tasty edibles there are to be found in the ditches, looked at the trees talked about plants and their uses, we packed loads in and the day just flew, with the kids going home exhilarated and mucky and totally immersed in the woods! Job done!

For this project I linked up with my good friend and colleague Ciara Hinksman at Earthforce Education, you can check out what Ciara does here: http://www.earthforceeducation.com/

LOCAL AGENDA 21 - Donadea Tree Nursery Project!

GROW have been granted two Local Agenda 21 grants this year to continue on with our woodland education programme!! Yay! We've been successful for the first time in receiving a grant from Kildare County Council for this project, so finally getting stuck in locally with our beautiful North Kildare woods - Donadea Forest Park. We're hoping to be able to link in and work with the schools local to the area, and really make it a 'local' woodland education programme, with the main focus with this project being the development of a 'Tree Nursery Project', the idea being that in the autumn the kids will gather tree seeds from the woods, bring them to their school, build a nursery bed and plant the seeds in the bed. They will then be nursed and minded by the students and hopefully in the spring time then there will be a healthy bed of young saplings, with the idea that maybe in a couple of years time they might be able to plant the trees back into Donadea and plant a native woodland in their own school. Very exciting! If you're a school in the Donadea area please feel free to get in touch with us, we'd be delighted to hear from you! I'll be keeping the blog updated as the project develops!

Projects during the year: Woodland Education Programme

Woodland Education Programme - LA21 Project

GROW in conjunction with Earthforce Education (www.earthforceeducation.com) received funding under Local Agenda 21 this year, and we ran a woodland education programme for secondary schools in Meath and for primary schools in Wicklow. Myself and my friend, Ciara Hinksman, spent 6 days in the woods with the children and TY students, exploring the magic of the woodlands. We explored the woods using a variety of games, with nature themes, using blindfolds to test their senses, sneak and capture games, we did bug hunts and plant ID, and we introduced some survival ideas, such as using your senses, tracking, and how to light a fire in the wild! We had amazing days out with the kids, and they all went home covered in muck, which was for us a mark of a succesful day out in the woods! we're planning on doing this programme again this year, so watch this space...