Woodland Education-getting our kids out playing in the woods!

Check out my friend Ciara's great coverage on Nationwide this week...
getting the kids out into the woods!

http://vimeo.com/65611610

Heritage in Schools Scheme is Open for Bookings!

Heritage in Schools Scheme is Open for Bookings!
The wonderful panel of 165 Heritage Experts are all ready to bring heritage to life in the classroom for your pupils!

Find out more at...

http://www.heritageinschools.ie/

Let's get those gardens growing! You can find GROW on the website above..book us in if you want to get your school garden a growing!

Summer - NFRC Family Grow Your Own Day

Family Day - Grow Your Own at NFRC

 In July, we were asked to hold a family Grow Your Own day at the Newbridge Family Resource Centre. We had a lovely day planting up window boxes with a mix of edible plants, lettuce, scallions, parsley, and herbs. We planted tomato and pumpkin plants with the kids, who painted the pots in gorgeous bright colours first. We dug up potatoes from the vegetable garden and the kids chopped and cooked them into chips, which we feasted on before the day was out. We made dream catchers to finish off and the families went off laden with plants! Lovely day all around.

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...

School Organic Garden Book - practical guide for teachers

Kick start autumn in the school garden with this pracical teacher's guide...


The Year Round Organic School Garden
 - ON SALE NOW -

 'The Year Round Organic School Garden'  is a hands on manual for teachers and anyone working in schools setting up school gardens with children!

I co-wrote the book with KEEP and Irish Seedsavers, so if you're at all interersted in the book, they're selling at 17 euros, to buy them contact me on 087 6508226 or email growingardens@gmail.com and we'll be in touch!

Lucy in the Irish Times!

Lucy in the Irish Times!

It's only my picture, but the article is about the fantastic school garden in Donaghmede, that I worked on with Ian when I was still working for KEEP in Kerry! Great article on promoting school gardens!

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/property/2011/0526/1224297777007.html

Spring Madness!!

Spring 
Madness!

It's been a fierce busy spring for GROW, we've been teaching in Allenwood, Newbridge, Athy and we've just started a new horticulture group in Celbridge in the new ACRE Project that's been kicking off there. The ACRE Project is a very innovative community project that's looking to develop an all inclusive community garden project beside the Salesian College on the Maynooth Rd, we're expecting great things from this project!

On the schools front, we've been busy with setting up vegetable patches and especially busy doing willow structures this year. we've built a willow dome and fence in Nurney NS in Kildare and most recently I built a unique structure for the lucky hens at Derrinturn NS. With 4th class we built two mini domes and a joining fence, we're hoping they're going to provide some nice shelter for the hens, if we ever get some summer sun!

Community Gardening Projects

 Community Gardening Projects

Since the beginning of September, Mairtin and I have been back working on our community garden projects in Newbridge and Allenwood. The men's group in the Newbridge Family Resource centre have this autumn started into doing FETAC Level 3 horticulture, we're keeping the vegetable patch going, planting it up for winter with onions, garlic, spelt, green manures and some spring cabbages! We're hoping to expand this autumn and get some money for a polytunnel and expand the vegetable patch, and maybe even get an orchard and woodland in, fingers crossed! Over in Allenwood, Mairtin is doing the locally devised module, developed by the lads in KEEP in Kerry, it's called 'Local Organic Food', so they're sprouting seeds, storing vegetables and putting together a local cook book, I'm continuing on with a new FETAC Level 3 group, who are lovely, and we're working away doing a bit of seedsaving, harvesting and crops for the winter!

School Gardens in Full Swing!

School Gardens in Full Swing!

Well, it's been one busy spring and early summer! We haven't stopped to draw breath or get our own vegetables planted it's been so busy! School gardens are in full swing. New vegetable patches have been set up in St.Finian's and St.Malachy's in Finglas and most recently in Scoil Mhuire, Nurney, on home turf. Most of the beds were built with the capable hands of a variety of 4th, 5th and 6th class, the favourite part being the 'shovelling of cow pooh'. Other ongoing projects such as with the Holy Trinity N.S. in Donaghmede, which I still do with KEEP, are looking great too, they have 16 vegetable beds in full swing now, and the native woodland and soft fruit area has been extended over the last few visits. The potatoes are jumping put of the ground and there's radishes and lettuce for munching on. They have the biggest garlic I've seen anywhere this year. The kids are hoping there's enough blackcurrants to make home made ribena this year! We're hoping to get back to a few of the schools and do some nice projects such as living willow fences and domes in the autumn. don't forget you can book us through the INTO/Heritage in Schools scheme, and they pay half our fee!

GROW listed on INTO/heritage in Schools Scheme

 GROW listed on INTO/heritage in Schools Scheme Brochure

Great news for GROW. We've been accepted as Heritage Specialists on the INTO/Heritage in Schools Scheme for 2010. Lucy has been a specialist in Kerry for the last 4 years, and GROW are delighted to be finally set up in Kildare. We're hoping to get involved in helping Kildare and surrounding counties schools set up their own gardens in the school grounds. and with the scheme, the schools get our fee part paid by the Heritage Council. So, if you're interested in setting up a vegetable patch, or a native woodland, or building some living willow sculptures, book us now through the scheme. You can find out more about it on

http://www.heritagecouncil.ie/education/heritage-council-initiatives/heritage-in-schools-scheme/#c2639

*NEW* & ON SALE NOW - 'The Year Round Organic School Garden'

The Year Round Organic School Garden

- ON SALE NOW -

Kerry Earth Education Project and Irish Seedsavers have just brought out their joint publication - 'The Year Round Organic School Garden', which is a hands on manual for teachers and anyone working in schools setting up school gardens with children. It's been a long road to finally get it to this stage, so I'm really excited about it! I co-wrote the book with KEEP and Irish Seedsavers, and I've been doing the hard slog of editing and getting it to the printers, and it surely has been a learning curve, but well worth it when you see the finished product. So, if you're at all interersted in the book, they're selling at 15 euros, to buy them contact me on 087 6508226 or email growingardens@gmail.com and we'll be in touch, it should be going to some of the good, small bookshops near you!

Thursday May 28th, 2009

KEEP at Bloom 2009

It's a GOLD for The Living Classroom Recycled at Bloom 2009 in the Phoenix Park!
Kerry Earth Education Project, Kildare's sister project had an amazing week at the Bloom Garden Festival in the Phoenix Park, scooping a Gold Medal for its model school organic garden, 'The Living Classroom (Recycled) and Best in Engaging Spaces Category, champion nettles! Who'd have thought our weeds would have got so much praise! We had an amazing week, blasted by the sun, talked about slugs til they were literally coming out our ears and saw over a thousand school children come through the gardens' magnificent willow arches! Sadly its all over and we took down the garden on Tuesday and returned to the real world!

Check it all out on www.bloominthepark.com