St John’s win £12k pollinator garden grant

ST John’s College in Dromore is celebrating the award of a £12,000 School Pollinator Garden Grant.

The ‘Live Here Love Here’ school pollinator garden grants are being wholly provided by the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs.

They are being promoted through the Live Here Love Here collaborative partnership, involving DAERA, ten local councils, Northern Ireland Housing Executive and Keep Northern Ireland Beautiful.

At St John’s, Clare-Louise Doyle, Year 10 classroom assistant, Clare-Kelly, senior management and Miss Beattie, art teacher, have been working hard, behind the scenes, planning a new outdoor garden experience for the staff and pupils.

A spokesperson for the school said, “It is our aim to use the pollinator garden grant to create a legacy garden that involve both staff, pupils and the wider community. We are all very much aware of the climate crisis and what that means for our planet. Pollinators have suffered greatly from loss of habitat. Our pollinating garden will be our response to this biodiversity crisis.

“We want to create a new outdoor classroom that will give us opportunities to enhance learning with hands-on practical activities.

“We also want to install a polytunnel so that more varieties of flowers and vegetables can be grown and allow learning to take place all year round.

“Ultimately, all pupils will be able to enjoy and experience our new garden space by installing outdoor covered, recreational seated areas.

“There is still a lot of hard work ahead but the teachers and pupils are so pleased and thankful to be awarded this grant.”