Over the months of January to March this year and on some occasions on extended 2 hour after school sessions, P7 delivered our exciting new school project.
Over 20 pupils who volunteered to join the Great Outdoors Club over 9 weeks planted our school hedgerow maze and play area on our school grounds that will be a lasting legacy to their time at Ballydown. It was a highly enjoyable period to watch the pupils engage in the work and hard efforts with the assistance of leaders, student teachers and with the encouragement of everyone in school.
Last year the P7 pupils planted over thirty trees to create a wooded area in school with a centenary tree at it’s centre that the Lord Mayor was invited to assist in planting.
Following on from the beginning of the creation of this area, the boys and girls of P7 this year have added a biodiverse hedgerow maze and shrubbery project in the same space.
In total the children contributed over 220 hours of input into the project. They have planted over 120 metres of native hedgerow using over 830 individual pieces that will develop into a play area that will be fertile with learning and imagination. A safe place to relax on a bench to chat, have an art study or relax in the immersive natural environment. We hope to attract wildlife, pollinators and nature on our doorstep right next our rath area where we regularly play in ancient woodland. Our hedgerows will become an integral part of our school grounds teaming with life amid the species such as green beech, privet, hornbeam, spindle, cornus, guelder rose, yew and thornbushes.
We have new seating available to use as an outdoor classroom and aim to allow a group of 30 children at a time to be seated to engage in any work that requires them to listen to an outdoor lesson or sit and draw or analyse the nature we study.
The pupils were told how they have created a legacy in school as their efforts will be here for a long time, for future generations at Ballydown and that they are welcome to see the project come to fruition in the future just as last year’s class can watch the trees they planted becoming established.
We look forward to immersing in and living and breathing our project and the upkeep in years to come.
P4 in the coming weeks will be sewing wildflower and overseeing the enhancement of the area.
Visitors to school, the school community and families are very welcome to donate items such as plants and suggestions to enhance the area.
We also thanks a past pupil of the old original Ballydown School, Mr McAllister who kindly presented the school a boat to add some imaginative play options in the new wooded area recently.
