Moate Students continuing the work in the Sensory Garden

A new group of MCS TY students take on the work of previous years’ students in the Sensory Garden at Dún Na Sí Amenity and Heritage Park. While the weather is favourable, groups of students are meeting with the young adults from St Hilda’s in the garden Monday and Thursday mornings. The main focus is on completion of the Water Feature, attaching over 200 glazed tiles which were designed and made by the group over the last two years. The development of the Sensory Garden is co-ordinated by Margaret Mandal, Moate Community School.

The students are also helping with the Butterfly Garden which the St Hilda’s gang have been developing with artist Rosemary Lantry. Plants have been specifically sourced and planted to attract butterflies and their associated caterpillars. The group are using recycled materials to make attractive features with the Butterfly theme to attract and entertain visitors to the Garden.

A camera has been erected in the garden to monitor activities in the area. Tiles at the front on the feature have been damaged and need to be replaced. The Sensory Garden is a wonderful amenity for locals and visitors of all ages to enjoy, but the group would like to urge parents to supervise their children in the park at all times.

The Moate students are investigating the habitats of the butterflies and their caterpillars. Eighteen per cent of the native species in Ireland are under threat of extinction. In developing the Butterfly Garden they hope to create awareness of their habitats and the variety of species in Ireland. They plan to document their activities and submit them as their ECO-UNESCO Young Environmentalists project.