SPRING-TIME GARDEN CLEAN UP

Spring marks the beginning of the gardening season and today our Year 7 class made the most of the beautiful sunshine and headed outdoors with garden tools in hand, to begin our Springtime Garden Tidy -Up!

Our Sensory Garden had become overgrown and unruly during the Autumn and Winter and was in need of some TLC and a bit of a clean-up!

The first team of children dug out any weeds in the planters. The children learned that the removal of weeds is very important to our school garden as they can kill plants if they are overgrown. The children also tamed some of the overgrown shrubs and plants to prevent them becoming unruly. This pruning will help keep our plants healthy and improve flowering.

The next team got creative and took charge of beautifying our garden and the front of the school. They planted flowers to help bring beauty as well as pollinators to our school garden. They planted hanging baskets and window boxes with a variety of beautiful flowers and displayed these on the window sills at the front of the school and in the sensory garden.

Another team helped Damien to plant a Cherry Blossom tree in the garden. A beautiful addition to the garden!

Another team of boys and girls took the opportunity to wash fencing and tidy up our polytunnel and garden shed. The children washed the polytunnel and sorted out all the raised beds, trays, pots and tools.

A special thank you to our Year 5 pupil Mason, who set up a bug hotel (made by Mason’s grandad) in the garden. Bug hotels are important for enhancing biodiversity and attract a diverse range of insects, creating a more balanced and healthy ecosystem. They provide shelter and nesting sites for various insects, including beneficial pollinators.

Thank you to all our Year 7 pupils, Mr Morrow and Damien for working so hard today to make the school and Sensory Garden a special and inviting place for everyone to enjoy!

Finally, a word of thanks to our amazing Parent Support Group, Friends Of Cabragh, who secured funding through a grant application, enabling the school to purchase trees, flowers and plants for our school grounds and Sensory Garden.

School gardening fosters a sense of responsibility and care for the environment. This initiative has brought our pupils closer to nature, allowing them to witness firsthand the beauty of plant life and insects and also promotes an understanding of the importance of preserving Biodiversity.