Inspiring scenes as award-winning Wicklow national school garden welcomes community
Under the guidance of Wendy Nairn, the organic garden has flourished this season, producing a bounty of fresh vegetables and herbs that the children have enjoyed nurturing.
The garden open day allows the wider community to visit the garden and witness for themselves the amount of hard work and effort the pupils put in to maintain it. Pupils and their parents provided plenty of baked goods on the day, and there were also opportunities to purchase some of the plants and produce grown by the pupils.
The open day also acted as a celebration of Brittas Bay National School as winners of the Explorers Ocean Champion Award. They are also only the second school in the country to be honoured as an EU Blue Life School and were the regional winners of the Green Schools programme.
Principal Una Gallinagh said: 'We had a wonderful attendance for our open day and the place was packed. It was an opportunity as well for the pupils to showcase all their hard work. It's a totally organic garden and Wendy Nairn provides the pupils with great guidance. Parents also help out and we have won numerus awards for the garden, including one from Wicklow County Council.
'We also used the occasion to celebrate the school's recognition as national winners of the Explorers Ocean Champion Award. Joe Silk from the Marine Institute was in attendance as well to celebrate with us. There was a huge amount of work involved, with pupils going down to the beach and investigating phytoplankton. They organised regular clean-ups of the beach, and held different competitions. They also analysed some of the litter they found.
'We have one child's work currently on display in Cork City Hall, and that's only the tip of all the work the pupils put in. We were also awarded status as an EU Blue Life School, and are only the second one in the country.'
The blue school network involves schools, which through project-based learning, engages students with marine- and maritime-related topics to create awareness and a feeling of responsibility for our ocean.
Tánaiste Simon Harris sent the school a video message, congratulating the school community on their recent achievements. Wicklow TD Jennifer Whitmore, Wicklow County Council cathaoirleach, Cllr Paul O'Brien, Cllr Warren O'Toole and Wicklow-Wexford TD Malcolm Byrne were all in attendance.
Speaking about the Explorers Ocean Champion Award, Ms Whitmore said: 'The children's project was truly inspiring. They explored everything from phytoplankton to photosynthesis, and even created a giant cyanotype artwork to bring their learning to life. Needless to say, I was very impressed.
'I was particularly struck by the whole-school approach. Every child, every teacher, and even parents and the wider community were involved. That kind of collaboration is powerful and makes a huge difference. The beach cleans, the family competitions, the scientific investigations, this wasn't just a school project, it was a movement.
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'I want to commend principal Una Gallinagh, teachers Imelda Burke and Carmel Skelly, and the brilliant outreach work of Mona McCrea from the Marine Institute's Explorers Programme. As we approach World Ocean Day this weekend, this award is a timely reminder of the importance of marine education for our youth. We need to support more schools to do this kind of work, with proper funding and resources.
'Brittas Bay NS has set a national example of what it means to be Ocean Champions. It was really special to be there to celebrate with the students as they received this award.'
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