Biodiversity and Wellbeing Village
By Ardscoil La Salle
Second level students from Ardscoil La Salle, Raheny have created a mini “Biodiversity and Wellbeing Village” in their postcard garden which aims to provide visitors with information about promoting biodiversity and and the importance of nature to our well-being. The display features over 50 uniquely designed insect hotels which have been made from recycled wood, branches and twigs found around the school. The garden replicates a village with a selection of quirky hotels, shops and vehicles including the Dragonfly Disco, Beatles Bar, Horsefly Hospital, Burger Queen, The Spider Sanctuary, Spider Spa, Butterfly Barbers and the Creepy Crawley Church.
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The Zen Garden
By Coolmine Community School
The Zen Garden, created by the students at Coolmine Community School in Blanchardstown, was designed as a space for students to calm the mind and focus. This postcard garden has been inspired by a garden which currently resides in the school to offer students a relaxing open-air space. It features an outdoor classroom which sparks curiosity and encourages students to learn in an outdoor setting. In addition to being a space to promote positive mental health, the Zen Garden supports biodiversity by featuring plants that attract bees and butterflies along with a range of sensory and edible plants.
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The Many Pathways to Recovery
By Finglas Addiction Support Team
This garden, created by Finglas Addiction Support Team (FAST) and supported by Finglas Tidy Towns, Dublin City Council and City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB), represents the many pathways to addiction recovery. The design depicts three different routes including clinical recovery, aided by healthcare or medical services; non-clinical recovery, through community based or peer-led supports; and self-management, often referred to as the natural process. The group was set up by volunteers from the Finglas community to address the limited services for drug users and family members in the area. Garden volunteers include service users who can discuss the lived experience of recovery and how this project has supported that process.
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The Forest of Hope
By Friends of Dublin Samaritans
The Forest of Hope, by Friends of Dublin Samaritans, has been designed to raise awareness of a new 24 hour free-phone service launched by the Dublin Samaritans. As part of its mission that fewer people die by suicide, Dublin Samaritans has launched the initiative to provide people with a safe and confidential place to seek support. The garden will feature a village green with trees and a beautifully handcrafted old phone box.
The village green represents community; the trees shelter and strength; and the phonebox represents the private, confidential space that encapsulates the relationship between the caller to Dublin Samaritans and the volunteer who takes the call and listens.
Shelbug Garden Hotel
By National Learning Network
The National Learning Network (NLN) in Ballyfermot, one of 50 such support centres around the country, has designed this postcard garden to capture an environmental project which it has
been working on to attract pollinating insects into an industrial setting. The National Learning Network provides a range of flexible training programmes and support services for people who need specialist support. The Shelbug Garden Hotel has been made from recycled pallets sourced from their own recycling centre with recycled compost bags used to line the planters. The garden features locally sourced pollinator friendly plants as well as plants grown from seed in the centre.
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Naul Village through the Pandemic
By Naul Community Council
The ‘Naul Village through the Pandemic’ garden, created by Naul Community Council and supported by O’Gowna Studios, celebrates the coming together of a village and its community spirit in unprecedented times. The garden features flora and fauna which represent the landscape of the village and the rolling hills where many walked during the pandemic. In order to remember those lost due to Covid-19, the group has created a monument with names carved on an Ogham stone which will be placed in the garden. It also features a fairy trail and art work painted by children and older members of the community which tell the story of how their garden space helped them during the pandemic.
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Where’s Wally?
By Sacred Heart Junior and Senior School, Tallaght
The ‘Where’s Wally’ garden designed by Sacred Heart Junior and Senior School, Tallaght represents our journey to find each other again after staying apart for so long. After two long years separated, the school has lost Wally! A collaboration between children, parents, and teachers, the garden represents every single member of the community in Killinarden as they work together to find Wally. The garden will feature a range of recyclable materials and after the event, it will be relocated to the school for use by all the children in the school community.
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Sensing our way through the Rumbles of the Jungle
By St Mary’s Community Gardening Group, Clondalkin
St Mary’s Community Gardening Group in Clondalkin designed the garden ‘Sensing our way through the Rumbles of the Jungle’ in order to further develop community relationships and engagement. The St. Mary’s Community Gardening Group, inspired by a creative schools project, explored the concept of developing a sensory garden featuring nature-based crafting in order to inspire pupils, teachers and parents to reconnect with nature. The group also identified an opportunity to further promote literacy and enhance links with North Clondalkin Library by integrating literacy with gardening in order to connect with people in a meaningful way.
Walk in My Shoes
By Walkinstown Greenhills Resource Centre
The ‘Walk in My Shoes’ garden was created by Walkinstown Greenhills Resource Centre, a local community-based charity offering a range of support services to those affected by substance misuse, gambling harm and mental health difficulties. The design was led by the Women Wellbeing Group at the centre and through the imagery and symbolism of nature, visitors are invited to explore and reflect upon the theme of mental health through the prism of the garden. The garden will be relocated to Walkinstown Greenhills Resource Centre after the festival to start a community garden.