In case you hadn’t noticed it, Scoil Mhuire has a new friend: Polly the poly tunnel! It was installed last week by a company called Polydome Limited, from Birr Co. Offaly. It took only 2 days to put it up and it is now waiting to be used.
Thanks to this Poly Tunnel Dome, the children will be able to start their seedlings earlier in the year as well as enjoy a warm and dry environment to study the growth and development of their plants. Each class has a planting plan and are anxious to get started. The warmth of Polly will mean more harvest earlier, so more chances to taste these lovely crops before the end of the school year!
Our thanks go to FORUM and Clifden Tidy Town Committee to helped us with the application for the poly tunnel. FORUM Connemara funded almost 70% of the cost of the poly tunnel through the Local Community Development Programme (LCDP) while Tidy Towns donated half of their Galway County Mayor Awards monies to the project.
A further “stargazing” night was organised by Sam Carey of the Junior Tidy Towns group which raised €51 for the purchase of tools and equipment for teachers and pupils. Thank you Sam.
Learning about where food comes from is an important part of our science programme. Watching plants grow is also very important and will bring maths and communication into the equation.
Regular observation, measuring, comparison and prediction will be used as we watch our crops grow.
The tunnel will allow the children and their teachers to learn, develop and insure (through planting of native plants) a sustainable ethos. Tidy Towns can now purchase smaller plants and therefore less expensive ones and they will be “hardened off” for a short time in the poly tunnel. When the plants are ready , the children will be invited to join the Clifden Tidy Town volunteers in a spot of gardening around the town. This activity will enhance their awareness of their community as well as realising the time and effort it takes to have a “pretty” town, and reinforce the intergenerational ties that already exist in our community. The school garden at the back of the school will continue to be used and we look forward to the delicious strawberries that grew there last year! For more details and photos, please go to the Clifden Tidy Town page on Facebook
