Coláiste Chiaráin Principal Gerard O’Sullivan with Éanna Ní Lamhna, President of the Tree Council of Ireland, Brendan Fitzsimons, CE of the Tree Council of Ireland and Peadar Collins, Chairperson of Crann Trees for Ireland.
The school community at Coláiste Chiaráin fully embraced this year’s National Tree Week (March 20th to 26th) with staff and students planting 2,000 native Irish trees throughout their campus. The theme of this year’s National Tree Week was ‘More Forests for a Greener Future’, shining a spotlight on the many benefits of forests for Ireland’s climate and biodiversity agendas. It also highlighted the need for more green recreation spaces and sustainably grown wood.
Planning for the ambitious project at the Coláiste Chiaráin campus began over a year ago and came to fruition just in time for National Tree Week. The school, under the patronage of Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board, recently moved to its multi-million euro state-of-the-art campus in Croom, County Limerick. As part of this development, a designated area on the 22-acre greenfield site was set aside to create a biodiversity park.
Over the past few months the school received fantastic local support, which facilitated the sponsorship and installation of approximately 400 meters of walkway, making it safe and accessible for staff and students. This part of the project was made possible by the sponsorship and support of Ger Lynch of Tallybrook Engineering and Richard O’Donoghue TD and Lynch’s Quarries. The school also received support at a national level from the Irish Tree Council, Coillte and Crann, in the form of 2000 native hardwood trees. These trees have now been planted in the school’s biodiversity park and throughout the expansive campus.
Coláiste Chiaráin Student Rania Alaorfi.
Speaking about the project, Principal Gerard O’Sullivan said: “What a wonderful and eventful National Tree Week 2022 that we have just had. This project will support teaching and learning alongside wellbeing, while also contributing to the promotion of biodiversity and offsetting the carbon footprint of the new school. It was so rewarding to work with staff and students throughout the week planting our biodiversity area, which will become a tapestry of native woodland for staff and students to enjoy for decades to come”. He continued: “In the context of the global challenges we face for both climate and biodiversity, I am so proud that our school is playing its part and has managed to complete this ambitious project. We are so grateful for the support of all who have made this possible and it was a real treat to have Éanna Ní Lamhna, ecologist, broadcaster and President of the Tree Council of Ireland, with us to plant some trees and officially launch the project during National Tree Week.”
The planning for the large scale project was led by John Kelly, Gerard O’Sullivan, Tony Brasil, Chair of the Board of Management, and the Green Schools Committee. Staff and students completed the planting phase. Native Irish trees were sponsored by Coillte, with Brendan Fitzsimons, Chief Executive of the Tree Council of Ireland, providing advice and support from the inception of the project. Further support and advice was provided by Fergus Quinlivan, Orla Farrell from Easytrees.ie, Peadar Collins, Chairperson of Crann, and Pat Peters from Coillte.
The completed project now consists of a natural pond surrounded by a biodiversity walkway, which has been planted on either side with native Irish trees that include Common Alder, Red Alder, Common Birch, Beech, Silver Birch, Pedunculate Oak, Red Oak, Rowan, Scots Pine, Holly, Sycamore and Whitethorn. The school and everyone involved in the project have helped to create an inspirational green space to welcome and embrace biodiversity on the new campus and will continue to play its part in providing more forests for a greener future.
Coláiste Chiaráin students Liam Power, Bradley Prior, Jovanny Kwusike, Jordan Ryan, Adam Quinlivan, Damian Kosinski.
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