By Fran Maher, member of the Balbriggan Laudato Sì Movement Group
In October and November this year, our small Laudato Sì group in Balbriggan achieved a dream: we officially opened our new biodiverse, pollinator-friendly garden right here in the grounds of St. Peter and Paul Church. It’s been a fantastic journey. Here is how it all came together.
Our group: a retired nurse, a company director, a media consultant, a Loreto religious sister, a retired teacher and myself, have come together through various strands over the last 18 months. Most of us were already active in Tidy Towns and deeply involved in the St. Peter and Paul faith community, so it felt completely natural to call ourselves the Laudato Si’ Movement (LSM) group in the parish. We share a passion for caring for creation, and it’s amazing what you can achieve when you gather people with different skills around a shared commitment.
Three things really converged to give us the push we needed to start the garden:
The Bishops’ Call: The first major boost came from the announcement by the Bishops’ Conference encouraging parishes to set aside 30% of church grounds for biodiverse projects. This gave us a clear mandate.
Local Funding: Secondly, grants became available from Fingal County Council (FCC) for projects tackling ‘hot button’ topics like climate and environmental improvements.
Community Partnership: The third piece of the puzzle fell into place when Balbriggan SEC (Sustainable Energy Community) secured funding for a complex project involving energy, transport and biodiversity. They approached our parish LSM group and asked if we would be willing to provide the biodiversity element of their larger plan.
We asked the Parish Council if they thought it was a good idea to rejuvenate the existing garden and convert it into a biodiverse space. They loved the idea, so we got straight to work on our plans.
The old garden had 12 beds, each roughly 3m x 3m, with paths between them leading up to a central plinth. Our core idea was to rejuvenate every bed and replant it with flowers, trees and plants that would create a truly biodiverse and pollinator-friendly space. Beyond that, we wanted to create a place where people could slow down and truly enjoy nature—a sensory garden where you could appreciate the colour, the smells and the sounds of creation.
Over the next few months, we met regularly, swopping ideas and comparing notes on what was best to plant and where. Gerry, our gardener, gave us invaluable advice, tips, and hints. There were definitely difficulties to overcome, but we navigated those moments with patience and, I hope, charity!
When it came time for the physical work, we got a few quotes, but we were absolutely delighted when the one we settled on was, amazingly, the same gardener who had put the old garden in over 15 years before! The work took three busy weeks to completely finish.
Our finished garden now features:
2 “Bog Garden” Beds
2 Beds planted with fragrant lavender
2 Beds dedicated to crimson clover
6 Beds containing various shrubs and trees
We replaced the old central plinth with plants and shrubs surrounding a wet stone, which provides water for birds during dry spells. This stone covers a subterranean pool that feeds a small fountain powered by a solar panel.
The Opening and Looking Ahead
We held a small gathering to “open” our garden, where we read some reflections and prayers on nature and listened to some wonderful music from local musicians, followed by tea and a chat in the parish house. We were thrilled to be joined by about 30 local people—including a lovely garden group from Whitehall parish in Dublin—who endured the rain to come out and wish us well.
Our long-term plan is important: we intend to maintain the garden regularly, of course, but we also want to encourage other parishioners to get involved. More importantly, we hope to use the space to develop a wider awareness of biodiversity loss in our community and encourage everybody who visits the garden to take some ideas home and put them into practice in their own homes.
