There was great excitement at Kilteevan National School yesterday (Wednesday) as Brenda Donohue from RTE’s Today Show and Karen O’Donohoe, Energia’s Get Ireland Growing Ambassador arrived to meet with Méabh Egan, Maria Fox and James Lunt from fourth class.
The students, their teacher Miss O’Connor and Principal Colette Brennan will appear on The Today Show with Daithi and Maura today at 3.30 pm to talk about their school garden and how they put their ‘Sow Award’ of €500 from the 2017 Energia GIY Get Ireland Growing Fund to use. Karen O’Donohoe also announced yesterday that Energia would be presenting the Kilteevan NS gardeners with a further €1,000 in funding.
School Principal, Colette Brennan, said the hugely successful school garden came about following a ‘thank you’ card from a parent two years ago.
“Maria Fox’s mam, Tish, gave a ‘thank you’ card in June two years ago and mentioned the an area of waste ground at the back of the school. She asked if it was OK to try a few things with the space. The garden was her plan and we all rowed in behind her”.
The garden, supported by the hard work of students and teachers including Ms. O’Connor, Mrs. Lynch and Mr. Flynn has gone from strength to strength following a Roscommon County Council grant of €900 two years ago.
The school, which has close links to Eileen Fahey and her fellow Kilteevan Tidy Towns volunteers, has also been voted ‘Roscommon’s Tidiest School’.
Yesterday was the icing on the cake for Kilteevan NS as they made national television with RTE’s Brenda Donohue commenting that she was “blown away” by the garden and the hard work of all those involved.
