THE fine weather has been put to good use on the Connaught Road in Scariff, with the creation of a wild flower bed by junior residents.

The activity combined social distancing with some lessons in gardening, and involved the planting of over 100 ‘bee bombs’ created by members of Scariff Foróige Youth Club. The bombs were made, as part of a community project, by combining pollinator-friendly flower seeds with compost, soil and water. “Every year, the club takes part in the Foróige Citizenship Awards in Dublin, so members pick a project that will be of benefit to the local community and this time around, it was the bee bombs,” explained Tracey Doyle, one of the leaders with Scariff Foróige Youth Club. “We thought we’d get together with Tidy Towns and the Community Council to distribute them, but Covid-19 had a different agenda.”

When Anne Culloo from the Connaught Road decided to start a wild flower bed at the front of the estate, that provided an opportunity to put the bombs to good use, while allowing local children to get their hands dirty, in a safe, socially distanced way. “All of the kids have been looking for things to do,” explained Tracey, “so we got them involved in planting the bed and now they’re minding them, so that we’ll hopefully had a nice colourful display in a few weeks time.”

The local children are now set to join Tracey in the ‘Carrot Growing Championships’ to learn more about gardening and recycling. “I’ve asked them to keep their milk cartons,” Tracey said. “We’ll use those and see what we can grow.”