My very grateful thanks to Rita Walsh, Joanne Hackett and Theresa White from the Down Syndrome Ireland Kildare Branch for their hospitality and sharing of excellent knowledge from their wonderful set up in Donadea.
Students from R26 have availed of learning about 'companion planting', have potted on sweetcorn, cucumber, lavender, have decorated and filled Easter pots to take home, have harvested spinach and rocket (and have taken home), have planted and tied up peas, have fed and collected eggs from the hens and have learnt how to care for them, have compared vegetables growing outside in beds to growing inside in the raised beds in the Polytunnel, have observed chestnuts growing, have sowed potatoes, aubergines, have seen in action a propagator working, have saved compost for seed sowing, have saved basil, have learnt about 'planting on', have learnt when to plant (Autumn raspberries in the field), have used a flower press and made bookmarks with viola flowers, have observed the progress of planting and have compared different types of seeds, have learnt how to plant bulbs, have made bird feed balls, Christmas Logs and so, so very much more.
Students from R26 have also helped to plant daffodils for Daffodil Day and were able to sell a bucket of tied bunches on to help with DSI's charity drive to help Cancer Research.
As part of Kildare Biodiversity week; this coming Tuesday the students will bring their Wildlife Activity and Scavenger Hunt sheets over to Donadea in order to make use of the abundance of Nature around them so that they can complete the sheets and send off to the competition.
The partnership of R26 and DSI is just beginning to grow (excuse the pun) and my personal and grateful thanks again to Rita, Joanne and Theresa for their good humour, hard work and relaxed manner - our weekly trip to Donadea is an oasis of calm and a massive, hands-on opportunity to learn.
Jacqueline Considine
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