WILD HAPPINESS GARDEN, St.Paul’s National School ,Dooradoyle,Limerick.
The diversity of life on earth in both nature and culture is a guarantee for long term survival for humankind; The concept of biocultural diversity is about recognising and understanding the inextricable link between these two systems and their interdependence.
‘Recognising that we are in a relationship with our environment, we are dependent for our wellbeing on the wellbeing of the environment’, Prof Philippe Sands QC, of University College London.
My approach is to give pupils from diverse cultural backgrounds the opportunity to work together on an ongoing project that goes beyond boundaries. This encourages the experience of the power of joy that working together with the common aim of nurturing and understanding the wildlife environment around them brings. Working with diversity in all its manifestations changes the way people think and ultimately improves innovation, creativity, and problem-solving skills.
The ‘Wild Happiness’ garden has 4 areas that are dedicated to specific species orientated flora for the wellbeing of bees, butterflies, ground insects/beetles and birds. This biocultural diverse garden has a sculptural representation in the form of curving line of children holding hands like a paper cut-out of at least one of each pupil of a different sex, background and age.
Children from St.Paul’s National school planting the Bird Garden.
Scale of sculptures
The four different gardens, The bee ,butterfly,bird and beetle gardens.
The Bird garden children drawing out their dreams of what they would like to grow in their garden for the welfare of birds.
Glasswork created from the children’s drawings , some form their collective drawing of the gardens they dreamt in and other drawings from their meditation journey to their inner magical garden to bring back a garden creature and thier quality for their friend and gift it to their heart to help in caring and nuturing their garden.
This video was creatd by Alfie Hollingsworth with the aissitance of Bonnie Boyle