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SHANAHOE, ABBEYLEIX, CO. LAOIS​ R32 F899
​Telephone: (057) 8739715 • Email: [email protected] • Website: www.shanahoens.net

​Uimhir Rolla: 17489G
Registered Charity Number: 20126124
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                                        The School Garden

In the Garden 

Science Week 2025: ​5th & 6th Class worked again with Ms. Beth Murphy under the 'Heritage in Schools' scheme to add another living, willow structure to our school grounds-this time a living Willow arbour. 
Science Week 2024: ​5th & 6th Class pupils hard at work constructing our willow dome in the school grounds with Beth Murphy as part of of our engagement in the 'Heritage in Schools' ​scheme. 
Pupils pictured with their teacher Mrs. Brickley (former Deputy Principal) picking corn on the cob
Our super Junior Room pupils putting the finishing touches to our new/second 'Bug Motel' in Spring 2026 
Junior Room pupils having fun in the sandpit in the school grounds.
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Getting ready to construct our leaf composting cage with Craig Benton from 'Biodiversity in Schools'
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Our wildlife pond was installed in our biodiversity area in January 2025 with very generous sponsorship provided by Laois County Council, First Ireland Spirits in Abbeyleix & Breslin's SuperValu in Abbeyleix. It is a fantastic addition to our school grounds and an excellent habitat for outdoor learner experiences. Here you can see a brother and sister team who very kindly provided tadpoles from their garden, releasing them into the pond.
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Our 'Bee Bank' strategically positioned in front of our 'Don't Worry, Be Happy' mural!
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Super Sonas Class planting: Our natural willow panels behind which run the length of our 'Outdoor Classroom' were purchased using grant funding from our Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) grant from the Department of Education & Youth in 2025-2026
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4th class pupils planting our native hedgerow using saplings provided under the 'Trees on the Land' scheme
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Great watering of our fedge (living willow hedge) by one of our star gardeners from the Junior Room
Heritage Keepers Programme: In term 1 of 2025-2026, 5th & 6th Class participated in the extremely worthwhile 'Heritage Keepers' programme with 'Burrenbeo Trust'. Using the grant funding provided as part of our participation in 'Heritage Keepers', 5th & 6th Class worked with 'Heritage in Schools' expert, Ms. Beth Murphy to construct a fedge (living Willow hedge) in our school grounds.  This is a fantastic addition to our biodiversity area. 
'Heritage Keepers' programme take 2 
Our School garden is full of life.  We initially developed the school garden in 2012 and it has been developed year on year since then. We are very lucky to have such an amazing outdoor learning space.  Every year we plant lots of different flowers and vegetables. 

We derive great use from our garden as an outdoor learning space for developing the pupils' knowledge and understanding within the strand unit Plants and Animals of the Science curriculum and the strand unit Local Natural Environments from the Geography curriculum. We conduct various different experiments and investigations in our garden throughout the year. The garden is also a fantastic learning environment for our work with the Green Schools initiative.

In addition to numerous species of trees and plants, our school garden includes a biodiversity area with a pollinator patch. The following were installed in 2024-2025 by the children and in some instances with the assistance of the wider school community:
  • a wildlife pond; 
  • a living willow dome planted by 5th & 6th Class with Ms. Beth Murphy under the 'Heritage in Schools' scheme; 
  • a leaf composting cage with the assistance of Mr. Craig Benton from 'Composting in Schools'
  • a wormery with the assistance of Mr. Craig Benton from 'Composting in Schools' 
  • solitary bee homes; 
  • bird and bat boxes kindly made by Portlaoise Mens' Shed;
  • a native hedgerow planted under the 'Trees on the Land' scheme' 
  • saplings of native trees provided by 'Free Trees Ireland' 
  • an additional bird care station;
  • bilingual, biodiversity signs of 'Irish Garden Birds'; 
  • a sensory planting area maintained by our Sonas Class pupils;
N. B Please refer to the 'Nature Hero Award Application 2025'  below for further information on developments in our outdoor learning environment in 2025; 

In the school year 2025-2026, the following was added to our school grounds:
  • a living willow arbour planted by 5th & 6th Class with Ms. Beth Murphy under the 'Heritage in Schools' scheme; 
  • a living willow fedge planted by 5th & 6th class with Ms. Beth Murphy under the 'Heritage in Schools' scheme with sponsorship provided by 'Heritage Keepers' in conjunction with Burrenbeo Trust; 
  • a solitary bee bank; 
  • additional solitary bee homes;
  • a dead hedge; 
  • squirrel, hedgehog and frog/toad homes; 
  • an owl box kindly constructed by Portlaoise Men's Shed;
  • additional bird and bat boxes kindly constructed by Portlaoise Men's Shed;
  • bilingual signage at our wildlife pond;
  • bilingual signage at our orchard of apple and pear trees planted under the 'Orchards in the Community' initiative in 2021-2022;
  • three plum and two cherry trees to complement our apple and pear trees, as aforementioned; 
  • an additional/new bug motel; 
  • native willow panelling in our Outdoor Classroom area. 
  • bilingual, biodiversity signage of native, Irish flowers and native Irish trees; 


We also have a vegetable plot with raised beds which we sow with various different vegetables on an annual basis. These are then harvested either before the Summer holidays or on return to school in the Autumn term. 

In our school grounds, we also have a Willow tunnel and a Willow dome and these form part of our natural play area which you can see additional photos of below. 
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We regularly avail of the expertise and  support of 'Heritage in School' advisors to enhance our horticultural endeavours. 

We applied for a 'Nature Hero Award' for the first time in the school year 2024-2025. The 'Nature Hero Award' is Ireland’s largest outdoor learning award across the education sector. It is a mark of excellence for a school recognising exceptional work by young people & teachers to help nature.
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​The aim of the award is to create an educational space that nurtures a love of nature, develops a knowledge of  biodiversity in its many forms & encourages action to help it locally. It covers many topics from nature conservation to school gardening, eco-literacy to wellbeing. We were delighted to be awarded the highest level of 'Nature Hero Award' namely 'Golden Eagle' and this was certainly beyond our expectations as it was our first time to enter for the award. We were also the first school in Laois to be recipients of the award. 
Our  'Golden Eagle Nature Hero Award' for the school year 2024-2025.  Click to download our Nature Hero Award Application
 
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Our Outdoor Classroom Area
 Our 'Outdoor Classroom' with tables, whiteboard and an Oak tree surrounded by benches- 'from little acorns, mighty Oaks will grow'. The Oak tree with benches surrounding it, also serves as a proverbial 'nod back' to the Hedge School operated by Thomas Moloney in the townland of Killeaney in the early 19th Century and which was the precursor to 'Shanahoe School. Queen's County' which opened its doors in 1830 with Mr. Moloney serving as the first schoolmaster. The opening of 'Shanahoe School' predated the foundation of the National School System of Education in Ireland (which came into effect in 1831) by one year. 
Junior Room pupils taking responsibility for feeding the birds in the school garden during the Winter months. 
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Great gardening by our Sonas and Junior Room pupils
December 2022: The 'Head Gardeners' from the Senior Room planting a Cherry Blossom tree gifted to the school by former teacher (from 1980-1983) Ms. Margaret Dowling on the occasion of the publication of our local history and folklore collection 'Tracing Our Past: Scoil Fionntáin Naofa, Shanahoe'. This tree was presented  to the school by Ms. Dowling to replace a former Cherry Blossom tree which grew in the same location in the school grounds but which unfortunately had succumbed to the ravages of time and had to be cut down. 
Our pollinator and biodiversity area after initial clearing followed by planting with a variety of wildflower seeds by parent, Tony Walsh. 

A veritable transformation: Our pollinator area which is looking long and lovely and lush. The 'Don't Worry, Be Happy'  mural which was designed by pupil Julie Rohan, serves as a very appropriate backdrop to this outdoor area. 
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Junior Room pupils working as nature detectives and looking for 'Signs of Spring' in the school garden
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Great Gardeners from the Junior Room
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Our new raised beds in the school vegetable garden
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Autumn container planting by Senior Room pupils

                                               Our Natural Play Area

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Bilingual bird signs in our biodiversity area
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Bilingual flower signs in our biodiversity area
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Bilingual leaf and tree signs in our biodiversity area

              School Community engages in tree planting to encourage biodiversity 

In the Spring of 2022, pupils, staff and parents came together to plant apple and pear trees under the ‘DC for Bees Orchards in the Community Scheme’ 
Scoil Fionntáin Naofa