Glenmona Garden Project
Conservation Volunteers Northern Ireland launched an exciting new project at Glenmona Resource Centre in West Belfast during Volunteers Week in June 2004. The centre is a residential care unit housing around 35 boys aged between 10 and 17 years old. They will have the responsibility of regenerating a disused and vandalised garden on site, with the help of Environments for All staff as facilitators.
The potential of the garden is plain to see, but the pupils will want to make it their own by personalising it with new features and ideas, including a carved totem pole, mosaic murals and a working windmill made from scrap. Apart from the enthusiastic input from Conservation Volunteers and those from Glenmona, 22 Belfast Education & Library Board ‘grafters’ came on board during Volunteers Week to help with the much needed grooming. Getting out of the office for the day clearly agreed with them, as they managed to coppice the overgrown willow faster than you could say ‘Biodiversity’, or perhaps the incredible work rate was merely due to the presence of their Chief Executive!
Thanks to funding from Children in Need and Barclays Sitesavers, Conservation Volunteers has been able to get this worthwhile project off the ground. The main beneficiaries will be the pupils themselves, who will gain confidence and self-esteem while learning practical, environmental skills. Former Belfast Lord Mayor, Alex Maskey, endorsed the project, saying at his first visit to the site, ‘I know how difficult it can be for young people, so gaining a practical qualification and experience can only be a positive step in the right direction.’