New sensory garden opens at Ballintubber NS

SUMMER is here and the students and staff at Ballintubber National School have come together to enjoy the first scents of their new sensory garden.

Ballintubber NS has always had a small garden in which they planted vegetables and flowers but last year the idea of the sensory garden first came into being.

Students have now a beautiful space that has been designed to stimulate the senses through sight, smell, touch, taste and sound.

The garden is designed around a central sensory path that was created using different materials.

The garden will provide a therapeutic and calming area where the students will learn about the five senses, but it will also be a way of teaching them practical work outside the classroom.

The garden is very much a community effort and has been a labour of love for parents, pupils and staff.

Many parents contributed their talents and hard work into the creation of the garden.

The garden is by no means a finished product as each year it will develop with the different students that pass through the school.

Ballintubber NS would like to thank its parents and PTA, South West Mayo Development, Mayo Mental Health Association and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in helping make the new sensory garden the huge success that it is.