UPCYCLING....

There are sooo many things that humans produce and use, but what happens when we are finished using them? Car tyres need to be replaced for road safety regularly. But what happens with the old car tyres? They do not biodegrade and worldwide we dispose of hundreds of millions of car tyres every year! Up until the 1980s car tyres were stockpiled in landfills. There are an estimated 2-3 billion car tyres deposited in landfills. You cannot burn car tyres because burning old rubber releases dangerous toxins into the air. Today most old car tyres are recycled in special recycling plants. 

Given our connection to the Motorway we decided to use old car tyres for our upcycling project. We are giving them a new lease of life and transform them into planters for our school garden.   

Tyre Aware in Ballindereen kindly gave us some old car tyres we could upcycle. After washing off the dirt, we painted our tyres inspired by our pollinator friends. 

We will plant our car tyres in spring and fill them with pollinator friendly herbs to provide nectar and pollen for bees and other pollinating insects!

 Blessing of the Bees

Fionn (2nd Class) - "The Priest Blessing the Hive"

The Blessing of the Bees is a tradition that goes back centuries in Ireland. Ancient Irish manuscripts reveal bees were sacred animals and they were brought to the country from Wales in the 5th century, by a Saint named Modomnóc, also know as Modomhnóg.

At some point, every home in Ireland would have had access to a beehive. They used honey as a form of adding sweetness to the food, and wax was used to make candles. Beekeeping was also protected under the "Bee Judgements" of the Brehon Laws.

People invited the parish priest to bless the bees and their beehive.

Glen (2nd Class) - "Blessing the Bees..."