Welcome to our Blog; home of the Neantóga (the Stingers)

Scroll to the bottom, first, to see how our Tidy Towns, Community Garden project has been coming along since the beginning…

The Garden, built, planted and watered!

Boys and girls of the Neantóg Clann, supported by several visiting students, were guided by ‘Bloom’ Multi-award winning garden designer, Andrew Christopher (www.acdesigns.ie) on how and where to plant a luscious selection of near-blooming plants. They did a superb job.

The Neantóga learn the ancient Celtic art of building with the tough, flexible wood of the willow tree, which was used for centuries to construct ‘wattle and daub’ homes. Ronán Russel of Newgrange Willow Design (HERE) gave his time to share his skills and get us started on our decorative willow walls. It was challenging work, but thoroughly rewarding.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Frank (and Mark!) shovel one tonne of compost (recycled, rotten leaves, branches, grass, food), which was donated by V&W Recycling, into our cars to transport it back to Aston Village.

Spencer, of the Neantóg Clann, adds nutrient-rich sea-weed, which was harvested by Sadie and Antonia on Bettystown Beach, to water to make eco-friendly plant-food (fertiliser).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holly, of the Neantóg Clann, learns how to sketch a horse  in preparation for the making of lino-cut printing stamps for the upcoming Bealtaine Garden Festival.

Mark uses a lawn-mower to cut the long grass and neaten-up our

garden area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mark uses a (blunt) spade to dig a layer of grass (the sod) from the garden, to clear the way for new plants.

 Daniel and Jamie (of the Neantóg Clann) use maths, a measuring tape, string and paint to plan and map out a circular pattern for later tree planting.

First we measured the length (30m) and the width (15m) and found the middle of each. This lead us to find the centre of the green area. We then used the middle of the field as the centre of our circle and we measured a length of rope the size of the radius of the circle (from the middle of the circle to the edge). We tied a can of spray paint to the end of the rope and Daniel and Jamie took turns to walk around in a circle, keeping the rope pulled tight from the middle of it, to paint the edge of the circle on the ground. This way, we created the perfect circle inside our green area.

Phase 1 of the ‘Neantóga’, Celtic Garden Complete:

The Triquerta, ‘Celtic Knot’ design is marked out using recycled paving stones (from Dermot’s shed). The shape was marked out by Mark and he and Dermot dug out the trench, mixed dry concrete and laid the stones – supported generously by Barry and Elias from Louth County Council, Tidy Towns Initiative.

Members of Neantóga Tribe exploring the infinite (never-ending) loops of the Triquerta, Celtic Knot.

Dermot lays recycled, locally-produced paving stones to mark the celtic-knot pattern (while marks mixed dry-cement in the background!).

Barry and Elias from Louth Co Co offer generous support.

 

The Ogham Alphabet – An Ancient Celtic Alphabet

Daniel exhibits some nettle fertiliser, rich in nutrients.

 

Darragh adds the harvested nettles to water to prepare the juicey fertiliser.

 

 

Final Design???

 

The Eco-tribe discuss, plan and design our Celtic Garden…

 

 

Some of our source books for knowledge and inspiration.

 

Interesting video about native irish herbs that are good for your health…

 

Some initial design ideas from Orla’s 5th and 6th classes…

Pamela Whittaker from www.groundswell.ie came to visit us and shared her wisdom. We were inspired…

The Eco Tribes team met  for the first time at the site of our community garden.

The members names are Julia, Genevieve, Spencer,  Rahman, Jamie, Daniel, Marta, Jason, Holly, Jill and James. Our mission is to create a community garden with the theme of ‘Celtic Journey’. Louth County Council Tidy Towns will support us. Our team members are researching the idea and beginning to design our new garden. We hope that you will help us with our exciting project.

 

 Aston Village Sign By JJ & RR

JJ and RR have been going out and taking mathematical measurements and agreed that the area of the whole site is 450m². The height is 1.5m.

So far the project hasn’t been completed but with our determination and the school’s strength we will get it done by the end of the year.

If you’re a specialist in flowers, tiles or benches please give us a call on 041 98 49001.  Or email us at jamie@astonvillageetns.com

/ rahman@astonvillageetms.com or mark@astonvillageetns.com  

The Eco Tribes project: A Celtic Journey: The Spirit of Nature

Aim: To develop a Celtic themed garden for your community, featuring Irish flowers, herbs, and trees.

Here is the link to the project’s blog, which is a source of information and ideas. The first blog post is titled A Celtic Journey: The Spirit of Nature and includes criteria for the Eco Tribes Challenge: https://mutualgroundtraining.wordpress.com

This year’s theme is inspired by the book The Garden Awakening: Designs to Nurture our Land and Ourselves by Irish garden designer and Chelsea gold medalist, Mary Reynolds.

AV Students begin the initial design process…

This is our target site… A place to hang-out? Socialise?