Garden visitors
people who have visited our garden
Over the years, many different visitors have come to see our wildlife garden. Some are famous, some are not – but they’re all just as important! This page highlights some of the better-known visitors.
Perhaps the most famous visitor was the person who officially opened our garden in May 2001 – Mary McAleese, the eighth President of Ireland.
The President returned to the town in which she was born to help St. Malachy’s celebrate the opening of the garden and to plant an Irish yew tree in the school grounds, a tree that may live for a thousand years or more!
After a tour of the garden and some entertainment provided by the children, the President wished the school well and congratulated us on all our hard work!
The Director of Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew – Professor Sir Peter Crane – arrived on a showery day in June 2004 to tour the garden and present the school’s first Eco-Schools green flag. A green flag award recognises a school’s contribution towards the environment.
Tony Kirkham, another famous face from Kew – tree expert featured on the BBC programme “A Year at Kew” – arrived with a Father David’s maple (Acer davidii) that had been grown from seed he collected in Sichuan, China. Chinese residents, along with Tony and other staff from Kew, witnessed the hole being blessed by Chinese dragon and lion dancers before they finished the ceremony by planting the tree.
He didn’t quite visit the garden, but Alan Titchmarsh presented a BBC programme “British Isles: A Natural History” that featured St. Malachy’s Primary School wildlife garden. Darryl Grimason from BBC Northern Ireland was the presenter for the piece that was shown at the end of programme 7 – Modern Times.