COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF LUCAN/PALMERSTOWN/FONTHILL AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, December 17, 2019

MOTION NO. 14

MOTION: Councillor V. Casserly

To call on the manager to develop and design a sensory Garden to be developed in Griffeen Park.

REPORT:

There are no plans at present for a sensory garden at Griffeen Park. However, the Council is engaged in expanding our pollinator friendly meadowland initiative to new areas of the county. This initiative now covers 90 hectares of grassland in the county in some of our larger parks and open spaces and is hugely beneficial in terms of supporting SDCC's actions on Climate Change and supporting a wide variety of pollinators. The meadowlands act as a natural sensory garden as they incorporate different textures and, rather than flat expanses of mown grass; they allow a type of gentle enclosure within the parks. The meadows are chosen in areas with low soil fertility which encourages a wide diversity of meadow species with an abundance of colours, textures, and fragrances. In addition, the meadowlands allow people to experience seasonal changes, with the meadows reflecting the changing seasons by changes in height, colour and texture. They also reflect changes incurred by weather e.g.; a breeze moving through a summer meadow, the sight of spider webs stretched across a meadow on a dewy autumn morning or frost hardened seed heads on rusty stalks in the winter. The land at Griffeen Park; being close to the Esker should be ideal to support this type of initiative and the Council will examine this proposal in more detail in 2020. The addition of bulb planting into the proposed meadows will also be examined; subject to funding, as this adds a longer season of colour to the meadowlands.