Draperstown in Bloom Project
Draperstown in Bloom project In January 2024 a group of young people from St. Colm's High school were in attendance at the Cornstore Youth club. Around a table the young people decided they wanted to provide colour to the streets of Draperstown. The school has both a polytunnel and a Greenhouse on site. After hours of discussion, they decided to grow flowers. Montgomery's nurseries were contacted and the plugs were ordered. They decided to go for a tour of the town. They wanted to plan out areas they wanted to locate their produce. Miss Jolene Groogan local councillor came with us on a walking tour of Draperstown. Following this event, Mr John Murtagh Magherafelt Recycling Officer came on board. Contact was made with a local Maghera company. We then got a delivery of 22 cable reels from GTS Ireland. The reels were stored in the Greenhouse. We are so grateful for the donation of the cable reels. We also salvaged numerous pots and other items from landfill. By the end of March, we had invited Primary 7 young people from both St. Columba's P,S, Straw and St. Mary's Primary School, Draperstown to St. Colm's High School to plant the plugs. The team then expanded again with Mr Stephen Devlin St. Colm's High School Technology Technician offering his services. Stephen removed 2 wooden panels from each reel and cut the bottom of the reel flat to ensure its stability. Then the eco group started sanding and painting the reels. The young people never stopped until the reels were all painted. It took hours. All the paint was salvaged from Magherafelt Recycling Centre. From this the team lined each reel with black plastic. We then invited St. Mary's Primary School back to plant the reels. This project has taken 6 months. The eco team have worked tirelessly. They never give up. We are so proud of each and every person who took part in this project. We are so happy. We want to thank everyone who participated in this project. It has been fun, sustainable, eco friendly and we hope the community enjoy looking at the reels as much as we enjoyed making them. The next project they are embarking on is restoring a tractor for the centre of Draperstown. Watch this space.
