..you enjoy nothing"Anon
The garden has seen a lot of activity over the past two weekends. On the first weekend in conjunction with the Friend's Summer Fayre the School Jurassic Garden was officially opened and handed over to the pupils who we hope will enjoy it and learn from it. Dr Phil Sterling was asked to open the garden for us. Phil was the perfect link between Dorset County Council, the environment and the natural history which abounds in the garden. Phil's role within the County Council is Coast and Countryside Service Manager and he was well suited for the task. The head teacher Mrs Fiona Daykin helped Phil with the ribbon cutting celebration. Once the ribbon had been cut the children shot into the garden like coiled springs eager to see what was within!
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| Dr Phil Sterling and the Headteacher cutting the ribbon! |
Aferwards Phil gave us a masterclass in micro-lepidoptera- his subject, showing us the underside of leaves and the many species of micro-moth eggs and small caterpillars which reside there. He finished the afternoon with a glorious show of moths which he had trapped the night before from nearby. These included hawkmoths and other brightly coloured specimens.
A week later the garden was host again for the National Garden Scheme which raises money for charity. The is was our fifth year of opening to the public and we were pleasantly surprised to receive a certificate from Mrs Di Reeds, the publicity and media officer of the Dorset NGS for our efforts and money raised to date.
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| The garden volunteers accepting the NGS certificate from Di Reeds( second left) |
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| Visitors enjoying the fine summer weather |
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| Pausing in the shade of the willow classroom |
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| The grass garden backlit at the end of the afternoon |
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The moth trap was set the previous evening and visitors were delighted to see many colourful moths. The best catch was this magnificent Privet Hawk moth
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| Curious skull shape on the thorax |
With the pressure off the garden group has been tidying and making good ready for the summer
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| The runner beans are doing well |
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| The celeriac plants have been trimmed to promote the root |
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| French Beans almost ready for picking! |
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Finally as the group were packing up one volunteer spotted a very interesting insect on one of the Canna leaves. It was like a small jewel with a green thorax and blue abdomen. It was discovered under the stereo microscope to be a small sub-social bee-
Lasioglossum smeathmanellum. This was a new bee for the garden list and was joined earlier today by a new butterfly for the garden- a Marbled White which put in a brief appearance before visiting the Purple Loosestrife on the pond and disappearing as quickly as it appeared!
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| Lasioglossum smeathmanellum |
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| Showing the metallic green thorax and blue abdomen |
It is that time of year when we say goodbye to the senior pupils who move on to the next rung of the education ladder. We wish them well and hope that they have enjoyed their time at Holy Trinity and enjoyed the learning from the garden during their stay.
