Photo: Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice
Irish bishops have asked parishes across Ireland to set aside 30% of their grounds for pollinators and biodiversity by 2030. Each parish will be encouraged to identify parishioners with a passion for gardening as well as local expertise to initially map where wildflowers could be planted. Some parishes already are working on local biodiversity. Killlorglin parish in County Kerry has a biodiversity garden, while a parish in Shankill, County Dublin, won a gold star designation from Eco Congregation Ireland, which provides practical planning for re-wilding for pollinators. The Jesuit parish on Dublin's Gardiner Street has a walled garden that is an oasis for children at the nearby primary school and has built a plastic-covered polytunnel as "an outdoor classroom" for them. In Clane Parish in Kildare, more than 1,300 trees have been planted over 10 years as each child baptized and every couple that marry are gifted a native Irish tree.
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