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We discovered the caterpiillar two years ago and now with our moth learning we have found the Ruby Tiger Moth for the first time, The wonders of  nature are truly awesome. ,

 “Inch by inch

Row by Row

Gonna make this garden grow

All it takes is a rake and a hoe

And a piece of fertile ground”

And dedicated volunteers young and not so young!

Look at our lettuce, carrots, onions, parsnips. leeks, beetroot and pumpkins!

Helen Mirren said "Gardening is learning, learning, learning. That’s the fun of them. You’re always learning.”– 

Well Done Kilteevan National School/Junior Tidy Towns.  We are learning with you in this woderful outdoor classroom.

Look who we met today in Kilteevan-Garden Tiger Moth Arctica caja).

We continue to learn about our AMAZING BIODIVERSITY and feel we should share our learning. 

This fascinating, brightly coloured moth normally hides its hindwings under the forewings when resting.  We were lucky to get a shot with wings open.

It is a common night flying moth, on the wing in July and August.

The conspicuous patterns and colours on its wings serve as a warning to predators because the moth's body fluids are poisonous. They can also make a rasping noise with their wings to ward off predators.

Larvae feed on herbaceous plants including nettles, dock and various garden plants. Please note the importance of nettles and dock.

The caterpillars sometimes called “woolly bears” are especially fond of raspberry, blackberry, viburnum, honeysuckle and broom.

Kilteevan Tidy Tows is committed to protecting biodiversity .

We are delighted to share two records of this large, dashing, graceful butterfly in Kilteevan.

This butterfly feeds on our wild violets, particularly on the Common Dog-violet. They also feed on Brambles Knapweed, Ragwort, Thistles and Water mint.

 In May and June 2023 construction of the Hen house began.The weather was warm for the entire month of June and this made the job more challenging.

 A  lot of hard work went into clearing the site, setting up the netting, purchasing the house, putting safety and waste procedures in place.

Tying all the cables was hard and little fingerers were very helpful at this tedious job.  The children spent a lot of time thinking  about and deciding on names for the hens. After a very democratic voting process in school -  the final selection was Hazel, Daisy. Egg Nogg and Bingo.  The names were lovingly  hand painted on timber..

 The magnificent hand painted timber sign(pictured below)  was made to hang over the hen house.  There was great excitement and a big welcome  for the when the hens when they arrived to their new home in Kilteevan.. 

Frames  for two raised beds were also installed. These are made from recycled wood. The class grass was donated to us from left over ends..

We can't wait to see what happens next in this amazing  space, Below some imges from the construction by Kilteevan National School/Junior Tidy Towns and Adult Tidy Towns.

 The orchard gifted to us by Casey's Circle K on February 1st  2022 was nursed and cared for by Tidy Towns for one full year.

In February 2023 we finally planted the Orchard. on the site of the new Community Garden/ Outdoor Classroom. There was a lot of hard work planting and  staking the trees . Then we planted bulbs all around the trees. We are all looking forward to this project developing . Below are some photos of  dedicated volunteers making a very valuable cotribution to Kilteevan and planet earth

Huge Congratulations to teachers, pupils, parents, Board of Management and friends of Kilteevan National School/Junior Tidy Towns for this wonderful, hugely relevant initiative. - Kilteevan Community Garden.

Adult Tidy Towns looks forward to continuing our support for this project.which supports the Sustainable Developmenmt Goals.

This project is about biodiversity, climate change, resilience, sustainability, well-being, mental health, nutrition, community and much, much more. How lucky the pupils are to be learning vitally important for skills for life. What a great little place Kilteevan is.

Today we celebrate our flora. The first Spotted Orchid of the year was noted on the Cloonlarge Loop yesterday. Many more will hopefully follow. Yes, we have NATIVE wild orchids here.

This beautiful flower has an amazing design. The colour can range from white and pale pink to purple. Notice the distinctive darker pink spots and stripes on their three-lobed lips. The flowers are densely packed in short, cone-shaped clusters. Perfumed flowers like this are particularly attractive to day-flying moths. Again we see everything in nature is connected.