Kildare school wins €5k bursary from SuperValu to improve biodiversity
St Anne's Special School in the Curragh has been announced as one of the ten winners of SuperValu’s Save The Bees €50,000 bursary.
The ten winning schools were announced last month on International Bee Day and each school will receive €5,000 from SuperValu to help improve biodiversity within the school and surrounding areas.
SuperValu’s Save The Bees campaign in partnership with the All-Ireland Pollinator plan saw all 3,241 primary schools in Ireland receive a SuperValu Save the Bees Pollinator Pack so they could create their own bee-friendly garden.
Schools across Ireland completed a Save the Bees School Collection Poster with 300 Save the Bees cards which they picked up in their local SuperValu Store to promote awareness and action. The ten winners of the bursary were chosen at random from over 555 entries to the competition.
School principal of St. Anne's Special School, Pauline Dempsey, said: “We are thrilled to have been selected as one of the winners of SuperValu’s Save The Bees campaign! We are a co-educational school for pupils between the ages of 4 and 18 who have learning disabilities. Many of our students have additional needs such as physical disabilities, sensory impairment, or autistic spectrum disorder.
"Our aim in St Anne’s is to give the children a caring and inspiring academic atmosphere to enable them to achieve their full potential. We are currently in the process of creating a sensory garden for our students, as it would be of great benefit to them. This bursary from SuperValu will be a huge support in the development of the sensory garden. We plan on incorporating water features, bug hotels, musical chimes and furniture in the garden for the students to enjoy. All with the aim of saving our lovely bees but also creating a wonderful resource for our students”
Congratulating St. Anne's Special School Andrew Cross, Cross’s SuperValu Newbridge said: “Huge congratulations to all the students, families and staff at St. Anne's Special School for their tremendous efforts and for winning a share of the €50,000 SuperValu Save The Bees bursary.
"SuperValu want to help local communities, schools and families lead the way in creating an Ireland where pollinators can thrive, and the Save The Bees campaign was about raising awareness to younger generations about the simple steps we can take to make Ireland a habitable ecosystem of bees and protecting our pollinators to help protect our planet.
"Ireland’s bees are facing a very real and current threat and as it stands, nearly one- third of Irish bees are in danger of becoming extinct. The loss of such a substantial portion of our bee population would be catastrophic. More than 75 per cent of our plant species are animal pollinated and bees are important pollinators of Irish produce like strawberries and apples, and they ensure diverse wild plant communities across the countryside that help regulate climate, provide healthy spaces for
recreation, and support other wildlife.
"The collectable cards that schools across the country collected included key facts to educate and provide action for our children and through Save The Bees, SuperValu has helped create over 3,000 refueling spots for busy bees in schools across the country.”
The SuperValu Save the Bees Pollinator Pack was co-created with Dr Una Fitzpatrick, Head of the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and was endorsed by SuperValu TidyTowns.
The SuperValu TidyTowns competition also recognises the value and importance of biodiversity. Nearly half (46 per cent) of all TidyTowns committees say that biodiversity is their main priority area. More than 200 SuperValu TidyTowns committees have engaged with the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan and made their local areas significantly pollinator friendly. In 2021, Buncrana, Co. Donegal won the SuperValu TidyTowns’ All Ireland Pollinator Plan Local Authority Pollinator Award.
For more information on the SuperValu Save the Bees campaign and full list of winners visit: