'Knights Blossom" Garden brightens up grounds of Navan day care centre

Clients of the adult day unit for people with intellectual disabilities at the An Draighnean facility in Navan have been enjoying over the past month or so the new sensory garden which has been provided by the Knights of St Columbanus and some local business sponsors. What was not so long ago just an area of unused grassland has been transformed into the 'Knights Blossom Garden" with paths, benches, shrubs, pergolas, a gazebo and seating area and a sunken garden for the 25 clients of An Castan unit to enjoy and relax in. There is also a small vegetable and fruit garden where they grow their own produce for cooking and baking. 'We have 25 people attending the unit,' Theresa Harrington, the director, explains. 'And we provide different day programmes. One of these is gardening and growing vegetables, and we were doing this on a very small level, and had been fundraising for a sensory garden for about three years.' However, Theresa said, they could never get enough money together to get the garden project underway, and one of the members of the Parents and Friends Association, Margaret Lawlor, decided to write to the local Navan branch of the Knights of St Columbanus, who fund charity projects, seeking funding. 'We couldn"t believe it when they agreed to fund the project,' Theresa said. Work began around Easter and in six weeks the old lawn area represented a Chelsea garden. A lot of the original trees and hedgerows were maintained in the new design, but a lot of scrub and waste had to be removed from the back of the site. The garden was designed by Sean Boyle and Associates and Dave Heffernan Landscapes, and Heffernans also completed the installation work. The cobble locking for the paths was sponsored by Kilsaran Concrete. The paths are wide enough to accommodate wheelchairs meeting. The Parents and Friends donated extra garden furniture and pots, and the Knights are helping to maintain it for the first year. 'We were looking for something which the clients would be able to walk about every day,' Theresa explains. 'Because it isn"t every day we can bring everyone on trips away.' She says that as well as enjoying and relaxing in the gardens, the clients also like to grow vegetables and fruit in the smaller garden. They have also planted pots and weed out the vegetables. 'It all offers relaxation and therapy,' she explains. A garden party is planned for this week. Bill Bourke, a member of the Knights, said that they were approached by Margaret Lawlor, and were only too delighted to help. 'We had supported a number of voluntary projects over the years and we realised how important this facility was to those who come to the unit and centre.' His colleague Liam Smith said that the Knights were celebrating their 80th anniversary this year and wanted to do something special to commemorate the landmark date. The garden was officially opened last month and blessed by Fr MV Daly, chaplain to the Knights, who attended along with clients, parents, friends and staff. An Castan also provides services such as a hydrotherapy pool for clients, as well as aromatherapy, massage, physiotherapy and gym facilities, and a special 'snoozelum" room where clients can relax, and a day room for daily activities. It is part of the An Draighnean facility opened by then Taoiseach, John Bruton, in April 1997. Other organisations that have received financial assistance from the Knights of St Columbanus, Navan over the past year include Gorta, Concern, Mercy Sisters Mission to Zambia, Clann Mor House, Aisling Drug Awareness Group, Young Priests" Association, Navan Women"s Refuge, Society of St Vincent de Paul, Lourdes Invalid Fund, Navan River Rescue, St Oliver"s Respite and Residential Care Unit, St Mary"s Church of Ireland, Bothar, Guide Dogs for the Blind, Meath Alzheimer"s Association, Meals on Wheels, Scoil Mhuire Autistic Support Group, Navan Mental Health Association, Chernobyl Children"s Fund, and the Ratoath Independent Living Project.