The News
Hurrah, Spring is here! We have some fab February highlights…
The Limerick Bereavement Project is now using Gordon Goes to Greenieland as part of their bereavement services! It is a fantastic group that help children come to terms with parental separation and bereavement.
It was not expected that Gordon Goes to Greenieland would be of such good use to the bereavement services in Ireland but it is a very welcome bonus!
For every ten books we sell we give Barnardos one book for free, so get buying at greenieland.ie.
A big thank you to the kids and staff in Oranmore Boys National School, we had great fun demonstrating our website using their interactive white board.
We are very much looking forward to visiting the kids in Killimor National School.
We hope the Renmore Brownies in Galway enjoy Gordon Goes to Greenieland!
Did you Know?
Our updated Did you Know section went down a treat with the kids in Oranmore Boys National School. Did you know that:
- The planet Mars also has season!
- Some ecosystems are very large and some ecosystems are very small
- A fairy ring is a natural occurring ring of mushrooms
- The word dormouse comes from the French word dormir which means to sleep
Spring is here!
- Prepare your soil for planting—it won’t be long now before you can start growing your own food. Use a fork and spade to break up the soil as much as you can
- If it is your first time trying to grow some home grown food try one or two things. Spuds are good for beginners (especially blight resistant varieties) and can be grown in either containers or in the ground. (Check out potatoe barrels, great if you have limited space and fun too!)
- Think about having a raised bed in your garden if you would like kids to be involved, it is easier to keep contained and can be at whatever height level suits you
- Prune your apple trees and any perennial herbs (e.g. thyme and mint)
Hints and Tips!
- Use beer to clean the leaves of house plants!
- If you are replanting some grass put the grass seeds in the freezer overnight, this will help them germinate
- Dog pee kills your grass! Put one tablespoon twice a day of tomato juice (yes tomato juice) in with your dogs food, this will neutralise the dog pee acid!
- Use orange skins to tempt slugs away from plants
- Put cut flowers into flat lemonade(!) they will last must longer…
- Do the bare your elbow test to see if it’s time to start planting. Dip your elbow in your soil, if it’s too cold for your elbow it’s too cold for your new plants!
Greenie’s Super Duper Juice!
Ingredients
- ½ courgette
- ½ bag spinach
- 3 carrots
- 1 inch of ginger
- 2 small apples
- ½ lemon
- ½ lime
- Wash all ingredients (buy organic if you can)
- Slice everything to suit your juicer (lengthways is generally the easiest)
- Juice the spinach and courgette first
- Juice the apples with ginger (put the ginger on top, makes it easier for the juicer)
- Juice the carrots, lemon and lime (again put the lemon and lime on top of the carrots)
- Give it a good stir. Looks seriously green but will put a spring in your step!
Let’s go garden!
