There is a very wise man among us, a practical idealist, and he has just issued a publication which should cheer the heart of everyone interested in the education of their children, everyone interested in gardening, in environment, ecology, call it what you will. In the beauty of the world around us. And yet it is, at the same time, entirely practical. How to plant a native hedgerow. How to make a bird sanctuary. How to deal with pond and marsh habitats and other advice. This comes in a publication Go Wild at School, by Patrick Madden, who teaches at Scoil Treasa, Donore Avenue, Dublin, where he established a wildlife garden in 1985 - you may have seen the school and garden on television - and from which base he has founded the School Wildlife Garden Association to encourage others to do likewise.
This all is more than an effort to foster interest in what used to be called nature study and now is often subsumed under the heading of environmental studies. Paddy Madden, this wise man, this practical idealist, writes that an empathy with the natural world will become a vital part of the childrens' psyches: "they will take nothing for granted either, and will continually probe and ponder. They will have a sense of wonder and mystery about the natural world around them; it will become a vibrant part of their consciousness."
It comes in the format of a magazine, illustrations by Lisa Coss within a lovely cover of a child in a meadow, but it has an excellent advice for many whose school days are long gone. How to make a stone wall habitat; to make a compost heap, and a native hedge. He quotes Wordsworth: "Once again I see/These hedgerows, hardly hedgerows, little lines/of sportive wood run wild.
As to native hedgerow building, he suggests this mixture: about 55% hawthorn, 5% holly, 5% hazel, 10% blackthorn, 5% elderberry. The remainder are climbers; honeysuckle, wild roses, ivy, bramble. And then trees. Take your pick from his book. To be had only from School Wildlife Garden Association, Scoil Treasa Naofa, Donore Avenue, South Circular Road, Dublin 8. Price £6.30 including postage. Phone (01) 454 1899.