Issue 185 - Belfast BT6 • BT7 • BT8
OFFICIAL OPENING OF CITY QUAYS GARDENS A vibrant new green urban garden for the city has recently been officially launched at Belfast Harbour as a traditional maritime bottle smashing ceremony was performed at City Quays Gardens.
The £3.5 m investment by Belfast Harbour has created a 2-acre green public space on land which was previously used as a car park between the historic Belfast Harbour Offices and the City Quays office buildings on the River Lagan waterfront. The garden has been built to ‘One Planet Living’ sustainability standards and is another important element in the development of the Maritime Mile. Marked out by a distinctive nest’ sculpture at its entrance, the gardens feature richly planted green spaces with iette, Emma and Bella Ferris with Cllr Matt Garrett, Deputy Chair of BCC People and Communities Committee, launching this year’s Belfast in Bloom Competition.
Young gardeners help launch Belfast in Bloom competition
Staff and pupils from St John the Baptist Primary School are calling on budding gardeners to follow their lead and enter this year’s Belfast in Bloom competition. The school was among the winners of last year’s contest, picking up the prize for Best School Garden (West). Their outdoor space brings pupils, their parents and grandparents together to foster a love of growing, with wildflowers, seasonal planting and vegetables
all on display. The school’s gardening club have also made the garden a home for local wildlife, with bug houses and bee-friendly habitats. Run by Belfast City Council, Belfast in Bloom celebrates the green-fingered efforts and work of local residents, community groups and
businesses across the city. There are individual awards, community awards and prizes for commercial premises, businesses and schools. Visiting the St John the Baptist PS garden, Councillor Matt Garrett, Deputy Chair of Belfast City Council’s People and Communities Committee,
said: “What a brilliant space the children and their teachers have built, creating a place that looks amazing and encourages young people to spend time outdoors, in nature, together with their friends and families.
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seating, extensive tree planting, events lawns with amphitheatre seating and outdoor workspace. The space incorporates an eco-conscious design that will create new habitats for wildlife and enhance biodiversity. Chair of Belfast Harbour Dr Theresa Donaldson and Councillor Ruth Brooks, Chair of Belfast Council’s People and Communities Committee, declared the gardens open at a gathering of Belfast Harbour stakeholders, including port tenants, government, contractors, residents, community groups and businesses.