Community Classrooms
Supported by the Tomar Trust, our Community Classrooms campaign aims to establish, support and fund a network of 30 community gardens around Ireland over the next three years (2020-2023) that directly engage with primary schools and provide outdoor, living classrooms for pupils, staff and community members.
What Will Each Community Classroom Receive?
Development fund of €3,500 to build and run a Community Classroom as a partnership between a community group and a primary school
School garden growing plan and associated curriculum resources
Applications Will Open Again In Spring 2021
Who Can Apply?
The Community Classrooms campaign is open to partnerships between local community groups and local primary schools who have access to a new, developing or established community/school garden. The community group/primary school partnership must meet the following criteria:
If You Are A Community Group:
Have a community garden, or allocated space for a new community garden, located less than a 10 minute walk from a primary school
Agree to allocate a minimum of four 1m x 1m raised beds for school use within the community garden
Agree to host a monthly school gardening club at the community garden (run by a teacher, parent or community member)
Agree to fundraise (with the help of the primary school) at least 25% of the funding (€900)
Have suitable Public Liability Insurance
If You Are A Primary School:
Have a school garden, or allocated space for a new school garden, that you agree to share with a local community group
Agree to host a monthly school gardening club at the community garden (run by a teacher, parent or community member)
Agree to fundraise (with the help of the community group) at least 25% of the funding (€900)
Have suitable Public Liability Insurance
We also ask that the community/school garden has, or will use the allocated funding to develop*, the following facilities to create a suitable Community Classroom:
A secure storage space to store equipment
Easy access to a toilet (compost or otherwise)
Access to running water
A wildlife pond and/or a secure area to keep hens
Access to a covered space (shed, prefab, etc.) that can be used as a classroom in bad weather
* If you plan to use the allocated funding to develop facilities, please outline details in your application form
Before You Apply
Before filling in the application form you will need to ensure you have actioned the following:
Secured a suitable area for a community/school garden, if you do not have one established or in development
Liaised with relevant personnel at a local primary school or community group to get the school’s/community group’s commitment to be involved in the Community Classroom initiative, which will last for 12 months
Completed, signed and dated a Letter of Commitment (download a PDF template or Word template) confirming the partnership between the primary school and community group (you will be required to upload this as part of the application process)
Ensured that the school and community group have suitable Public Liability Insurance
Set up and agreed a plan to fundraise at least 25% of the funding (€900)
If necessary, opened a community group or school bank account (no funding will be paid into personal bank accounts)
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