Galway City's St. Patrick's Primary School Crowned Golden Bee Champion

St Patrick’s Primary School, located in the heart of Galway City, has been named Golden Bee Champion 2025 in this year’s Pollinator Project competition, recognising the school’s outstanding work in supporting pollinators and biodiversity. 

The competition forms part of the nationwide Pollinator Project, delivered in partnership with Biodiversity in Schools and fibre broadband operator, SIRO. The initiative celebrates schools that go above and beyond in creating pollinator-friendly spaces and embedding biodiversity into school life. 

The school stood out to the judging panel with their project, ‘Bee-yond the Bricks,’ which tackled the challenge of supporting pollinators in an urban environment. Their entry showcased a powerful blend of research, creativity and student leadership, transforming their school grounds through pollinator planting, creating over 30 bee nesting sites, installing hydration stations, and involving almost every student in the school in the initiative. 

 

St. Patrick’s Primary School is a mixed primary school located in Galway City Centre on Lombard Street, catering to 231 pupils from Junior Infants to 6th Class, under the leadership of Principal Marian Barrett. The school has a strong focus on fostering a nurturing environment with an emphasis on student well-being and holistic development. The ‘Bee-yond the Bricks’ project was guided by Special Educational Needs Teacher Jarlath Conboy, who has played a key role in supporting and accompanying the students throughout their biodiversity journey. 

The Pollinator Project in 2025 had a record impact. A total of 277 schools took part, with 8,864 students trained as Pollinator Ambassadors through classroom kits. Over 280 schools took the Pollinator Pledge, committing to create or maintain pollinator-friendly habitats. In total, schools pledged 18.5 acres of no-mow meadow, the equivalent of 5 Croke Park pitches, and the project engaged more than 84,000 young people nationwide. 

Announcing the winner, SIRO’s Director of People and Culture, Blanaid O’Regan, said: 

“This year’s Pollinator Project has been truly inspiring in both scale and impact. Seeing schools like St. Patrick’s Primary School in Galway take such creative, science-based action to support pollinators shows just how powerful environmental education can be. We are proud to support an initiative that not only boosts biodiversity but also empowers the next generation to take real climate action.”

 Director of Biodiversity in Schools, Mark Nolan, added:

“This year’s standard was exceptional, but St. Patrick’s stood out for their deep engagement and the innovation behind their work. From bee homes to scientific monitoring, they turned learning into action in such a meaningful way. Their students are a credit to their school and their community and a really positive example of what’s possible when schools prioritise nature.”

 

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