Trinity College Dublin Transforms College Green Into Wildflower Meadow Following Vote

The front lawns on College Green at Trinity College Dublin will be getting a major makeover following a public vote in favor of native Irish wildflower meadows.

RTÉ reported that the meadow turf lawn will be made up of 25 types of native Irish wildflowers, which should make the area more friendly to insects, especially bees.

The decision was made after an online poll took place earlier this year and received around 14,000 votes, with an estimated 90 percent in favor of replanting the front lawns and turning them into the meadows.

Michele Hallahan, the sustainability advisor at Trinity, admitted she was impressed by the number of people who participated in the poll.

“It’s clear that people are connected to nature. They haven’t forgotten that. They want to see some biodiversity. They want to see some more native landscape around Trinity,” she said

“I think it will be nice and green over the winter, but to see it next year when it’s in full bloom, I think it’s going to be astounding,” she continued.

Meanwhile, John Parnell, the Chair of Trinity College’s grounds and gardens committee, revealed that he felt the meadows would lend more support for a biodiverse area in the center of the city.

"We hope that this will be quite a bright and colorful area with things like Oxeye daisy, and cowslip and wild carrot coming up at different times so there will be a sequence of flowering and that will offer the pollinating insects a menu that goes through the season,” he said.

“Hopefully, it will increase the number of insects that we see in the center of the city,” Parnell added.