Connecting Minds: The Unity Tree Project – Voices of Banbridge

The Connecting Minds: Unity Tree Project is a T:BUC Shared Education initiative uniting 45 Year 9 students and 12 Sixth Form Camp Leads and Assistant Leads from Banbridge High School, St Patrick’s College Banbridge, and Newbridge Integrated College.

The project uses creativity, mindfulness, environmental symbolism, and gamification-based learning to strengthen good relations between young people from different communities. Its aim is to promote inclusion, respect, and reconciliation through shared learning experiences and positive cross-community collaboration.

Through workshops at Corrymeela and Newbridge Integrated College, students explored identity, allyship, cultural diversity, and problem-solving while building friendships through reflection, movement, and teamwork. The programme’s central theme — the Unity Tree — is inspired by Northern Ireland’s Peace Tree in Antrim, symbolising growth, renewal, and interconnectedness.

Each part of the Unity Tree represents a stage in the young people’s journey:

• Roots of Identity – exploring what grounds and connects us

• Branches of Allyship – supporting and standing up for others

• Leaves of Culture – celebrating diversity and shared heritage

• Fruits of Problem Solving – finding creative solutions together

• Seeds of the Future – planting hope, peace, and unity for generations to come

As part of their learning, students planted seed paper together in Corrymeela’s gardens, symbolising how unity and understanding can grow when nurtured collectively. They also created Unity Tree posters, Unity Badges, and Leaves of Culture messages — including notes of friendship and inclusion that will form part of the Connecting Minds Unity Tree in Miami.

The project culminates in a Mindful Silence for Peace and Unity, a youth-led act of reflection and fundraising where Year 9 students will raise donations to produce and share Unity Badges across the Banbridge community.

Throughout Good Relations Week, students’ reflections and short video messages will feature in the “Voices of Banbridge” social media campaign — amplifying young people’s voices in shaping a shared, peaceful Northern Ireland rooted in understanding, growth, and hope