Waterways Ireland | Learning Zone

Education updates on Waterways Irelands social media

Over the last six weeks, Waterways Irelands education team have been busy sharing educational resources across our social media. Through doing this we hope to help people who have suddenly found themselves thrown into the role of teaching. All the resources contain curriculum links to help with lesson planning. Follow the updates online and keep your kids busy, by teaching them all about nature and the great outdoors- good for reducing your stress levels too! Follow the updates on social media at: WI Facebook

Waterways Ireland features on RTÉ Home School hub!

Waterways Ireland Education team are delighted to be featured on the RTÉ Home School Hub website:https://bit.ly/3aNUf1q. RTÉ home school hub is designed to help parents who have been thrown into the role of teaching, showcasing various resources which have curriculum links for children in 1^st- 6^th class. Waterways Irelands education resources can be found under 3^rd & 4^th class- Geography. Here you will find a range of fun and interactive activities and resources which highlight the biodiversity and history of the Waterways of Ireland and are sure to keep your kids busy and entertained by bringing the great outdoors to life!

Engineers Week 2020

Our hugely popular Engineers Week events ran during the first week of March with a series of activities taking place across the waterways. Engineering teams led the activities on the Barrow Line of the Grand Canal, the Erne, the North Shannon, the Lower Bann and the Barrow. From lock gate construction and replacement, lifting bridges to aqueducts and lock operation, interactive presentations to hands on engineering based workshops…. There was something for everybody!

These activities allow students to discover the world of engineering and to participate in hands-on activities showcasing the skills and expertise required in this field and hopefully inspire the next generation. We were delighted to support the event again this year with Engineers Ireland @engineersireland #EngineersWeek #STEPS

NI Science Festival 2020

Northern Ireland Science Festival 2020 runs from the 13^th- 23^rd February. Waterways Ireland was delighted to be part of the event once again this year! Schools took part in our 'Waterways Wildlife Wonders' workshops at our HQ in Enniskillen and at the Lock Keepers Cottage in Toome. We teamed up with Educational ecologist Billy Flynn, Source to Tap and the RSPB to deliver the workshops, which explored some of the living things found in and along Lough Erne and the Toome Canal. The focus of the workshops was discovery, with groups working together to identify some aquatic creatures, learn to identify some plants and trees and get familiar with some birdsongs and calls. Check out the Northern Ireland Science Festival website https://www.nisciencefestival.com/event.php?e=75 to find out more about the event!

Celebrating Science Week 2019!

Science Week 2019 – took place 10^th – 16^th November 2019. Our Education team partnered with Midland Science Festival and the Irish Peatland Conservation Council to deliver a series of biodiversity workshops as part of Science Week. The workshops were rolled out to 166 primary school children form 5 midlands schools in conjunction with Portlaoise and Edenderry Libraries. This event introduced science and the world around us in an informative but also fun and interesting way. Students had the opportunity to learn and discuss the journey rivers take from source to sea and compare this with the man-made structure of the Grand Canal. As these two features within the Irish landscape pass through our towns and villages the workshops then turned its focus on the variety of wildlife that call these waterbodies their home. The young people taking part had an opportunity to experience life from beneath the water surface with a live freshwater invertebrate identification session. The event provided a great example of how WI strives to be actively engaged in the communities where we operate while promoting the importance of science education to local young people.

Bugs & Beasties Halloween Workshop 2019!!

Waterways Ireland along with Source to Tap hosted our "Bugs and Beasties" Halloween workshops at our HQ in Enniskillen last week.

The workshops brought to life the vast array of species which can be found along our waterways from animals and plants to mini-beasts. Six schools from Fermanagh took part in the workshops on Thursday 24^th & Friday 25^th October last. Each group learned about the importance of biodiversity and fully functioning ecosystems and discussed the relationships between organisms within food webs. The schools children also got the opportunity to get hands on with a pond dipping exercise and were challenged to identify the various species they found! Feedback from schools who took part in the workshops has been very positive. Both students and teachers were full of questions and eager to impart their local knowledge about their local waterway.

Happy Halloween everybody!

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