education

Craigavon Borough Council offers a comprehensive environmental education programme as part of our Conservation Department. Our education programme caters for students from primary to university level, per year, and covers issues relating to the environment of Lough Neagh and Oxford Island.
All educational activities are facilitated by our knowledgeable and enthusiastic interpretive team with the aim of raising awareness and enjoyment of the local countryside and wildlife. Our activities include:
• A full range of curriculum based educational activities.
• Group visits for walks, talks and other activities by prior arrangement.
• Double or split visits to Craigavon Museum based on site at Oxford Island.
• A wide ranging outreach programme over winter months to supplement visits to Oxford
Island.
Our emphasis is on seasonality, looking at the characteristics of the various habitats at specific times of the year. Many topics can be studied throughout the year; however, others are best suited to particular seasons, when certain plants and animals can be seen. Each activity chosen will take approximately forty five minutes.
For a winter alternative we offer an outreach programme with school visits on topics including woodland habitats and pollution and recycling. Outreach visits can be followed up in the spring and summer with a visit to Oxford Island.

KEY STAGES :

Key Stage 1 & 2:

Fresh water life, fresh water invertebrates, woodlands, minibeasts, birds and nature games.

Key Stage 3 & 4:

Lough Neagh ecosystems, habitats of Lough Neagh and Oxford Island, sampling techniques e.g. vegetation surveys, birds and map reading.

Oxford Island is located on the shores of Lough Neagh; take the Lurgan exit, Junction 10, off the M1. Owned and managed by Craigavon Borough Council the area is a designated Nature Reserve due to its wide variety of habitats such as reed beds, open water, wildlife ponds and wildflower meadows. Opened in 1993 Lough Neagh Discovery Centre is the perfect starting point for any visit to Oxford Island or Lough Neagh.
Alongside our education team the centre offers:
• The Loughside café − Home cooking and wonderful views of the Lough
• A Tourist Information Centre
• An excellent gift and craft shop
• Staff with expert knowledge on the Reserve’s and Lough’ wildlife to help make the most of your visit. Meeting rooms ideal for courses and conferences.

PROGRAMMES AVAILABLE :

WOODLANDS: Key Stages: 1 & 2

Available throughout the year with plenty to see and do in every season:
• Woodland habitats
• History of native woodland and the uses of trees
• Tree types (deciduous/conifer, native/ non-native)
• Tree identification
• Simple measuring techniques for trees
• Woodland games, crafts and sensory activities

AUTUMN/ WINTER (September − February)
• Seed dispersal, nuts and berries
• Looking at leaves
• Bark and buds
• Woodland nutrient cycle/ fungi

SPRING/ SUMMER (March - June)
• Plants of the woodland floor/ spring flowers
• Signs of spring in the woodland

BIRDS: Key Stages: 1 & 2

• Identification and observation of birds in their natural habitat
• Migration − our summer and winter visitors
• Adaptation
• Feeding and behavior

AUTUMN /WINTER (September − February)
• Winter migrants
• How to care for birds in winter

SPRING/ SUMMER (March − June) • Summer migrants
• Bird song
• Nesting birds
• Summer plumage
• Birds and their young (June)

MINIBEASTS: Key Stages: 1 & 2

AUTUMN: (September & October)
• Safari in the woodland for terrestrial minibeasts
• Identification, classification and recording of different species of minibeasts
• Predator / prey relationships and food chains
• Life cycles
• The Lough Neagh fly and its life cycle
• The importance of minibeasts as nature’s recyclers

SPRING / SUMMER (March - June)
• As above

FRESHWATER LIFE: Key Stages: 1 & 2

SPRING/ SUMMER (March - June)
• The importance of freshwater to animals and people
• Freshwater invertebrates − identification, life cycles and adoption to life in water
• Breathing, moving and feeding
• Fish
• Pollution
*A study of freshwater life involves a pond dipping session in one of our wildlife ponds.

GRASSLANDS: Key Stages: 1 & 2

SUMMER (May and June)
• Butterflies − their life cycles, identification and habitat needs
• Meadow flowers − identification, parts of a flower, life cycles and folklore

OTHER ACTIVITIES: Key Stages: 1 & 2

• Nature awareness games are very popular with younger children. The games are fun but also educational reinforcing some of the topics covered during the visit.
• The use of plans and photographs introduces children to simple map reading skills and fits in well with the geography curriculum.

LOUGH NEAGH ECOSYSTEMS: Key Stages 3 & 4

• Water sampling
• Pond habitats − freshwater food webs, freshwater ecosystems and pollution

HABITATS OF LOUGH NEAGH AND OXFORD ISLAND: Key Stages 3 & 4

• Woodlands
• Grasslands
• Freshwater
• Mans influence on the ecosystem of Lough Neagh

SAMPLING TECHNIQUES: Key Stages 3 & 4

• Vegetation surveys − reed beds, primary and secondary succession and human interference
• Birds − migration, identification, adaptation and behavior
• Sampling invertebrates using pitfall traps plus other pieces of equipment

OUTREACH PROGRAMMES: Key stages 1 & 2

Available October to March
• Trees/ Woodlands − tree identification, comparing native and non-native, parts of a tree and their functions. Can also be tied in with tree planting in the school grounds.
• Hedgerows − History of hedgerows, the reason for their loss and why they are important to the countryside.
• Garden Birds − Identification from appearance and song and advice on how to help birds.
• Minibeasts − Different types of minibeasts and their importance to our world.
• Wildflowers and Butterflies − Lifecycles, parts of a flower, flowers as food for insects and butterflies and colour observation.
• Mammals − Adaptation, habitats, predator/prey relationships, tracks and signs, endangered and extinct species, history of mammals in Ireland, hibernation and winter survival.
• Wildlife, Habitats and Biodiversity − Habitat threats, loss of wildlife and how to encourage their return. Ecosystems and how all living things are interconnected and interdependent.
• Save our Bogs − Peatland formation, their importance to plants and animals and the history of the uses of peat. The threats to these habitats and action needed to safeguard their survival.
• Recycling, Energy Use and Pollution − Impact of litter on wildlife and people, why and what we should recycle and what happens to the environment when we use energy.
• The Vikings − January to March only − Introduction to Vikings, their time on Lough Neagh and a practical workshop for children to get into the character of the Vikings.

Canals − this talk is only available at Moneypenny’s Lockhouse − The abandonment and subsequent restoration and reopening of the canal’s and their potential for leisure activities, rural and urban regeneration and as a habitat for wild plant biodiversity. (Remove and change to) − The history of canal’s in Northern Ireland, the importance of their closure, the habitat they provide for wildlife and their potential for the leisure industry.

www.oxfordisland.com
Tel: 028 3832 2205
Fax: 028 38 311699
E-mail: oxfordisland@craigavon.gov.uk

Geography Science