Nursery pupils help nature charity celebrate golden year

The nature conservation charity runs a popular outdoor education programme that includes visits to schools across Northern Ireland and environmental education sessions at the CAFRE Greenmount campus.

The aim is to get children close to nature, learning about their environment and having fun - so they’ll be inspired to help protect the world around them when they grow up.

St Joseph’s pupils rolled up their sleeves on November 24 and got stuck in to making ‘bird cakes’ to celebrate RSPB NI’s 50th birthday.

Their handmade treats will be hung in the playground to attract some feathered friends and was the first step towards St Joseph’s taking part in the RSPB’s Big Schools’ Birdwatch next January. Schools can register now for free at www.rspb.org.uk/schoolswatch.

The scheme is part of Big Garden Birdwatch, which encourages people to spend one hour counting the birds that land in their garden during one weekend. This data helps build up a ‘snapshot’ of how different species are faring across the UK.

For tips on how you can help nature in your patch, head to www.rspb.org.uk/homes.

RSPB NI Youth and Education Manager Jess McVicar said: “It was wonderful to see these three and four year olds doing something for the birds in their nursery school grounds, and loving it! Children have an endless enthusiasm and enjoyment of the natural world and love exploring and learning about nature. The RSPB’s education programme taps in to this, providing age-appropriate activities and curriculum-linked learning.”