Local school children became eco warriors for a day when they helped pupils of Drumragh Integrated College turn school grounds into a wildlife haven. In partnership with Omagh District Councils ‘Hedgerows Grow West’ project, the action day kick-started Drumagh Integrated Colleges Eco Week.
Throughout the day pupils from Cooley Primary School, St. Connor’s Primary School and St. Patricks Primary School Eskra got stuck in alongside the eco-committee and students from the College to plant a native hedge, build a willow walkway and plant a mini-orchard. Speaking at the event, Teresa Mulligan, chairperson of the eco-committee said, ‘This is a great start to our eco-week and it helps highlight our ongoing campaign to make our school an eco-school.”
Organised by Omagh District Councils biodiversity unit, this interactive day give children the chance to learn about the importance of hedgerows for wildlife and people and to have some fun making willow domes, exploring the waste discovery bus and getting stuck in planting fruit trees, kindly donated by Glenhordial Permaculture Farm. Action for biodiversity around school grounds has direct benefits for wildlife. But it has many more benefits for children as they learn in a new interactive environment and get some physical activity whilst working outdoors.
This action day was supported by the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund and Omagh District Council and assisted by The Conservation Volunteers and An Creagan Visitor Centre. It is part of an ongoing larger campaign to protect and enhance Omagh’s biodiversity called the Omagh Local Biodiversity Action Plan.
