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We are Ireland's biodiversity education organisation for young people. Our aim is to empower the next generation to help nature by giving them the support they need.
This is important for two reasons. Firstly, to nurture the mental and physical wellbeing of our young people through outdoor learning. Secondly, to rewild the next generation through improved eco-literacy and their involvement in hands-on nature projects. We're about creating real, lasting impact and work with Ireland's leading businesses, charities and public bodies to deliver this. Uniquely, our campaigns cover the whole island of Ireland, north and south, and are fully inclusive across the entire education system including pre-school, primary, secondary and homeschool. Education is our core function and we have assembled a superb team of specialists - including Ireland's first ever Biodiversity Education Officer network launched in 2021. Additionally, as Ireland's largest provider of outdoor learning resources we provide everything needed, from teaching kits to workshops, school gardens to outdoor classrooms. We also coordinate the Nature Hero Award, the national mark of excellence in outdoor education since 2022. As an independent, innovative, highly effective social enterprise we work to our own remit while reinvesting our profits to rewild land across Ireland. We created this initiative as we felt the best way to ensure a more nature-positive future for Ireland was to engage with the next generation. While there is outstanding work being done in Irish schools especially through the Green Schools programme, time pressures often push nature to the bottom of the pile. We aim to make it easy as possible for schools to engage children with this important topic and counteract the 'nature deficit' by providing everything needed to achieve this goal. |
what if our schools
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Schools
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Educators
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Young People
Creating a school nature reserve network of...
ACRES
or over
Croke Parks
The pressures we are putting on nature are extraordinary and the losses to date are a very sad reflection on our society. Sadly, since 1970 over half of the earth’s wildlife populations have been lost; 68% of all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians and fish are now gone. In recognition of this, in May 2019 the Irish government declared a Biodiversity and Climate Change Emergency. Unfortunately Ireland has had an extremely poor record of biodiversity conservation for decades, ranking 228th of 240 countries for biodiversity intactness. Similarly, nature education on a national level has remained under-developed. It is our ambition to encourage and provide nature education that the children of Ireland deserve and that we as a country can be proud of on an international level.
It is a tough task ahead but young people across Ireland and the world are a beacon of hope as they continue to take to the streets in protest, standing up for the environment.
We can't stress enough how urgent the problem is. We all need to do our absolute best every day to stop biodiversity loss or future generations will pay the price, as David Attenborough so concisely and accurately points out:
It is a tough task ahead but young people across Ireland and the world are a beacon of hope as they continue to take to the streets in protest, standing up for the environment.
We can't stress enough how urgent the problem is. We all need to do our absolute best every day to stop biodiversity loss or future generations will pay the price, as David Attenborough so concisely and accurately points out:
"Right now, we're facing a man-made disaster of global scale... If we don't take action, the collapse of our civilizations and the extinction of much of the natural world is on the horizon."
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References
Department of Education and Skills (2019) Key Statistics IPCC (2018) Special Report Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C Irish Times (2018) David Attenborough: Mass extinction is ‘on the horizon’. Population Reference Bureau (2016) World Population Data Sheet World Wildlife Fund (2017) Deforestation World Wildlife Fund (2018) Living Planet Report World Wildlife Fund (2020) Living Planet Report |
How are we funded?
We do not receive any annual, state, core-funding. Instead, as a social enterprise we sustain our organisation entirely through providing high quality, innovative products and services to schools, public bodies and businesses. We thank them sincerely for their support. Without them, we would not exist. All our profits are reinvested into 'Biodiversity in Schools' to ensure we do absolutely everything we can to stop the biodiversity crisis. |
