Muintir na Tire School Garden Competition

C ork County Council in conjunction with the Irish Coast Guard, RNLI, Water Safety Ireland and a number of other Local Authorities have produced two short films on the dangers of using inflatable toys in open water. The six-minute educational videos, one aimed at primary school children and the other targeting adult audiences, were launched virtually on May 6 th  with students of Ballyvongane Primary School, one of whom featured in the children’s safety video. The key message is  Enjoy the Water Safely  but  Be Safe   by not using inflatables on open water . Mayor of the County of Cork, Cllr Mary Linehan Foley, welcomed the campaign saying, “Many people are simply not aware of the risks associated with using these toys on open water. The film features real life footage from Coast Guard rescues and the eyewitness accounts truly bring home the very real dangers of inflatables. An unprecedented number of rescue callouts were caused by floating toys or devices last Summer. With most people

  We are delighted to host a Water Safety Education Webinar for Primary School Children from 2 nd  to 6 th  class, for safety tips and advice in advance of Summer Holidays! Wednesday 9 th  June, 9:30am  – 10:15am. To secure your place, visit  www.corksports.ie/primary-schools-water-safety-webinar Event Date Wed, 09/06/2021 - 09:30

  The Kids Garden Community is here! The Kids Garden Community is a new FREE online community for  gardeners like you . Teachers using a school garden as a classroom, families growing herbs on a windowsill, Master Gardeners volunteering in an after-school program, community garden organizers creating activities for kids—however you garden with kids, this community is for you! Join the Community The  Kids Garden Community  is your place to ask questions, make connections, access resources, learn from each other, and stay inspired. Together, we will create change for our kids, communities, and the planet. The Kids Garden Community is administered by KidsGardening in collaboration with many organizations and individuals supporting youth gardening in schools, homes, and communities. Join  a growing community of educators, families, and volunteers  bringing the joys of gardening to kids! Thank you to founding partners... and our community partners! 

Cork County Council and the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO) are launching a new water quality & biodiversity video series ‘Source to Sea' on Monday 17 th  May.   The education initiative, developed by Scoil na Mara for primary schools across Cork County, raises awareness of water quality and the biodiversity that depends on it.  The short videos use captivating visuals and wonderful wildlife stories and are accessible and fascinating for all ages.  Over three episodes, Scoil na Mara brings viewers on an exploration of different river, estuarine and coastal biodiversity, highlighting the link between water quality, healthy ecosystems and our own well-being.   The first of the series is available from Monday 17th May on  Scoil na Mara’s YouTube channel , with further videos coming online over the following weeks. All videos and material will be open source.

  National Biodiversity Week is taking place again this year, with events for the whole family to enjoy! The annual  Biodiversity Photographer of the Year competition  is now open for submissions. Send in your photos by May 31st to be in with a chance to win up to €500 in cash prizes!     More info here A huge variety of events will be taking place throughout the whole week, from groups such as Coastwatch, Crann, Forest Friends, Hedgelaying Association of Ireland, Irish Peatlands Conservation Council and more! A  calendar of events will be launched very shortly and keep an eye on  https://biodiversityweek.ie/  to  find something that interests you. Join in the  Backyard Bioblitz on the weekend of the 21st - 23rd . We have wildlife experts on hand to identify your finds! As a bonus, there's also a chance to win a prize from the National Biodiversity Data Centre.        More info here The  Biodiversity Scavenger Hunt is now available to download.  No printer at home? We have free pos

  Body Monday the 17th May will see the launch of a new ‘Source to Sea' water quality & biodiversity video series for primary schools across Cork County. The education initiative, developed by Scoil na Mara on behalf of Cork County Council and the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO), raises awareness of water quality and the biodiversity that depends on it. Developed for primary school learners, the short videos use captivating visuals and wonderful wildlife stories and are accessible and fascinating for all ages. Over three episodes, Scoil na Mara bring viewers on an exploration of different river, estuarine and coastal biodiversity, highlighting the link between water quality, healthy ecosystems and our own well-being. Evoking a sense of wonder for the diversity of wildlife in our local areas, the series introduces viewers to some of our lesser seen animals that are an important part of the web of life in various ecosystems. For school settings, additional resources are

It is with regret that we must announce that in the light of the current Covid 19 pandemic, we will NOT  be running a schools Garden Competition this year. We in Muintir na Tire delayed making a final decision on this for as long as we could while the schools were closed.  We finally took this decision having consulted with our Partners and the schools.  We look forward to running the competition again for 2022 The School Garden Team

  Tell us what you think about entering the competition in 2021 “In the light of the current Covid 19 pandemic, how likely is it that your school will be able to enter the Cork School's Garden Competition in 2021?” Please take our short survey

Cruinniú na nÓg, is Ireland’s national day of free creative activity for children and young people up to 18 years of age.The event provides opportunities for Ireland’s 1.2 million children and young people to be inquisitive and curious, to be inventive and innovative, and to learn a new skill, fulfil a creative ambition or showcase an inner creative talent. This year Cruinniú na nÓg will take place on Saturday 12th June.  Cork County Library and Arts Service will be responsible for programming events and activities for this year’s celebration of young people’s creativity. Cruinniú na nÓg addresses a wide range of themes including all art forms, heritage, craft, coding, climate change, and design. This year due to uncertainty over the lockdown measures that may be in place in June it is anticipated taking a blended/hybrid approach of online and live in-person programming that will comply with whatever social distancing measures will be in place. Artists and arts organisations are invite

Be in with a chance to win some great prizes for your school. Get the details below. We are looking for the most creative, enthusiastic and road safety aware students in Ireland to show us, and others, how to cross the road safely! We are inviting Primary School students across the country to take part in our Safe Cross Code Dance Competition. Jack and Annie love making sure that their friends know how to stay safe on our roads and the Safe Cross Code dance is a fun way to learn how to cross the road safely. Last year, schools from all across the country created dance routines for the Safe Cross Code Dance Competition. Against some tough competition, Castletown Girls School in Dublin, Co. Louth were our English category winners and Scoil Mologa in Dublin. were our Irish category winners. See their videos  here . So, we want students to show us that they know the Code by performing the Safe Cross Code dance routine in English or Irish and sending us a video of their class doing the rout

  2021 has been a particularly difficult year for Primary Schools in Cork City and County. We are conducting a poll asking schools to help us decide on whether the competition should go ahead this year. Please take a minute to help us with this. The competition  will take place virtually. Will your school Enter this year ? Please complete our Survey.  It will take less take a minute. https://us4.list-manage.com/survey?u=55db8019ad340f2990dc4fc07&id=90ef0133c2&e=*|UNIQID|*

 Community Classrooms What Is Community Classrooms? Supported by the Tomar Trust, our Community Classrooms campaign aims to establish, support and fund a network of 30 community gardens around Ireland over the next three years (2020-2023) that directly engage with primary schools and provide outdoor, living classrooms for pupils, staff and community members. What Will Each Community Classroom Receive? Development fund of €3,500 to build and run a Community Classroom as a partnership between a community group and a primary school School garden growing plan and associated curriculum resources Applications Will Open Again In Spring 2021 Who Can Apply? The Community Classrooms campaign is open to partnerships between local community groups and local primary schools who have access to a new, developing or established community/school garden. The community group/primary school partnership must meet the following criteria: If You Are A Community Group: Have a community garden, or allocated sp

 

  Return to School Plan confirmed The Government has announced the plan for a phased return to school as follows:   1st March  - Junior & Senior Infants, 1st & 2nd Class and  Leaving Cert students return to school   15th March  - Target date for 3rd, 4th, 5th & 6th class primary students and 5th year secondary students to return to school   12th April  - Target date for remaining secondary students - 1st, 2nd, 3rd & 4th years to return to school Statement below from Department of Education Minister for Education Norma Foley TD and Minister of State Josepha Madigan TD today welcomed the Government decision for the next phases of return to in-school provision for students at both primary and post-primary level. Building on the return to school in recent weeks of children in special schools and in special classes at primary and post-primary level, the Government has decided on a phased return of students to in-school education. These further phases have been developed in c

  Growing Indoors A windowsill indoors is a great substitute for a greenhouse/polytunnel, and is an ideal location for raising seedlings. It also has the added benefit that you can't help but notice when your plants need attention! Most herbs will do very well indoors in small containers and it's ideal to have them so close to the kitchen. Raise from seed and pot up, or buy small plants. Try parsley, thyme, mint, lemon balm, sage and basil. Try growing sprouting seeds such as mustard, chickpeas and fenugreek – they make an excellent addition to salads or a great, healthy snack for a train journey! Peppers (chilli and sweet) are compact little plants and like heat and light and so will do very well indoors. Dwarf varieties of vegetables are ideal for growing indoors or in any small space. For example grow dwarf French beans instead of regular French beans. Tiny Tim is a miniature variety of cherry tomato that will do well in a 6-inch pot. There are excellent dwarf varieties of p

Lockdown is here once again, let's turn our efforts to something positive - food growing! You can still grow food indoors and here we tell you how to do it. Growing In Containers At GIY we want to finally knock on the head the notion that you can't grow vegetables if you don't have a large garden. With a little bit of imagination, GIYers can grow lots of great vegetables on decks, patios, terraces, flat roofs, balconies, conservatories, or even on a kitchen shelf or windowsill.  Clearly you won't be able to grow as much as you would in a large garden –you probably won't ever become self-sufficient in spuds for example, but does it matter? NO! Anything you can do to break your reliance on the supermarket and produce some of your own food is a wonderful thing! The good news is that you should be able to get a decent crop of most of the vegetables you like to eat and there are plenty of shallow-rooted vegetables, salad crops and herbs that you could become self-suffici

   The History of Pancake Tuesday Yummy crispy pancakes doused in lemon juice and sprinkled with sugar was the ubiquitous lunchtime treat on ‘Pancake Tuesday’ in every Irish home growing up in the 80s. Even now, kids still look forward to eating the greasy and sugary treat and every home has their variations on the ‘perfect’ recipe. But where does this sweet and fatty treat originate from? Shrove Tuesday, or Pancake Tuesday as it is known just about everywhere, is a Christian feast day whose date is determined by Easter, and a day preceded by the first day of Lent (Ash Wednesday). The expression ‘Shrove’ or ‘‘shrive’ means ‘to confess’ and this was a day celebrated in the Middle Ages as a period to confess one's sins and receive redemption before the beginning of Lent. Feast Before Famine As well as penitence, Shrove Tuesday, was a day to eat all your favorite fatty foods before the beginning of the Lenten fast. Up until relatively recently, fatty foods such eggs and dairy were for