Explore Nature

Go out & explore nature at night!

'If people sat outside and looked at the stars, I bet they would live a lot differently'

The Milky Way shines brightly over the Celtic Sea at Knockadoon Head in East Cork.

Please feel free to share amongst family and friends.

We at Explore Nature love bees :-)

They may be tiny but bees are crucial to us all. They pollinate much of the food we love and contribute millions to our economy.

Share if you love our bees too!

Good to know

Did you know that Feeding Ducks Bread is actually bad for them.....Its bad for them because the food has little nutritional value and can harm ducklings’ growth, pollute waterways and attract rodents. Ducks should never be fed any products that is moldy as different types of mold can be fatal to waterfowl. There are many other types of food that can be offered to ducks, geese and swans as part of a healthy and nutritious diet. As ducks will eat a great deal of different foods, and the best foods to offer ducks include: Wheat, Barley, Oats, Rice ( Cooked or uncooked ), Birdseed ( Any Type ) Grapes ( Cut in Half), Frozen Peas or Corn, Mealworms, Lettuce ( Chopped up ) and any vegetable trimmings or peels!!

Please sign to save our habitats

Lorna has just completed three amazing radio interviews with Life Fm Cork. These are part of a show on animals and nature. Her pieces focus on Mammals, Invertebrates and Birds! More news on broadcast time for this show soon!

We had a great Easter Weekend running activities at Millstreet Country Park's Easter Family Fun days on Sunday and Monday!Lots of happy chocolate filled children!

Check out Millstreet Country Park's new makeover!

Come visit this wonderful 500 acre site complete with historic replicas such as a Crannog, Fulacht Fiadh and Stone Circle, a diversity of habitats, all levels of scenic walks and serene gardens. Take in their leisure zone, active zone and wilderness zone. You can even rent out a bike for a cycle! Then enjoy a hot cuppa and a sandwich in the cafe. Bliss.

Lorna O'Mahony of 'Explore Nature' takes schools of all levels on nature based school tours and Ecology Trips at Millstreet Country Park. She also coordinates all the fantastic family festivals run in the park over the summer starting with this Easter Sunday and Monday's Easter Fun Days!

Lorna also leads Wildlife and Foraging tours of the park.To book call 021 70810 or email [email protected]

Here's a summary of what we do in Secondary Schools .....

Our ecologists visit your school, bring your students to a local habitat and teach an intensive 4 to 6 hours of practical Ecology field work based on the Leaving Certificate and Junior Certificate Ecology modules.

The fact that you will be starting your Ecology field work from the comfort of your own school means that we can spend a lot more time on the subject, covering more.

including:

An introductory Powerpoint Presentation to the subject of Ecology.

Ecology Fieldwork led by experienced Ecologists in a local habitat with a strong emphasis on local wildlife and current environmental issues. The Fieldwork is comprised of an environmental equipment demonstration, quantitative invertebrate sampling methods and qualitative plant sampling methods.

Results analysis and discussion. Time permitting, the class’s field results are looked at in the classroom and main ecological trends, often those seen in the introductory presentation, are discussed in order to explain our findings. Thus bringing the entire day full circle.

All species recorded on your class’s fieldwork are noted and recorded with National Biodiversity Data Centre, Irish Wildlife Trust and other relevant bodies where necessary. This ensures that your field trip is furthering Ireland’s scientific knowledge and conservation efforts in a very real way.

A short ecological report on visited sites are made for schools on request at no added cost!

To book or for further details call 085 805 99 64 or email [email protected]

Explore Nature, Twittering away . . . https://twitter.com/ExpNature

Explore Nature is now on Yelp! http://www.yelp.ie/biz/explore-nature-cork

Explore Nature Educational Services in Cork

Lorna O'Mahony, co owner of Explore Nature has launched a new Education Pack for primary schools as a member of Irish Wildlife Trust Cork Branch and in conjuntion with Cork City Council recreations.

The pack focuses on a site in Cork city south called Beaumont Quarry. It is an abandoned quarry that acts as a refugia for flora and fauna within the city limits. Some schools use it for nature activities already. This site is currently getting a bit of TLC with Irish Wildlife Trust Cork Branch and Cork City Council banding together to clean it up and make it a place where children and adults can come to learn about nature and the environment.

Not only will this education pack promote awareness of the flora and fauna of the local area, something we at Explore Nature are passionate about, but it's content is so versitile that it can be used as an excellent basis for indoor and outdoor activities for almost all habitat in Ireland. Certainly, the pack that will soon be arriving in schools and has been launch at Beaumont Girls National School, Beaumont, Cork, contains a number of the activities that we ourselves do in Explore Nature. The best part of it . . . .it's completely free! Enjoy schools of Cork City!

Here's a summary of what we do at Explore Nature in Primary Schools. . . .

Primary Schools: we visit them and do lots of outdoor and indoor nature based activities. This can be a one off visit to the school or you can avail of the 'seasons package' where we visit the school four times a year and conduct activities and experiments based on the season.

We try to get out to nearby sites with all schools so that we can create awareness of the local flora and fauna and the wildlife issues that arise in your local habitats.

We are also very happy to tailor the visits to the teachers needs so just give us a call on 085 8059964 or email me at [email protected]