SEA School - Science.Ecology.Art

15/08/2026

Learn to See Through a Charcoal Lens 🔍

Drop in. Mess around. Drift out.

Youth Ecology Art invites 13–17 year olds to experience artist Jen Castle’s amazing practice through collaborator Tasneem Khan, who leads our programme at Butler Gallery.

The group will meet at Butler Gallery, then walk together to Jen’s solo exhibition at Mayfair Library—reading the landscape ecologically along the way. 🌿

Jen will share insights into her creative process, followed by a hands-on charcoal drawing workshop inspired by the work on display. 🎨

Free • Ages 13–17 • Saturday 12th September • 2.00–4.00pm

Register now: https://www.butlergallery.ie/whats-on/yea-through-the-charcoal-lens

14/08/2026

Learn to See Through a Charcoal Lens 🔍

Join us for the next Youth Ecology Art session! 🎨

Drop in. Mess around. Drift out.

Youth Ecology Art invites 13–17 year olds to experience artist Jen Castle’s practice through her collaborator Tasneem Khan, who leads our programme at Butler Gallery.

The group will meet at Butler Gallery, then walk together to Jen’s solo exhibition at Mayfair Library—reading the landscape ecologically along the way.

Jen will share insights into her creative process, followed by a hands-on charcoal drawing workshop inspired by the work on display.

Free • Ages 13–17 • Saturday 12th September • 2.00–4.00pm

Register now: https://www.butlergallery.ie/whats-on/yea-through-the-charcoal-lens

11/08/2026

03/08/2026

Somewhere between the Blaskets and Annascaul, you begin to understand that landscapes are conversations between stone and storm, ice and ocean, deep time and today’s weather.

Off the Di**le Peninsula, the Great Blasket rises from the Atlantic like the spine of an ancient creature, its jagged ridges like dragon scales breaking the sea. Yet these cliffs began as grains of sand, carried by braided rivers across an equatorial landscape almost 400 million years ago, before being folded, lifted and endlessly sculpted by wind and waves.

In the weathered mountains on the same peninsula- at Annascaul Lake, the story shifts. The soft green slopes and ribbons of grey scree bear the signature of ice. Glaciers—only yesterday in geological time—carved these valleys, leaving the lake cradled among mountains that have witnessed continents drift and oceans harden.

Perhaps that’s why this corner of Kerry feels so alive. Every wave, every raindrop, the persistent Atlantic wind is still writing the story.

01/08/2026

SAVE THE DATES 🔬🧫🎨

Drop in. Mess around. Drift out.

Youth Ecology Art is back at Butler Gallery with three Saturday sessions for curious 13–17 year olds.

This autumn:

September — Learn to See
Through a Charcoal Lens

October — Learn to Imagine
Samhain: Ecologies of the In-Between

November — Learn to Shape
New creative collaboration (details coming soon)

No experience needed. No pressure. Just a chance to explore ecology through art, meet inspiring artists, make things, ask questions, and see the world a little differently. 🔍

Come to one, or better still, come to all three and join the Youth Ecology Art community.

Free • Ages 13–17

Registration opens next week. Watch the Butler Gallery website and Youth Ecology Art page for updates.

CreativeYouth KilkennyArts YoungArtists

01/08/2026

Today is International MPA Day🌊

A Marine Protected Area is a legally designated maritime zone for the long-term conservation of marine life and habitats.

Currently, Ireland has over 160 sites designated as Special Protection Areas and Special Areas of Conservation with marine interests, including North Bull Island, the Mid-Clare Coast, Clonakilty Bay, and Ballyteigue Burrow. These cover approximately 9% of our ocean territory.

Ireland has committed to protecting 30% of its seas by 2030. The new MPA Bill 2026 will provide the legal basis to achieve this.

In April 2024, Ireland designated its first ever Marine National Park—Páirc Náisiúnta na Mara, Ciarraí. Spanning over 70,000 acres of land and sea across the Kerry coastline, it includes the Conor Pass, Inch Dunes, the Blasket Islands, and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Sceilg Mhichíl (Skellig Michael). National park status provides the highest level of protection a state can offer for biodiversity and heritage.

Public engagement is vital. Stay informed, follow organisations working for ocean protection, speak to your local TDs, get involved in local initiatives, and share the message.

Ireland’s ocean is a national treasure. Together, we can protect it for generations to come. 💙

31/07/2026

Join us for an online, interactive session with Sarah Prosser & Tasneem Khan.

We’re building a shared map of Ireland’s bioregions — and this is where it begins.

• Bring a story from your place
• Share your lens — land, water, culture, people, more
• No experience needed

Come with inspiration, ideas, questions.

Let’s map Ireland together — all layers, all stories, all of us.

Can’t make it live? You can still take part.

Register here: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/bioregioningireland/2326368

30/07/2026

Join us for an online, interactive session with Sarah Prosser & Tasneem Khan.

We’re building a shared map of Ireland’s bioregions — and this is where it begins.

• Bring an idea, story, expert lens
• Share your lens — land, water, history, flora, fauna, agriculture, culture, people, more

• No experience needed

Come with inspiration, ideas, questions.

Let’s map Ireland together — all layers, all stories, all of us.

Can’t make it live? You can still take part.

Registration Link in stories - or message us for more information

28/07/2026

It’s SHARK WEEK! 🦈

They glide through our waters like ancient ships, mouths open wide, filtering the sea for plankton. The basking shark — Liamhán gréine, sunfish — is Ireland’s ocean giant. The second-largest fish in the world, it can grow up to 12 metres long.

But off our west coast, something remarkable happens. 🌊

Scientists have discovered that the slow-moving circles of basking sharks seen off County Clare are actually a courtship ritual . Up to 23 sharks gather in a rotating ring called a “torus” . They touch fins and bodies, roll to show their bellies, and breach the surface — a slow-motion “speed dating” event.

This makes Irish waters a critical habitat for this endangered species. A place where the great fish of the sun comes to find love.

Swipe to meet one of the ocean’s most mysterious giants.

A special shoutout to Ken O'Sullivan — the Clare-based underwater cameraman and filmmaker who was the first in the world to film and document this basking shark courtship ritual off the Clare coast. His work in documentaries like Ireland’s Deep Atlantic and North Atlantic: The Dark Ocean has brought Ireland’s marine life to screens worldwide.

23/07/2026

Summer Wrecking Prompt 3: Leaf Imprint 🍁

Find a leaf with prominent veins. Place it under your page.

Rub over it with the side of a crayon or pencil. Watch the pattern appear.

Let the leaf speak through your page.

This week: Collect leaf imprints in your journal. See how many different patterns you can find. 📔

Share your leaf imprints with us!