Teachers' Resources | Heritage in Schools

Teachers' Resources

Teach your pupils how to build a giant nest, create a butterfly garden or make their own family tree!

The resources provided here have been submitted by Heritage Experts, teachers or prepared by other educational organisations. The resources are both fun and educational and are designed to inspire and develop an appreciation and curiosity about Ireland’s wonderful natural and cultural heritage.

Resources can be searched for under the following categories:

Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science)

Atlas of Mammals in Ireland

Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

The first ever Atlas of Mammals in Ireland 2010-2015 is a landmark publication mapping Ireland’s terrestrial and marine mammals based on almost a quarter of a million records submitted by organisations, researchers, national experts and citizen scientists. There are distribution maps on 72 species with detailed species accounts from 42 leading authorities.

This is a beautifully produced publication with colour photos or illustrations for all species. Every classroom should have one!

Published by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and available to purchase at http://www.biodiversityireland...

Nature Detectives by the Woodland Trust UK

Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science, Geography

Build a giant nest, go on a mini beast safari, interview a tree, be a nature reporter, make mud pies and even investigate animal poo!

Visit the Woodland Trust’s ‘Nature Detective’ website for lots of imaginative things to build, create and discover in the outdoors. Great ideas for kids, but lots of fun for grown-ups too!

Countryside Classroom

Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

Countryside Classroom helps teachers to find resources, places to visit and school support relating to the themes of food, farming and the natural environment. Their site contains a range of quality assured educational content from hundreds of contributors.

Countryside Classroom aims to inspire and enable teachers to use food, farming and the natural environment more often, in and out of the classroom, so that all children have the opportunity to learn about and experience these essential topics.

Organic Gardening for Primary Schools DVD

Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science, Geography

This DVD shows teachers and pupils how to plan, build, develop and maintain a school garden using organic principles. Along with the DVD disc, the pack contains 24 Worksheets/Bileoga Oibre to complement the video as well as a comprehensive document showing the curriculum linkages. The content is in English and in Irish and available free of charge to all Primary Schools.

Available from Bord Bia

Produced by By Kerry Earth Education Project for Bord Bia.

SEED - School Earth Education

Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science, Geography

SEED is a national network of educational centres with many years experience in Primary and Post Primary environmental education, specialising in all aspects of organic school gardening.

SEED's aims are to establish living classrooms in every school to demonstrate that school gardens have unlimited cross curricular potential, particularly tying in with SESE, SPHE, Art, Languages, History and Maths.

Pollinators: Actions to Help Pollinators

Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

You may have heard that our bees and other pollinating insects are in trouble. The good news is that you can help by making your garden pollinator friendly. Every garden, no matter its size, can be a haven for hungry pollinators.

Register your school garden on with the 'Actions for Pollinators'  mapping system to track the build-up of food and shelter for pollinators in your school garden.

Use the mapping system to check out what other gardens in Ireland are doing to help pollinators.

The actions that this website tracks align with a series of pollinator friendly guidelines. For example, the guideline document for Gardens suggests 20 possible actions suitable for any type of garden. You can download the Garden Guideline from the Pollinator Plan’s website:

www.biodiversityireland.ie/pol...

Once you've identified the changes you'd like to make to your school garden register your garden on the mapping system. Instructions on registering and using the mapping system can be downloaded here http://www.biodiversityireland...

Insects of Ireland: A Field Guide

Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

Over 11,000 species of insects occur in Ireland but most are very small and escape notice. Identifying them accurately can be difficult or impossible. This comprehensive compact guide to over 120 of Ireland’s most popular insects includes all Irish species of butterflies, bumblebees, dragonflies, ladybirds, grasshoppers and shield bugs. All are illustrated in colour with clear descriptions enabling accurate identification.

Wildflowers of Ireland: A Personal Record

Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

Here is Zoë's personal record of the wildflowers that adorn Ireland's countryside, presented so those without botanical knowledge can gain a greater understanding of the subject. Passionate about this often-overlooked part of our natural heritage, Zoë embellishes descriptions and photographs of the plants with herbal and literary references and related Irish folklore. She describes over 400 commonly found wildflowers as well as some not so common and even rare species. This book creates a new awareness and wider picture of the world of wildflowers in Ireland.

In presenting this book, Zoë Devlin says: 'Conservation of our wildflowers is of the utmost importance as they are now facing threats on several different sides', and she expresses a hope that 'through education and awareness of the diversity of our wildflowers, perhaps, just perhaps, the tide can be held back a little longer.'

The Wildlflowers of Ireland: A Field Guide

Natural environments (Geography), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

Discover the fascinating world of Ireland’s diverse and astonishing collection of native wildflowers: from insect-eating Sundews to humble Harebells, this lavishly illustrated guide features over 530 of the wildflowers of Ireland with more than 1,200 of the author’s photographs.

For ease of identification, the species are divided into colour categories and within each category the species are grouped by, for example, the number of petals in the flower or whether the species carries its flowers in a cluster or a spike. In easily understood terminology, focus is put on the main identifying features of each plant, by colour, size, shape of flower, leaf, habitat, flowering season, and where in Ireland it might be found.

This is a must for enthusiasts of all ages and experience and a complementary companion to the author’s Wildflowers of Ireland – A Personal Record.

Wildflowers of Ireland

Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

This fabulous website is Zoe Devlin's personal record of the wildflowers of Ireland containing her own photographs of the Irish wildflowers which over the years she has come across and recorded.  A fantastic resource for those wanting to learn about the wildflowers of Ireland.

The wildflowers can be searched by name (English, Latin or Irish); by colour and by flowering period. Zoe includes folklore with regard to many of these wildflowers and any other relevant herbal information, historical or literary allusions.

Identification Guide to Ireland's Grasses

Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Science

A guide to help beginners and intermediates tackle grasses. This attractive field-friendly 164 page guide simplifies grass identification. It is rich in photographs and diagrams and contains both a floristic guide and a vegetative key. It will help you identify up to 100 Irish species. Suitable for teachers or senior classes.

Published by the National Biodiversity Data Centre and available to purchase at http://www.biodiversityireland...