Three Mile Water Angling and Conservation Club in association with Newtownabbey Borough Council were joined by children from Hollybank Primary School for a walk in the woods to see just what relies on Monkstown Wood for a home!
The children helped to sow a wild bird plot which is an area of seed rich plants which can help feed our threatened birds and increase the wildlife value of the area. The plot will ripen in the late summer and will attract flocks of birds throughout the winter, ensuring their survival. The aim of this project is to help conserve our bird population and raise awareness to the effects of land use changes in the local area.
The children were then introduced to the huge biodiversity found in our local river. Members from the angling club shared their in-depth knowledge of the river with the children.
Lindsay Matthews, Biodiversity Officer for Newtownabbey Borough Council commented;
“I would like to thank the angling club and Hollybank Primary School for their continued interest in Monkstown Wood. It is of vital importance that school children are introduced to the real environmental issues and are allowed to venture into the great outdoors to investigate what is out there! Environmental issues are fast becoming top of many agendas and I feel it is important to ensure children understand why looking after their local environment is so important. This can only be achieved by taking children out of the classroom and introducing them to the real world.”
This initiative is just of one of many in the borough to promote Newtownabbey’s Local Biodiversity Action Plan “The Future in Our Hands”. To find out more about biodiversity in Newtownabbey contact the council biodiversity officer (Tel: 028 90340069) or see www.newtownabbey.gov.uk.
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