Photo Credit: Keith Currams<\/p>\n
R\u00e9alt<\/span> na<\/span> Mara National School <\/span>takes part <\/span>with <\/span>Coastwatch<\/span> Europe<\/span> in citizen led transfer of <\/span>knowledge<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n Portalis recently held our first citizen science workshop for the project to date at Booley Bay in County Wexford, a key coastal visitor destination heritage and biodiversity site. School children from R\u00e9alt na Mara National School, Dunmore East joined Coastwatch Europe and Trinity College Dublin students where they were treated to an active day learning about how to protect their natural and cultural coastal heritage and its natural habitats and wildlife.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Comeragh Coaches facilitated transport to the venue where they were introduced by the Portalis Film\u00a0 Supervisor Dr. Moira Sweeney to our Coastwatch experts. Coastwatch facilitated a guided workshop about\u00a0 the unique biodiversity features of the Waterford Estuary and particularly the Honeycomb Reef features at Booley Bay.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Exploring local sea life<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Classes divided into two to survey the outgoing tide and returned afterwards with their findings. Following lunch, the two groups set out to explore the local sea life and seashells present in the area, and learned about stream quality and freshwater ecology.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n All groups gathered for the final activity of the day to investigate the best honeycomb outcrops and to carry out some more detailed reef exploration and measure work around low tide. <\/span>This completed the day, with the school returning to Dunmore East while Coastwatch and the Portalis film crew, working with Nemeton TV, filming the event, continued onto Hook Head lighthouse to capture some unique footage of this spectacular heritage site to include in the Portalis film documentary and film archive.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n