Education Programmes

Education and learning for all, is at the very heart of the Global Geopark ethos with hundreds of students from pre-school to university taking part in our education and learning opportunities annually.    

Our education programmes are delivered at a number of ‘Outdoor Classrooms’ at sites across the UNESCO Global Geopark area. We also deliver some of our programmes within the grounds of schools and universities, when suitable, and classes are delivered by experienced members of the Global Geopark Education team. Students experience a variety of indoor and outdoor activities, and we are always striving to work alongside teachers and curriculums, in order to ensure students are receiving the best support, education and learning that they can.   Resources are provided to accompany each programme and all programmes are regularly risk assessed.    

Our exciting new programme of outdoor learning and fieldwork opportunities are currently being developed however, the following opportunities are currently available, and when needed, programmes can be delivered within the Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland curriculums.

Preschool/Early Childhood (Under 4 years old)

Primary (4-12 years old) our programme offers sessions to cover the following subject areas:

Earth Sciences: Learn about the earth-shattering topics of Volcanoes, earthquakes, and meteorites! Look deep into the earth to discover what it’s made from and what is happening beneath your feet.

Marvellous Mammals: Get up close with our taxidermy collection to meet some marvellous Geopark Mammals, hunt for signs of wildlife, play the food chain game and more!

World Poetry day workshop: An interactive outdoor poetry workshop along with Nature arts and crafts at one of two wonderous Geopark sites: Cavan Burren Park and Killykeen Nature Reserve!  Pupils will have the chance to take a guided walk to gain inspiration and collect materials for their art and poetry.

Magnificent Minibeasts: Zoom in on a miniature world with a bug hunt in these beautiful woodland habitats. Pupils will use our specialist equipment to hunt minibeasts, and learn to identify them using ID charts.

Earth Science Teacher training courses have previously been  offered for primary school teachers, most recently as part of the Drifting Apart Programme, with minimal cost to the participant. Please contact info@cuilcaghlakelands.org if you would be interested in attending training like this in future.

Post Primary (12–18 years old) Programmes cover the following subject areas:

Biodiversity, Sustainability, Tourism, Geology/Earth Sciences, Heritage and Eco-schools/Green schools initiatives.

Earth Science Field Guides are available for Leaving Certificate and AS/A2 (16–18 year olds) level Geography teachers.

These are self-led study guides with information on Geopark sites to visit along with teacher notes, and student worksheets for each location. Earth Science Teacher training courses are also offered for secondary school teachers with minimal cost to the participant.

Further Education & Lifelong Learning (18+ years old) opportunities exist in the following subject areas:

Biodiversity, Sustainability, Tourism, Geology/Earth Sciences and Heritage.

If you are interested in booking a Guided educational experience at one of our sites or a visit to your school, please email us at info@cuilcaghlakelands.org

A diverse and exciting engagement programme of activities and events for all ages is offered by the Geopark throughout the year.

For more information, please visit the Events section of our website.