5th Class Trip to Glendalough
On the 30th of April 2019 our class accompanied by our teachers, Mr O Raoghaill, Ms Murphy and Ms Tomlinson, travelled to Glendalough National Park to learn about bio diversity and to study habitats. During our outing we went on a mountain hike and did an orienteering/treasure hunt while also learning about mammals and wild birds in the amazing education center. While some kids went off sprinting for clues, me Laura and Zoe walked at a moderate pace to them. Slowly but surely wins the race, but not in this case. We came last! But I think we had the most fun. Here is the map we used to navigate through Glendalough.
Written by Lilly and Maya
Our facilitators were David, Elanor and Anne-Marie. They told us about the importance of insects and biodiversity and some facts about Wicklow Mountains. Did you know it's just over 21,000 hectres in size? In our group we had our friends Zoe, Laura, Kian, Emma, Louise, Rebecca, Grace, Ben and Jay. We were a pretty sharp group.
Before we set off for our after-lunch hike, Anne-Marie showed us a HUGE black beetle. Once we got to the shore we got to skip some rocks and our group leader Ms Murphy, took all the pictures.
I, Lilly, was taking imaginary pictures with my imaginary camera, for my imaginary blog. But now we are actually writing one. Next we were walking along the riverside while Miss Murphy was taking pictures.
Did you know Irish for Glendalough is Gleann Da Loch (the valley of the two lakes). It was founded by Saint Kevin and was made a national park in 1991. It is the biggest national park in Ireland and its crest is a Peregrine Falcon. We learnt alot about animals and found out about the badgers diet. It is made up of 70 pecent earth worms and their death is mostly caused by getting hit by cars. Also, birds (except for ducks) don't eat slugs because of the stickiness kinda super glues their mouth shut and they cant eat anything for the rest of the day.You can also tell where an Otter has been playing because they make slides in the mud so they can slide into the water, interesting right? Did you know that Squirrels pick of the tops of pine cones and eat the rest except the seeds? On the way down to the monastic we came across a baby deer (a fawn.) The facilitator David talked about a wild dangerous mushroom called the Destroying Angel that has so much poison that it could kill you with a slow and painful death. There were loads of tourists in the monastic village and on your way out you touch a cross on the wall for a safe journey. We all touched it on the way out for a safe journey home. Glendalough was a great experience and we would recommend it to anyone who loves an adventure. Big thanks to Mrs.Murphy for taking all the pictures, Ms. Tomlinson for helping us with the blog, and to Mr. O Raoghaill for organising the trip.
Written by Lilly and Maya