Carnmoney Hill in Newtownabbey was in the limelight when over 200 people stepped out for a magical afternoon of fun and woodland discovery (Saturday 9 April).
Local people and visitors from further afield enjoyed face painting, arts and crafts, guided walks and bird identification. Grown-ups relaxed with some ‘tai chi’ in the woods, while both young and old tried their hand at samba drumming.
The event was organised by the Woodland Trust in partnership with Newtownabbey Borough Council, and was made possible thanks to support from Biffaward and Northern Ireland Environment Agency.
Saturday put the finishing touches to a week-long series of schools’ events, when seven local primary schools - over 270 pupils - swapped the indoor classroom for guided walks and pond dipping at Carnmoney Hill.
Michelle McCaughtry, the Woodland Trust’s events officer, said: “We’ve had a great week of events at Carnmoney Hill and were really heartened by the enthusiasm of the schoolchildren. Then Saturday, the grand finale, gave members of the public, who turned out in full force, a chance to explore the Hill.
“We want everyone to enjoy the beauty of woodland, and that includes children. It’s really important that youngsters grow up with a real love of woodland and nature, and hopefully the recent events will have played some part in that process.”
Notes to editors
For media enquiries contact:
Kaye Coates at the Woodland Trust’s Bangor Office on 028 9127 5787; email kayecoates@woodlandtrust.org.uk or
The Woodland Trust Press Office on 01476 581121; email media@woodlandtrust.org.uk
The Woodland Trust:
The Woodland Trust is the UK’s leading woodland conservation charity. It has 300,000 members and supporters.
The Trust has three key aims: i) to enable the creation of more native woods and places rich in trees ii) to protect native woods, trees and their wildlife for the future iii) to inspire everyone to enjoy and value woods and trees
Established in 1972, the Woodland Trust now has over 1,000 sites in its care covering approximately 20,000 hectares (50,000 acres). Access to its sites is free.
Here in Northern Ireland the Woodland Trust cares for 51 woods. These woods contain a mix of recently planted woodland, mature woodland and ancient woodland (that’s land continuously wooded since at least 1600). We have recently produced the first-ever comprehensive record of Northern Ireland’s ancient woodland; find out more at www.backonthemap.org.uk