In this month of October, as we marked International Geodiversity Day and Maths Week Ireland 2023, our Primary Seven students were delighted to celebrate and promote many aspects of both, in recent days.
When we consider geodiversity, we realise, of course, that what we are referring to is all the parts of nature that are not living, it is all around us and in most things we use. Our trip to Belturbet Railway to participate in ‘Rock Detectives’ workshop, enabled us to understand that geodiversity includes everything from rocks, minerals and fossils, to soils and spectacular landscapes shaped by earth’s processes that have been occurring in Ireland for the past 1.8 billion years.
Indeed, geodiversity is often referred to as the basis for biodiversity. For, as we learned, while a region has no control over the level of geodiversity present, and it is not possible to increase an area’s geodiversity, it is certainly possible for us all to promote and protect it.
Our students were delighted to partake of and participate in the workshop, which was hosted and facilitated by Cuilcagh Lakelands UNESCO Global Geopark staff, and to whom we convey our sincere appreciation. Having the opportunity to become ‘rock detectives’, we analysed and measured and saw real fossils from 340 million years ago, went on a fossil hunt and made our own fossils to take back to school! We also learned about the different types of rocks found in the Geopark and the rocks making up the Earth’s structure. Additionally, we explored the erosion of rocks, using sugar cubes and rocks to show how it happened.
We hope you enjoy our video and thank Ms Connolly and Ms O’Rourke for accompanying us on our day’s learning, as well as helping us with photographs and video footage.
‘Rock Detectives’ at work!!
