Cavan No. 1 National School had a lovely surprise last week in the form of a visit from RTE’s wildlife experts, Derek Mooney and Éanna Ní Lamhna. And it wasn’t just a social call. The radio crew were there to present Cavan No. 1 with their prize in the Mooney Goes Wild With Schools competition. The junior class, aged 4 to 9, produced the best wildlife website in Ulster last year. Along with a homework-free day they received a digital camera and a set of binoculars courtesy of Dúchas, the heritage service.

Only four schools in Ireland were pinpointed for a prize out of a field of over 200. So understandably Principal Ann Reilly and teacher Barbara Lidwill were proud their 28-pupil school was at the top of the pecking order.

Remedial

"We started by looking at what birds we had in the playground. At that stage we only had rooks," said Ms Reilly. Grass was hardly an attractive proposition for birdlife passing through the town. So they took remedial action. "We hung out peanuts first. Then we added watered bread, sunflowers and fatbags," she said.

As the birds appeared the children were encouraged to identify them from their plumage using books and the internet. "The idea to create the site came about because we found there was very little information on the internet about garden birds," said Ms Reilly.

"Each day we observed the birds in the playground and recorded the number of birds of each species. We had attracted rare birds such as linnets and goldfinches by Easter."

They posted all sorts of findings on their site including interesting facts about the birds, a diary of the project, pictures and poems.

As the project progressed the children decided the setting was a little dull for the birds, so they came up with an idea to paint a mural on the back wall of the garden with the help of Heather Brett and the Arts Council.

From just one lonesome rook the school ended up with a bird-population of 16 species, including rare birds like the linnet and the goldfinch. The children helped many birds survive the winter and now they recognise birds like the not-so common-or-garden chaffinch and the blue tit.

The RTE crew were very impressed with the project and the website. Derek Mooney said his trips to Cavan are always enjoyable and threw some light on why Cavan No. 1 found it hard to attract the robin. "The last time we were here we did a story on the catering manageress in Cavan General. She had a robin nesting in her office who would fly in the window to feed its chicks. So all the robins are up at the hospital obviously," he grinned.

According to Éanna Ní Lamhna the garden enhanced the wildlife of the area. "It was quite an ordinary site, but now it’s been transformed so there’s no need to go on field trips to see birdlife," she said.

Smarten up

She explained the reason why Cavan No. 1 fitted the bill was the authenticity of the project. "The children did all the work themselves," she said. "They had to smarten up the garden and put out food to attract the birds. Then they recorded the results scientifically and devised the website."

According to Ms Reilly the project enhanced the children’s computer skills and their reading and writing skills. Glenn Heaslip, who wants to be a vet when he grows up, posted a poem about the wren on the website: "I thought I saw a wren/It lived in Denn/but then found out it was a hen/After all I’m only ten."

The prize would be welcome for the school’s future projects, said Ms Reilly. "We’ve been using a regular camera and scanning in pictures, so now we’ll be able to upload the images directly onto the computer. And with the binoculars we’ll be able to look at the birds at close range."

But last Friday it was the broadcasters being examined at close range.

The children all posed for photos with Derek and Éanna, who stayed behind to sign autographs well-past going-home time.

The school is already working on a new project. This year’s crop of children will examine the garden. Watch out mums and dads for some grubby paws this winter, because the children will be examining creepy-crawlies and insects to their hearts’ content.