Kildare kids channel inner Bear Grylls at forest school
Lar, Jack, Alannah, Conor and Tomas with their masterpiece The Mudanian Rockies Mud Pit
IMAGINE, if you will, Kildare parents wanting to get their kids a little more Bear Grylls-y, well for the last two years this has been a reality at Kate Maher’s Dúlra forest school and wilderness camp with courses throughout the year.
“It’s mostly on the grounds of Burtown House, just outside Athy, but we also do it in Dunlavin, Newbridge, Kilcullen, Sallins and Naas, always on Thursday afternoons. It’s always in wild spaces, and only the biodiversity workshops are indoors, usually around Christmas."
A qualified primary school teacher for 15 years, and founding member of the Chartered Institute of Teaching, she also holds an Honours Bachelor’s Degree from the National College of Art and Design.
Raised in Dublin and Kildare, she has taught violin and Kinder -music with the Kildare Outreach Programme, and she completed her Forest School Leadership Level 3 Certification in the UK.
“There are up to 32 kids in the camps, and a pupil-teacher ratio of eight to one, we keep these small so as to teach the kids how to light a fire, proper knife skills, and bushcraft ... to allow for all the wonderful things that make parents gasp!” she chuckled.
And it is done all bilingually, as Kate is very passionate about how much a child can learn from just the name of a plant or animal as Gaelige.
"Athy and Newbridge Libraries have been very helpful, and I’d also like to say a very special thanks to James and Lesley (Fennell, proprietors of Burtown) who are great custodians, and it’s amazing the work they put in there,” she said.
“Their biodiversity there is unrivalled compared to any other sites,” she said.
“We’re looking for a happier, healthier, more harmonious relationships between people, communities and nature, mindful of the uncertain future with regard to the environment,” she said.
