The Dúlra Agreement

Limerick Education Support Centre is delighted to support Our Dúlra Agreement, a new national initiative encouraging schools and education bodies to give nature and biodiversity a greater place in school life.

Launched on November 12 by Minister Christopher O’Sullivan in Dublin, the agreement invites schools and education organisations to take practical steps to help nature thrive within their school communities.

Dúlra is the Irish word for nature, and at the heart of the agreement is a simple ambition: to make biodiversity a priority in how schools are managed, developed and experienced by children and young people.

Our Dúlra Agreement was developed by the Irish Schools Sustainability Network (ISSN) on behalf of the Biodiversity Working Group for Schools, of which Education Support Centres Ireland (ESCI) is a member.

The initiative comes at a time of growing concern about Ireland’s biodiversity. Ireland ranks 13th lowest of 230 countries and territories on the Biodiversity Intactness Index, while both the Citizens’ Assembly on Biodiversity Loss and the National Nature Restoration Plan have highlighted the importance of strengthening nature and biodiversity education.

Limerick Education Support Centre is now encouraging schools across the region to sign up to Our Dúlra Agreement. Our schools are already doing wonderful work to connect children and young people with nature, and we want to help them build on that. There is increasing demand for professional learning and support in the areas of nature, biodiversity and climate education. We want to support teachers and schools in building their knowledge and confidence, and in creating meaningful opportunities for children and young people to engage with the natural world around them.

As part of this work, Limerick Education Support Centre offers Bitesize Biodiversity, a free 15-minute online session every Monday at 4pm. Each session focuses on a different Irish plant, bird, insect or mammal and provides teachers with practical resources and ideas to bring back to their classrooms.

The Centre also runs regular, free webinars in conjunction with ISSN, giving teachers further opportunities to build their knowledge of nature, biodiversity and climate education.

Teachers can register for Bitesize Biodiversity and other professional learning opportunities through the Limerick Education Support Centre website www.lec.ie  Further information on Our Dúlra Agreement, along with resources to help schools support nature and biodiversity is available from the ISSN, Irish Schools Sustainability Network.

Director of Limerick ESC Norma O'Brien, pictured at the launch with Minister of State for Nature, Heritage and Biodiversity, Christopher O’Sullivan TD, Dr. Patrick Kirwan, Founder of ISSN and colleague Directors, Edmund Hussey, Cork ESC, Ultan MacMahúna, Dublin West ESC & Dr. Linda Dennehy, West Cork ESC.