THE kids of Year 8 in Coláiste Feirste were a joy to take around Colin Glen, and what’s more they witnessed a feat of nature that was so incredible it’s deserving of a slot on prime-time TV.
When exposed to the natural world, young minds grow like the trees around them. No phone screen can compare with what’s encircling them for 360 degrees – an overload of the senses where every inch of your vision is full of flowers, trees, birds, butterflies and insects.
A few times Dúlra was asked by the always-polite pupils if they could throw a stone into the water or lift a stick that had been lying on the path into the wood. And his reply was always the same: of course you can – you’ll do no harm.
Dúlra spent many’s a summer’s day in Colin Glen with other boys and girls on adventures, returning home hours later totally knackered. It’s like a giant playground, but instead of slides and swings, there are slopes and trees.
That’s one of the magical things about forests like these, kids can hang off trees and race through undergrowth, splash around and kick up dirt, but the forest will effortlessly absorb it all. Because we are actually as much a part of the ecosystem here as as a bird or a bat or an animal. And all those things you’d get shouted at for doing in the city? Well, up here it’s a whole different set of rules!
Unlike in the classroom or on a phone, you can actually touch and smell the plants and trees, like the wild garlic that carpets the ground here and the beautiful bluebells that bloom in the shade.
Ash trees were thriving beside others which had been killed by ash dieback, while hazels lined the path along with the odd mighty oaks and massive beeches.
Of course, when you’re in a group, the birds hear you coming. You mightn’t see many, but the forest was still full of song and you could clearly pick out the tunes: the chaffinch, wren, blackbird, robin, and the finest of them all – the blackcap. There’s so much to learn, and these kids were keen to take it all in.
But the real treat came at the waterfall in the heart of the forest, where the stream gushes under a wooden bridge. Because that’s where they saw the Irish dipper – gabha dubh – bobbing up and down on the rocks, one of just four types of bird that have evolved into a distinct Irish sub-species.
THRILL: The normally elusive Irish dipper was too busy feeding its young to be shy
When confronted with a large group of people, the dipper would normally get offside, just like most of the other forest birds. But it had chicks to feed. And as we watched, it darted directly at the waterfall like it was flying into a wall. And then disappeared.
Its nest was actually on the other side, a moss dome that it somehow attaches to the bare rock. And here the chicks were totally safe – no predators would pass through the wall of water. What’s more, behind this waterfall could well be the driest place in the whole of Colin Glen!
We watched as the parent reappeared from the waterfall moments later as if part of a magician’s act. If we saw this spectacle on a TV wildlife programme, we’d gasp in astonishment – and here we were watching it happen before our eyes in West Belfast.
It was a great way to finish off the day, making the Year 8 Coláiste Feirste nature trip something to remember.
By the way, these Irish speaking children aren’t catered for in Colin Glen, which has rejected bilingualism while all around them public bodies are embracing it. Each one of the scores of signs here is in English only. These kids, when they get a little older, might have something to say about that!
• If you’ve seen or photographed anything interesting, or have any nature questions, you can text Dúlra on 07801 414804.
