Lough Neagh Discovery Centre

What will students see and do?

Oxford Island National Nature Reserve and the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre are well established as high-quality outdoor education providers. It is a fantastic place to take your class for science trips or geography trips and teach them about nature, science, and the outside world.

Learning outside the classroom will engage your class, allowing them to get hands-on with the things you might be talking about in the classroom. If your children are looking for wildlife, activities, and excitement in the outdoors, Lough Neagh Discovery Centre is the place to go.

An environmentally conscious hub of learning that blends in with the vast natural landscape, there’s plenty to see and do there.

Lough Neagh is the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, covering 160 square miles and draining almost half of the land area of Northern Ireland. Where six large rivers flow into the Lough, only one flows out. A prime spot for wildfowl, it is a Ramsar site, a Special Protection Area, and an Area of Special Scientific Interest.

The Lough area is of great importance for biodiversity. It is surrounded by several smaller lakes and the associated habitats of wet woodland, meadows, and fen.

The Lough has supplied much of Northern Ireland with drinking water and supported countless industries. Reeds from the shore were even used to make thatch for local cottage roofs.

All of this, combined with the legends surrounding the Lough, means that a trip to the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre will be filled with learning opportunities.

You could take your students on a guided walk to learn about trees, animals, or woodland habitats. Workshops full of games and crafts are offered. There are even activities suited to whichever season you choose to visit in.

If your school is based in the Armagh City, Banbridge, or Craigavon Council area or near to the borough, the Oxford Island Education Team can also deliver their outreach programmes in your classroom. Here is a list of those on offer:

Garden Birds
Minibeasts
Wildlife, Habitats, and Biodiversity
Water
Energy, Pollution, and Recycling
Growing Your School Grounds

Lough Neagh and Oxford Island have no end of exciting and informative outdoor activities to offer to your pupils. They’ll love getting an environmental education by experiencing such wildlife and natural beauty first-hand.

How does the trip link to the curriculum?

The team at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre provide a vast quantity of Northern Ireland Curriculum-linked environmental education programmes.

Whether it’s a workshop or a guided walk, programmes are developed for students of all ages and cover issues relating to the environment at Lough Neagh and Oxford Island.

Experiencing an outdoor learning environment can help your class to learn about curriculum topics by offering a more hands-on experience. A trip to Lough Neagh will give your class a greater understanding of:

Caring for Nature and the Environment
Working as a Team
Zero Waste Living
‘Leaving No Trace’ in Natural Settings
Confidence in Learning
Safety Outside the Classroom

Your pupils will also learn more about water safety, environmental science, and local wildlife.

Subjects covered

Details of risk assessment

All of the activities carried out at the Lough Neagh Discovery Centre are fully risk assessed. These assessments are reviewed and updated on a regular basis. You are welcome to ask the education team for copies of the assessments for each activity.

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