| Specifications | |
| Location(s) | 100 Airport Rd W, Belfast BT3 9ED |
| Key Stages | EYFS, KS1, KS2, KS3, KS4, KS5 |
| Special Schools | No |
| Public Liability | Over 10,000,000 |
| Enhanced DBS | Yes |
| Fees | Please contact us with details of your requirements |
| Administration Service | Administered by third-party Administrator with 22 years experience |
More about this Workshop/Service and the Provider
Give your class a new learning experience, our carefully designed lesson plans will help primary school pupils explore science and geography while having fun exploring nature. Please contact us to arrange a visit on 028 9046 1458.
Nature spectacles
- Flocks of black-tailed godwits can be seen on the lagoon. In spring - when they rest and feed here before heading north to Iceland to breed - they are resplendent in their 'tomato soup-red' breeding attire. On their return in autumn, you can pick out the scaly-backed juvenile birds if you look closely.
- Watch common terns raising their young on the lagoon in spring and summer. The hides and observation room provide a great opportunity to watch their fascinating courtship and the chicks growing up.
- Lapwings gather in impressive flocks on the lagoon. They 'tumble down' to land in a wheeling mass, flashing black one moment and white the next.
- Look for tiny teals among the wintering wildfowl on the lagoon. They gather here in large numbers to feed on seeds floating on the water.
- Wigeons arrive at Belfast WOW in autumn. You can watch large flocks grazing on vegetation here until the following spring when they depart for northern Europe to breed.
About Belfast's Window on Wildlife
Habitat
Belfast Lough Reserve is made up of four sites, Belfast’s Window on Wildlife, Harbour Meadows, Holywood Banks and Whitehouse Lagoon, all of which are special places for nature. We work hard to maintain or improve them to provide homes for some locally and globally threatened species.
Holywood Banks is one of the last remaining mudflats of the many which once surrounded Belfast Lough. The mudflats are an important habitat for migrating birds like curlew and oystercatcher which stop here to feed on the long journeys to and from their northern breeding grounds.
Harbour Meadows is a mosaic of habitats supporting a vast array of bird, insect and plant species. The dry grassland is important for pollinators such as several species of butterfly and bumblebee.
Conservation
We manage the lagoon at Belfast WOW for wintering waders and wildfowl, including redshanks, oystercatchers and wigeons. Our work includes maintaining water levels, mowing grassland and cutting back invasive plants. We also manage the nearby mudflats at Whitehouse Lagoon and Holywood Banks for wintering wildfowl and waders and working to safeguard both from illegal bait digging and fly-tipping. When the tide goes out Whitehouse Lagoon becomes crowded with wading birds like black-tailed godwits, as they probe the mud in search of food. When the tide comes in many of the birds move across the lough to Belfast WOW.
The lagoon at Belfast WOW is carefully managed to create the right habitat for all the species that make their homes here. Artificial islands give common and Arctic terns a safe place to breed. By managing the reed bed we encourage lots of insects which are a food source for species like the sedge warbler, which migrates from Africa in the summer. Our resident konik ponies graze the reserve, creating ideal conditions for wintering wildfowl and ground-nesting birds like lapwings.
Testimonials
About Belfast's Window on Wildlife Habitat Belfast Lough Reserve is made up of four sites, Belfast’s Window on Wildlife, Harbour Meadows, Holywood Banks and Whitehouse Lagoon, all of which are special places for nature. We work hard to maintain or improve them to provide homes for some locally and globally threatened species. Holywood Banks is one of the last remaining mudflats of the many which once surrounded Belfast Lough. The mudflats are an important habitat for migrating birds like curlew and oystercatcher which stop here to feed on the long journeys to and from their northern breeding grounds. Harbour Meadows is a mosaic of habitats supporting a vast array of bird, insect and plant species. The dry grassland is important for pollinators such as several species of butterfly and bumblebee. Conservation We manage the lagoon at Belfast WOW for wintering waders and wildfowl, including redshanks, oystercatchers and wigeons. Our work includes maintaining water levels, mowing grassland and cutting back invasive plants. We also manage the nearby mudflats at Whitehouse Lagoon and Holywood Banks for wintering wildfowl and waders and working to safeguard both from illegal bait digging and fly-tipping. When the tide goes out Whitehouse Lagoon becomes crowded with wading birds like black-tailed godwits, as they probe the mud in search of food. When the tide comes in many of the birds move across the lough to Belfast WOW. The lagoon at Belfast WOW is carefully managed to create the right habitat for all the species that make their homes here. Artificial islands give common and Arctic terns a safe place to breed. By managing the reed bed we encourage lots of insects which are a food source for species like the sedge warbler, which migrates from Africa in the summer. Our resident konik ponies graze the reserve, creating ideal conditions for wintering wildfowl and ground-nesting birds like lapwings.
Graham McCoubrey
Availability & How to Book
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