First ‘place heroes’ graduate in Gort

A GROUP of transition-year pupils from Gort Community School recently graduated as ‘Laoch Áite’ (place heroes) from Ireland’s very first place-based learning programme in secondary schools.
Twenty-five pupils took part in the Áitbheo (living place) programme, enabling them to take a much closer look at where they live and help them interpret their immediate environment in more depth.
Interactive modules on landscape, built heritage, people and places in history, culture, biodiversity, conservation and biomimicry were delivered by guest tutors, providing a great starting point for the pupils to begin research into their own place. This initiative aimed to develop a strong sense of place in the pupils, which they will take with them into their adult lives.
The programme, which was delivered by the Burrenbeo Trust, encouraged pupils to gain a greater appreciation for the rich heritage that exists around them by utilising the nation’s premier learning landscape, the Burren. Complementing this, a dedicated blog was created to allow pupils showcase their local area and new-found knowledge.
“With so much talk of people becoming disconnected from their environment through the overuse of technology, Áitbheo aims to subvert the screen and enhance local environments by utilising the very tools that can sometimes weaken the link between people and their own place,” explained Áine Bird, Áitbheo coordinator.
“Young people today learn so much about countries around the world, even monuments and environments that are 200km away. This programme gets them really thinking a bit more about where they live, their own place,” she added.
“Place-based learning is all about getting people to learn from their local areas and then extending that learning to a wider setting. It can really bring a subject to life for students and encourages a lasting sense of respect and responsibility for where they are from,” Áine concluded.
The pupils’ thoughts on the programme and project work is on www.aitbeo.edublogs.org.