Second environmental award for pupil James

FOR the second year in a row a Barefield pupil has won a top environmental award. James Madigan, a 12-year-old sixth class pupil of Barefield National School has come top in his category in the Sherkin Island Marine Station environmental competition for primary school pupils in Munster.

 

For his winning project, James carried out an extensive study of Ross Beach, beside the Bridges of Ross at Loophead. His project, entitled Coasteering Ross Beach involved spending a year, accompanied by his mother, studying the beach and the plants and creatures that live there. His project was accompanied by many colourful drawings of what he observed on the beach.

For an in-depth view, the beach was visited regularly at low spring tide, after rough storms and during very calm waters.

James said, “I am really thrilled to have won a prize in this competition again. The project concentrated on the Atlantic coasts and Ross Beach. My grandparents just live across the way from the beach and I found it really interesting so I decided to study it.

“My project last year was recording the wildflowers of Loophead and Barefield but I didn’t really have experience of studying beaches. We went right in it and learned a lot, we looked at lots of types of seaweed and animals too.”

He particularly remembers one stormy new year’s day when he and his mother, artist Carmel, went out in their wellingtons to observe the beach. “There were big waves coming in and we got drenched but it was worth it,” he said.

The Sherkin Island competition is only open to primary school pupils so this is the last year James will be able to enter. However, he did say he is planning on looking into competitions for secondary school pupils and he has no plans on finishing his research just yet.

“There is still a lot to discover on the Atlantic coast,” he said.

Joining him on his expeditions for the past year was his proud mum, Carmel. James said, “It was really fun having her along.”

James will be presented with his prize, a set of six Pocket Nature collection books at his school in the near future. Carmel added, “I am very proud of him, it’s a wonderful project. During the summer, James accompanied me, taking tourists on guided tours to the rocky shore at Ross, finding and identifying seaweeds and animals on the shore. He is turning into a great little artist, his project had lots of drawings of the various species we encountered. James, who is a very keen naturalist, is also featured in my book The Wild Flowers of Loophead and he spent five years accompanying me during the field research.”