Over 170 children from eight schools in communities surrounding Lough Arrow have taken part in a fabulous education programme recently to learn about the wonderful wildlife habitats of the shores and waters of the lake and the work carried out by scientists from the Atlantic Technological University at Sligo as part of CANN project.

The schools from Counties Sligo and Roscommon involved in the project were: Kilmactranny and Corrigeenroe National Schools from Boyle; Ardkeeran and Taunagh National Schools from Riverstown; Collooney and St Paul’s National Schools from Collooney; Cloghogue National School from Castlebaldwin, and Geevagh National School from Ballynashee.

The 4^th and 5^th classes from each school took an enthusiastic look at the Water Cycle and how the lough and the River Unshin play a part in the local catchment. They also discovered water’s importance to all living things, including themselves. The children investigated how they use water at home and how to avoid dirty water from polluting the environment. The most exciting part of the programme was a series of practical pond dipping and river sampling activities. These saw the children investigate the mini-beasts and bugs that live in their local lake.

As part of the programme, a lovely, fully illustrated booklet, “Streamscapes Lough Arrow- a gem in our midst”, was created and distributed to every family with a child participating in the programme. This booklet celebrates Lough Arrow and the people living in its catchment. It focuses on how people use the waters for clean drinking water, angling, farming and tourism and how they can look after it.

The Streamscapes book was launched by its authors from the Coomhoola Salmon Trust, representatives from the CANN project and the local LAWPRO officers at a lovely event held at the Old Schoolhouse Community Cafe in Ballinafad.

The booklet can be downloaded as a pdf at https://thecannproject.org/publications/lough-arrow-a-gem-in-our-midst/