Bealtaine Living Earth Festival 2023
Between the 18 and 26 May, visitor centres, groups and individuals concerned with biodiversity, our rich natural heritage and the environment will showcase the extraordinary things we all have right here at our doorstep.
Browse and download our collection of family activities for the Bealtaine Living Earth Festival!
Check out our new 7 plant experiments for 2023 below!
Plant Experiment 1: Do Plants Need Light to Grow?
Try this easy experiment to explore why plants need sunlight!
Plant Experiment 2: To Show How Plants Absorb Water
Try this fun experiment to show how plants absorb water (and nutrients) up through their stems.
Plant Experiment 3: To Show Beans Sprouting
Try this fun experiment to investigate what plants need to
survive by sprouting their own beans!
Download here: To Show Beans Sprouting
Plant Experiment 4: To Investigate if Leaves Are Really Green
Try this fun experiment that allows us to see the colorful pigments that leaves have hidden inside them!
Download here: Are Leaves Really Green?
Plant Experiment 5: To Investigate Transpiration in Living Leaves
Did you know that plants transpire? It is kind of like perspiring, but not quite. Try this fun experiment to learn about it.
Plant Experiment 6: Grow Some Plant Hair!
Growing cress hair is a fun and easy activity for children of all ages!
Download here: Grow Some Plant Hair!
Plant Experiment 7: Plant Vascular System In A Celery Bundle
Learn about capillary action with this simple and colourful celery food coloring experiment. This experiment allows you to talk about the circulatory system and “capillary” action. The small “vessels” in the celery stalks carry the water and colour to the leaves, like the way blood travels through your body.
Up-cycle your old wellies into plant pots or use a teacup or larger mug as a plant pot for your new mini garden at home!
Mammals are very shy and therefore difficult to spot in nature. But, with some treats inside a mammal tunnel you might be able to record their footprints!
Scavenger hunts are great fun and can be done anywhere in the world. A scavenger hunt is also a great way to explore biodiversity!
Pressed flowers – make bookmarks and more!
Pressed flowers are a lovely way to explore the diversity of plants and learn about the many different wildflowers in Ireland. Have a look at the wildflower guide here (provided by National Parks and Wildlife Service) and try to identify the flowers you use in this activity.
Garden Design for Biodiversity
Have a look at the fantastic biodiversity garden designed by Carol Delany and her team at
Carrick-on-Suir Library together with the Men’s Shed and local primary school pupils
We can also bring biodiversity inside: have a couple of plants on your balcony or your window sills for example. And we can create beautiful art based on biodiversity – and learn from it!
Bee sting cake – sounds scary? When we think of a bee sting many of us think of summers spend outdoors, the smell of hay, running around barefoot. Until we feel a sudden burning sensation in our big toe: a bee sting. The bee sting of the bee sting cake is much friendlier, sweeter and safer sting.
Beeswax Wrap
Make a beeswax wrap with Ella Ryan, Environmental Officer, Waterford Council. Beeswax wraps are fabric coated with beeswax. They are easy to clean and an environmentally friendly alternative to wrap you lunch – basically a reusable replacement for clingfilm or tin foil. What you need: An iron, beeswax, coconut oil, 100% cotton, a towel, baking paper and a knife. Watch Ella’s video here See FAQs here.
To celebrate World Bee Day on 20th May not get creative with a symmetry activity which brings biodiversity, maths and art together? If you have water-based paint, paper, and a scissors you are ready to go.
Insect hotels encourage biodiversity in the garden and’ll you have a good chance of beneficial insects naturally visiting your garden. Here is a simple way to make a bug hotel using a plastic bottle and natural materials.
Bumble Bees
Bumblebees are lovely fuzzy creatures, they happily fly form flower to flower, are always in motion and seem to have a very friendly nature. They are also one of our most important pollinators – find out more about bumblebees in these worksheets (available as Gaeilge agus English).
Make a bird feeder
Make a bird feeder from an orange skin. Attract more birds to your garden with a bird feeder filled with bird seed or sunflower seeds. There are many different ways of making bird feeders – this one is from Glenveagh National Park
Make a bird feeder
Make a bird feeder from a plastic bottle. Attract more birds to your garden with a bird feeder filled with bird seed or sunflower seeds. There are many different ways of making bird feeders – this one is from Kilkenny Education Centre
Make a bird bath
Birds enjoy taking a bath and it is also quite enjoyable to watch them. See how you can make a simple bird bath at home using this activity from Kilkenny Education Centre
A great family activity, with instructions from the JFK Arboretum. A mandala is a circular structure with a design that radiates out symmetrically from the centre. You can find mandalas in flowers, tree rings, spider webs, seashells and more – and you can use materials from nature to make a beautiful nature mandala.
