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Crex Crex New Corncrake Resource Pack for Schools

For release 22th January 1999

In response to a demand from teachers for resource material and research topics on meadows and corncrakes, the Irish Peatland Conservation Council have launched the latest in a line of education resource packs the - Crex Crex Corncrake Resource Pack. The resource pack is aimed at teachers of upper primary school children and junior certificate Science and Geography students and is available from the IPCC, at 119 Capel Street, Dublin 1 for £6.50 including postage & packaging.

Our grandparents and parents were familiar with the Corncrake, a regular summer visitor to the rural Irish landscape. In days gone by, the Corncrake was considered by some to be a night-time pest, disturbing folks from their slumber with its harsh rasp like call in the early hours of the morning.

The new pack sponsored by the FBD Trust is divided into two parts. Part 1 contains details about the biology of the Corncrake, information on its preferred habitats, and details of the conservation campaign to Save the Corncrake run by Birdwatch Ireland.

Part 2 is the 'Activities and Resources' section for teachers and is packed full of fun activities, information and absorbing projects. In this section you can read Corncrake poems, learn to draw a Corncrake, imitate a Corncrake's call, and solve a word search. More practical project ideas include delving into the world of media studies, undertaking a meadow field study, interviewing people about changes in landscape, learning about the farming year, participating in a spot of conflict resolution and mediation or even planting a meadow in your school grounds.

"The pack aims to promote an awareness of this fascinating and endangered bird among school children, who may not yet have had the opportunity to hear the "crex crex" corncrake call from the wild meadows" explained the author Dr Catherine O'Connell.

"We hope that the Corncrake Resource Pack will stimulate students to undertake more projects in the realms of conservation generally".

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To order your copy of the Crex Crex Pack simply click here