Caption: Liz Wallace WELB Field Officer at Magilligan Field Centre, welcomed Gerry Mullan Mayor of Limavady, (l-r) Paddy Mackey WELB Senior Education Officer, Ian Humphries Chief Executive Tidy NI and Barry Mulholland WELB Chief Executive to the Centre’s 40th anniversary and accredited Eco-Centre NI Award.
The Western Education and Library Board’s (WELB) Magilligan Field Centre (MFC) recently celebrated its 40th anniversary and accredited Eco-Centres Northern Ireland Award at a special gathering, to mark the occasion, on Monday, 30 September 2013.
First opened in 1973, the Centre remains Northern Ireland’s only Field Centre, with approximately 4,000 students from 100 schools across NI visiting each year. The Centre also provides a residential venue for educational student visits where memorable ‘Learning Outside the Classroom’ connects young people to their local environment.
Liz Wallace, WELB Field Officer, Magilligan Field Centre (MFC) welcomed all in attendance including distinguished guests, WELB Chief Executive Barry Mulholland; WELB Vice-Chairman Peter Duffy; Mayor of Limavady Gerry Mullan and Guest speaker Tidy NI Chief Executive Ian Humphries. She paid tribute to the vision and wisdom of the County Londonderry Education committee and subsequently the WELB Curriculum Advisory and Support Service (CASS) who established the Centre some forty years ago and continues to successfully provide high quality, dynamic learning outside the classroom.
She continued: “MFC is located within Binevenagh Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty and is in close proximity to a significant variety of high quality bio and geo-diverse habitats, nature reserves and designated areas. The ethos permeating all MFC work is My World; Our Future; We Care. Staff at the Centre take pride in connecting children and young people to their local environment ensuring real life experiences and memorable learning that lasts a lifetime.”
Dr Ian Humphreys, Chief Executive of Tidy NI, said: “The clear dedication and commitment of everyone at Magilligan Field Centre is testament to the team’s understanding that we all have a part to play in reducing our impact on the environment, and is reflected in the fact that the assessors found their application excelled in achieving the international Green Flag standard.”
To mark the 40th anniversary milestone a special sundial ‘Celebrate Time’ was unveiled.
Magilligan Field Centre staff would like to thank schools, key stakeholders, land-owners and the local community who have supported MFC over the years.