Plant Detectives: family trail

Discover some of the secrets of plants and their leaves through a family adventure within the fabulous setting of Future Forests. Pick up the self-guided trail sheet and find nature’s treasures and information about them in little baskets hidden among the plants.

A fun way to explore plants, leaves and stems – finding out about different shapes and types of leaf, how leaves work, why people need plants, and ways in which we use stems and leaves.

In addition to the trail, hand lenses and microscopes are available to see details of leaves and plants invisible to the human eye. Crayons and colouring sheets also available.

A free activity suitable for families with 6 to 12 year olds. Also available to adults without children! Allow approximately 30 minutes for the trail, maybe longer, and then, if you have time, talk things through with a member of Team Ellen and have a go with the microscopes and hand lenses.

Trail leaflets, hand lenses, microscopes etc available from 11am to 12:30pm and 2pm to 3.30pm.

Refreshments / lunch are available from the Coffee Bee café and there are toilets on-site.

This activity was developed in 2023 with funding from a County Cork Heritage grant.
This year it has financial support from the UCC Sustainability Institute.

There is a whole programme of Ellen Hutchins Festival activities on this day - Saturday 16th August - at Future Forests, including a demonstration of willow basket weaving- by Yvon O’Flynn - the maker of the baskets used in the Plant Detectives trail.

For information on all Ellen Hutchins Festival events in Heritage Week see
https://ellenhutchins.com/event-listings-2/