Glanbia CountryLife’s Operation WildNation spurs children to become Nature Guardians

‘Operation WildNation’ is a fun, free and engaging initiative with campaign ambassador and zoological educator, Sarah Sarsfield, which aims to educate primary school children and their families in particular.    

Together with Glanbia CountryLife’s 14 award-winning garden centres and their passionate horticulturists, Sarah will be encouraging children, who hold the keys to the planet’s future, to become nature guardians.

To help children learn how to explore and protect nature all around them, Operation WildNation  includes lots of free, child-friendly tips, advice and experiments which are available on www.CountryLife.ie and throughout their social channels @CountryLifeGC.

Encouraging children to become ‘Nature Guardians’ Sarah said: “We have a huge variety of plants and animals here in Ireland. Whether we can see them or not, they are all connected and they depend on each other to survive.

“Living alongside us are countless plants, mammals, birds, insects, fish and even reptiles. Each one has its own unique place to live – this is called a habitat. To help nature we must learn how to protect these habitats, along with the plants and animals that live there. We must become nature guardians.” 

Speaking about the importance of this initiative, Marketing Manager with Glanbia CountryLife, Grace O’Dwyer said: “As we all know, children are often the conduits for educating their families on the importance of conserving wildlife. This initiative has been developed with that exact goal in mind. It’s all part of Glanbia Ireland’s ‘Living Proof’ sustainability strategy and our commitment to sustainable living.

“We’re asking families to share their experiences with us online, to follow our simple activities or participate in our competitions by visiting @CountryLifeGC on TicTok, Facebook or Instagram. Our social media channels will be full of great free content to support our mission to help conserve Ireland’s wildlife and live up to our ‘Living Proof’ sustainability promises.”

CountryLife Horticulturist Noel Leacy added: “Children are naturally inquisitive and Operation WildNation has the potential to create scientists and conservationists who will help protect our planet. We’re delighted to partner with Sarah for what will be a really fun and educational programme of activity. We’ll be helping children learn by doing; by getting their hands dirty and their feet a bit mucky. You’d never know what they might find.”

The action-packed programme includes a new ‘Lets Go Wild’ creative competition. It encourages primary school children to take a closer look at what is happening in their gardens and enter this creative competition inspired by wildlife. Prizes will be awarded across all primary school classes, while there will be two overall winners who will receive a school visit or virtual talk from Sarah along with gardening plants, bird feeders, food and more. Teachers, parents and children alike can visit CountryLife.ie to learn more and enter. 

Operation WildNation also includes a free ‘Wild Guide’ which is available through Glanbia CountryLife’s 14 garden centres or through their online store on CountryLife.ie for anyone to download. This handy guide will help children uncover how they can protect Ireland’s natural habitats.