Communities invited to spruce up the landscape, with the gift of free trees Schools, youth groups and community groups are tackling Northern Ireland’s lack of woodland cover by getting their hands dirty and planting thousands of trees. Children and adults throughout the country made their mark earlier this year by planting 13,000 trees as part of a Woodland Trust scheme. And it’s not too late to get involved, […]
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Feeling down? Sluggish? Want to shed a bit of weight? Well the Belfast Hills Partnership is offering a prescription with a difference this summer – go alfresco with this year’s Heritage Festival! The benefits of not simply doing exercise, but getting outside into nature are well documented. Experts cite a host of benefits including: increased happiness, concentration, faster healing and vitamin D levels increase, helping fight conditions from osteoporosis […]
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Archaeologists at this year’s Belfast Hills Big Dig at Slievenacloy’s earthen ring were stunned and excited to find evidence of craft manufacture at what appeared to be a simple Early Christian farmstead and cattle enclosure. The community archaeology dig run by the Belfast Hills Partnership in conjunction with Ulster Wildlife uncovered a waste glass globule and unfinished broken lignite bracelet, providing evidence of the manufacture of glass and lignite […]
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The Belfast Hills Partnership challenged over 300 children, from across Belfast and Newtownabbey, to discover the hidden heritage of Cave Hill Country Park, by taking part in Living History Treasure Trail. The trail encouraged local young people to learn about Belfast’s fascinating heritage, by discovering ‘real life’ characters and solving clues from Cave Hill’s rich history. The characters were hidden around the Country Park and told the story of […]
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Many of us are now very familiar with using web based maps such as Google Maps to plan out our trips and journeys. Google Street View gives us a great way to check out our road journeys, where to park and just what our destination looks like. Now this is available for footpaths and mountain trails around Belfast thanks to Google Trekker, a backpack version of the Google Street […]
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Three stainless steel mallard ducks on an arc of flax flowers can now be seen soaring above the historic flax dams at Ligoniel. The local community have worked with artists to celebrate the rich linen history of the Ligoniel Dams through the creation of a bespoke sculpture which may now been seen on the site rising over 3 meters to frame this natural setting. The sculptural base is […]
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More than 15,000 young people across Northern Ireland will be empowered to help stand up for nature and create a brighter future in their local communities, thanks to a £1.8m cash boost from the Big Lottery Fund. The funding which has been awarded to two local charities, Belfast Hills Partnership and Ulster Wildlife, is part of a new UK-wide £33m programme involving 30 organisations and more than 50,000 young […]
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The Mouse took a stroll through the deep dark woods…. Come and join the very clever mouse in Colin Glen Forest Park. Follow in his footsteps and meet the silly old fox, owl and snake on the way to an amazing 8 foot tall Gruffalo, complete with knobbly knees, turned out toes and a poisonous wart on the end of his nose. Colin Glen Forest Park is now the […]
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The Belfast Hills Landscape Partnership and Ligoniel Improvement Association are seeking quotations for the design and installation of a bespoke sculpture to represent the linen heritage of Ligoniel Village. The art piece will be located in the Ligoniel Dams area and should be easily visible by passing pedestrians, it should be original, and made from materials reflecting the linen industry and natural environment of the hills that powered the […]
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Get your running shoes on and come along to Colin Glen any Saturday morning at 9.30am to take part in the latest parkrun! Colin Glen parkrun is a FREE weekly 5km event for runners of all standards, which takes place every Saturday at 9:30am in Colin Glen Forest Park, Stewartstown Road, Belfast, BT17 0HW It is not a race against other runners, but a 5k timed run and it […]
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