Nano Nagle Place To Launch Summer Biodiversity Workshops For Families

Nano Nagle Place will launch a summer series of interactive biodiversity workshops on World Youth Skills Day, with families invited to explore the wildlife found across the Cork City heritage centre’s gardens.

The workshops will introduce children and adults to the flora and fauna at Nano Nagle Place, including the role native plant species play in supporting local wildlife.

Heritage expert Shazia Waheed will guide participants through the wildflowers growing on the grounds and the invertebrates that depend on them. She will also share simple steps families can take to support biodiversity at home.

The biodiversity workshops form part of a wider summer programme for children and families at Nano Nagle Place on Douglas Street.

The centre is included on Cork City’s Playful Culture Trail, with activities and challenges available across its buildings and gardens. Children can complete the activities before collecting a stamp for the trail.

Young visitors can also dress up, interact with historical objects and play games from the period while learning about life in 18th-century Cork and how the city has changed since the time of Nano Nagle.

John Smith, CEO of Nano Nagle Place, said:

“In the struggle to keep kids entertained over the long summer holidays, it’s easy to forget that play is the work of childhood. Play is how children learn about the world and how to navigate it; how they build skills and resilience; and how they develop empathy and learn how to relate to one another.

We’ve chosen to launch this family workshop series on World Youth Skills Day as it echoes its theme for 2026: Skills for a Shared Future. Through the series, we hope to open the minds of children in Cork to the richness and value of the natural world, and to foster the social, emotional and civic skills that will be so important in the future, not just to them but to our whole world.”

The biodiversity workshops will take place on Saturday 18 July and Saturday 8 August. Tickets cost €7.50 and advance booking is essential through the Nano Nagle Place ticket website.