Field Studies Centre

Tir Navar
Creamery Street
Derrygonnelly
County Fermanagh
BT93 6HW

Tel: 0044 28 6864 1673
Email: enquires.dg@field-studies-council.org

Website: www.field-studies-council.org/derrygonnelly

The FSC is a UK charity set up to increase environmental awareness. It has various centres around the UK, and the only one in Ireland is in Derrygonnelly, County Fermanagh. The Derrygonnelly FSC lies in unspoilt West Fermanagh countryside. The River Sillees runs through the Centre's grounds, which is the focal point for many of their workshops and courses.

The FSC offers courses in everything from soil ecology to river pollution monitoring, and its location allows them to teach in habitats which cover the Irish gamut, including sand dunes, bog and heathland and glacial rocky shores. Practising what they preach is central to the FSC's ethos at Derrygonnelly. They aim to become a more sustainable environmental education centre, and so far, through working to attain EU Flower accreditation, they have made substantial cost savings. Changes they have made include the installation of double glazing, loft insulation and changing to energy efficient light bulbs.

As an education centre, they are careful to give visitors up to date information on energy and water conservation. They have a waste recycling facility, a compost system and water butts for conserving rainwater. The Centre also offers budget accommodation for those on residential courses. Their eco-friendly principles are applied throughout the Centre, from the bedrooms, dining room, laboratory, study rooms to the library, with its wide range of environmental journals, publications and computer facilities.  The FSC was set up 64 years ago with a remit to increase environmental awareness. In a rapidly changing world of environmental awareness, this Centre undoubtedly continues to do the job it set out to do all those years ago.

Written by: Catherine Mack