Grace O’Dwyer (Marketing Manager), Noel Leacy (Horticulturalist), Niamh Keane (Agribusiness Associate) and Sarah Sarsfield (Campaign Ambassador and Zoological Educator) photographed with local school children, in Wells Estate, Co. Wexford, getting creative to mark the launch of Operation WildNation’s Let’s go Wild Colouring Competition.

Glanbia CountryLife is on a mission to encourage the nation to explore and discover their inner scientist and learn about wildlife conservation

‘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.

Along with Sarah, our team of talented horticulturalists and our CountryLife garden centres will be encouraging children, who hold the keys to the planet’s future, to get involved and become nature guardians. The aim of this campaign is 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 CountryLife.ie  and throughout our 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 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.

Rachel Doran, Sarah Sarsfield (Campaign Ambassador and Zoological Educator) and Makyla Mitten photographed in the beautiful woodlands of Wells Estate, Co. Wexford. The children spent the day with Sarah exploring and learning about native wildlife.

“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 TikTok, 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.”

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.”