News

Glenveagh National Park hosts Cartoon Saloon’s new interactive biodiversity exhibition Puffin Rock Habitats

Date Released: Friday, November 8, 2024

• Exhibition opens to the public on Monday 11^th November as part of an all-Island tour.
• Exhibition is free and is aimed at families of young children to foster a love of nature and respect for biodiversity.
• Created by multi-OSCAR® nominated animation studio Cartoon Saloon with funding from Creative Ireland’s Creative Climate Action Fund.
• Exhibition workshops and educational resources designed and supported by the Heritage Council, and delivered by local nature education experts and NPWS staff.

The Puffin Rock Habitats exhibition is based on Cartoon Saloon’s much loved Puffin Rock series with the ambition to inspire a sense of wonder and improve “nature literacy” among families with young children. Through characters including young puffins Oona and Baba, Marvin the otter and Bernie the hermit crab, audiences are invited to listen to underwater communications, observe the rhythm of changes in tidal areas, learn about the role of pollinators in grasslands and explore the composition of wetlands.

Families are also encouraged to become ‘Puffin Rock Nature Heroes’ by going on to learn more about each habitat through some of Ireland’s existing biodiversity initiatives including the National Biodiversity Data Centre and the All-Ireland Pollinator Plan.

The exhibition is accompanied by workshops devised by marine biologist Tasneem Khan, to support the touring venues in activating the exhibition as a learning tool for their communities. These innovative hand-on workshops are also available to primary schools across the country, through the Heritage Council’s Heritage in Schools Scheme. The exhibition and workshops are also accompanied by a beautifully illustrated workbook of nature-based activities for children written by Juanita Browne which has been distributed for free to all primary schools.

Glenveagh National Park will host a series of workshops that are targeted at schools within or close to the Park and the wider Cloghernagore Bog and Glenveagh National Park Special Area of Conservation. In addition, the Parks Nature Education Team will be running a series of family orientated workshops in conjunction with our Christmas events. 

Regional Manager Glenveagh National Park Emmett Johnston said:

“Our Nature Education Team continuously work to raise awareness, understanding and appreciation of nature in Glenveagh National Park and wider Donegal area. To that end, we are delighted to host this inspirational exhibition and I am confident it will support us in our mission to deliver an internationally recognised standard of nature education into the heart of Donegal’s rural communities.”

Ann Mulrooney, Project lead in Cartoon Saloon, said:

“This project was inspired by the stories and adventures of Puffin Rock, where nature and wildlife play such a central role. We are really happy to be able to develop this into a learning experience that can foster positive actions for nature in families. Cartoon Saloon celebrates its twenty fifth anniversary this year and Puffin Rock Habitats is one of the many ways in which the studio’s rich contribution to Irish culture and heritage can be experienced”.

The exhibition was one of 24 projects selected for the Creative Climate Action Spark Fund in 2023, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, to pilot new ideas for public engagement in sustainability and climate change at a local, community level.

This free exhibition will tour locations around the country in 2024 and 2025. The exhibit and workshops are also supported by Donegal County Council Heritage and Biodiversity Officers, bringing together additional expert facilitators David and Cat McCann from the Sea Collective to work with Glenveagh’s Education staff.  With over 20 years of experience in research, citizen science and outreach programmes they communicate ocean-related themes and marine biodiversity to a wide variety of audiences – particularly schools. Working together, this group of expert educators will create a very unique and meaningful experience for all who visit the exhibit sharing their love and knowledge of Irish habitats.

For more information about the project please go to the Puffin Rock Habitats Website.

For information on the exhibit in Glenveagh go to the National Parks Website.

Additional Information:

For further info please contact:

Clare Bromley, Head of Education & Learning, Glenveagh National Park Tel: clare.bromley@npws.gov.ie

 Ann Mulrooney, Cartoon Saloon:  ann.mulrooney@cartoonsaloon.ie

About the Creative Climate Action Fund

The first fund was launched in July 2021 by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. It supported 15 pilot projects from around the country. This included dramatic light installations that demonstrated rising sea levels, urban pollinator paths, immersive agricultural programmes in Dingle and Tipperary, decarbonising projects in Limerick and Waterford and the regeneration of the repair and reuse culture in Westmeath.

Project partners included artists and the wider creative sector, climate scientists, local authorities and community groups. The key objective of Creative Climate Action is to provide support for creative and cultural based projects that engage the public about the behaviour changes society will have to make to address climate change.

It is part of the Programme for Government commitment to "support Creative Ireland in its ‘Engaging the Public on Climate Change through the Cultural and Creative Sectors’ initiative.”

In 2023 a further 43 successful recipients of the Creative Climate Action II – Agents of Change were announced. To find out more about this please go visit the Creative Ireland Website.

About the Heritage Council

The Heritage Council is a public body whose mission is to develop a wide understanding of the vital contribution that our heritage makes to our social, environmental and economic well-being. The Heritage Council has a particular responsibility to promote interest, education, knowledge and pride in national heritage. The Heritage Council also provides policy advice for government on heritage including issues impacting the built, natural and cultural heritage.

About Cartoon Saloon

Cartoon Saloon, established in 1999 by Paul Young, Tomm Moore, and Nora Twomey, is a world renowned animation studio with five Academy Award® and two Golden Globe® nominations and many award wins including BAFTA® and Emmy®. Located in Kilkenny, Ireland, the studio produces brave and beautiful shorts, feature films, and TV series. Cartoon Saloon is the founder and host of Kilkenny Animated, an annual festival of visual storytelling incorporating exhibitions, talks and performances celebrating the creativity and craft of animation.

About Puffin Rock And The New Friends

Puffin Rock And The New Friends launched in Ireland in July 2023 and was released in the US in March 2024, launching at the New York International Children’s Film Festival. The film is produced by Cartoon Saloon and Derry-based Dog Ears, with the support of Northern Ireland Screen, Fís Éireann/Screen Ireland, RTÉ, and BBC Alba. It was nominated for ‘Best Feature Film’ and ‘Best Design’ at the British Animation Awards 2024 and the US-based National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA) awarded the film its 2024 Sustainability Product Award for the film’s content and message of helping each other and protecting the planet. The original television series Puffin Rock was nominated for an International Emmy Award and picked up two Kidscreen Awards and a Royal Television Award and was acquired by various broadcasters across the world.