Ours to Protect Groundbreaking Project in Oylegate National School

This year, Ours to Protect launched a groundbreaking project in collaboration with the Institute of Climate, Sound, and Society at Harvard University. The initiative aimed to map local biodiversity through sound, using AudioMoth recorders—compact, weather-resistant devices capable of capturing the sounds of wildlife around the clock. This was the first project of its kind globally, using sound to document nature specifically for journalistic storytelling. South East Radio, alongside 15 other independent radio stations, spearheaded a nationwide campaign to select the ideal location for the AudioMoth installation during the summer months. Following a thorough search, Oylegate National School was proudly chosen as the site for this innovative project. Have a listen to the children choosing somewhere to place their audio moth: The recorder was set to record at dawn and what came about was a chorus of bird song on a beautiful summer morning. After a summer spent in the school we analysed what we could hear here are some of the results:   Oylegate National School Biodiversity Sound Project using AudioMoths Written by the students of Oylegate N.S. Towards the end of last year something very exciting happened in our school - Ours to Protect launched a brand-new project with the Institute of Climate, Sound, and Society at Harvard University, and we got to be part of it! The aim of the project was to discover and map local biodiversity using sound. To do that, scientists use tiny devices called AudioMoths. They’re small, tough recorders that can stay outside in all kinds of weather and capture the sounds of nature all day and all night. We couldn’t believe how small the recorder was. This was the first project in the entire world to use sound to document nature specifically for journalistic storytelling. South East Radio, along with other radio stations across Ireland, helped search for the perfect place to put the AudioMoth for the summer. We were delighted when Bronagh from South East Radio told us that Oylegate National School was chosen! We were so proud to be picked! One sunny day, we all went outside with Ms Power and Bronagh to find the perfect spot to place the AudioMoth. Some of us suggested the trees beside the pitch, others thought the hedgerow was better, and a few of us wanted it near the back garden because “that’s where the fox definitely walks. In the end, we all listened carefully, talked together, and chose a place where we thought the most wildlife sounds would be recorded. We picked our garden and found a tall tree with a strong branch that we could tie the recorder to. We used cable ties to secure it in place. The AudioMoth started recording early every morning right at dawn (around 5am). When we listened back after the summer, we heard birds waking up the world We heard a dawn chorus filled with robins, blackbirds, wrens, and maybe even a song thrush. At night (around 9pm) it was quieter, but very calming. It made us think about how sound is everywhere, even when we don’t notice it as all we could hear was insects and trees and bird in the faraway distance. We didn’t realise insects were so loud. It showed us how much life is around the school that we almost never hear. There was one mysterious noise we weren’t sure about – it sounded like something was pecking on the audiomoth some of us thought it was a bird, other thought it could have been a mouse or a rat! I guess we’ll never know. Maybe for the next project we could get CCTV cameras set up to see what nature is around when we’re not.   We learned that: - Nature is much noisier than we thought. - Dawn is the busiest time for wildlife songs with birds in particular very busy at that time. - You don’t need to see animals to know they are there -you can hear their stories.