Hi there, my name is Dara and I live in Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland with my mum, dad, younger brother and sister. I am passionate about wildlife, nature and conservation. I have a lot to learn and try to find out some new facts every day. I am obsessed by raptors, even though I haven’t seen many in the wild, I am also upset by how they are treated and viewed by the public, I think they are beautiful. My challenge is to encounter more wildlife and also to chronicle my experiences, love of the natural world; to have a ‘diary’ of sorts to look back on and hopefully to inspire other young people to get more involved in the natural world.

I also have Asperger’s and nature helps me to understand what is going on around me and helps me focus in on my perspective of life. It relaxes me and provides me with real ways of engaging with the world. Being outside is really important to me, I’m happiest when I’m knee deep in mud, looking under rocks or staring at birds. It gives me great joy

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The above picture is ‘our patch’, we live in a small suburban development on the edge of Enniskillen but we are lucky that the we have this unmanaged scrub to explore, it has lots of wildflowers, birds, butterflies, moths and we come here to watch buzzards, bats, jays and other cool stuff. I’ll be here a lot! It’s a great place for wildlife, if you have what looks like a ‘wasteland’, go and explore it, I’ll bet it has more than you expect!

Thanks for reading

Dara