This week on Ours to Protect we visit Killarney National Park where teenagers from all over Kerry are learning hands on conservation work as part of a new Junior Ranger + course.
Sari Houlihan went along to the course to meet the young people and park rangers involved.
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Last Saturday afternoon in Muckross teenagers from all over the county from Rathmore to Glenbeigh worked with conservation rangers to clear an area of Yew woodland so new seedlings can flourish.
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It's the first time the Education Centre at Killarney National Park is running a monthly series of advanced conservation activities for young people aged from 14 to 17, building on courses they already run for children.
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Chris Barron, originally from Somerset in England, has been a conservation ranger in the Park since the late 1990's. He said they're delighted to have a course now aimed at older teenagers.
Participants in the course will be learning lots of new skills from ecological surveys to map-reading to navigation.
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Ireland is experiencing significant biodiversity loss - with over 20% of assessed species here threatened with extinction..
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Chris says we don't always notice the decline until it's at critical level.
If you're interested in future courses at Killarney National Park contact 06466 35960.
