Banks of the Ballinderry Fair 2009
Banks of the Ballinderry Fair 2009
With fabulous sunshine, the duck races were as competitive as ever,
and minibeasts, canoe displays, invasive species games and more helped everyone connect with their local river.
Listen to our latest podcast below to hear what visitors had to say about the Fair - or maybe even catch a familiar voice!
Podcast Transcript
“It’s very, very interesting very educational. It’s been very, very enjoyable for all the children today.”
“Lots of activities, lots of things for the children they’re having a great day. It’s a great project definitely, definitely.”
“Its great and it’s great to get out, you meet people with a similar interest all the time and I have spent most of the day chatting to people about interest in the same things I am. The information swap that you do is, it amazes me what people know things I forgot, its great exchange you know. Well I rarely leave the river, I walk the dog at the river, I don’t fish so much now but I used to do a lot of fishing and watch the wildlife down round the river. There’s particular patches I would know very well I could bring people down to do walks or talks, I know all the animals, where they live down round it. Up here today I’ve met boys that have similar patches down round their end, further down the river that I wouldn’t know.”
“Oh yes I am enjoying the fair, I’ve brought my three kids with me so there are enjoying more than I am, they’re enjoying a duck race at the moment. One of the things we have found very interesting today, we came across last year the pearl mussels by chance after the flood and they were all empty. So today I have been able to find out about these pearl mussels, the history of them which has been very, very good. I have a wee daughter also who’s very much into these mini beasts so today she’s happy, she’s had a real good run through that and she’s got cards to be able to identify those so no doubt in the next few days we will be getting the nets out and going down and looking for mini beasts and trying to identify what they are.”
“Well I have been learning what invasive species and how important it is to eradicate them from our rivers, our river banks even with Lynne. I’ve gone and seen some flytying which you often don’t get to see which was brilliant. I’ve gone and learnt heaps about invertebrates and most importantly I have gone and learnt about mussels.”
“I’m called Connor Kelly and I was in playing with the duck race and I was letting a kind of a fish go and I was looking at the wee bugs so I was.”
“I’ve been doing, apart from putting tents up, I have been putting fish into the river today. I would say the children have put out three or four thousand fish. They were supposed to be putting them out one at a time but I was making them put out three or four at a time. Great day, great fair today I have learnt an awful lot today. The fair itself has gotten a lot bigger since Ripple took off, we are seeing more people here.”
My name is Naomi I have been to the live show of the Beetling Mill I absolutely loved it, it was like you were meeting people from the past. People who were actually involved in the Beetling Mill and the characters were telling you about their lives, what happened and the history and we were actually shown how to make flax and how the flax was grown. I have to say I really, really enjoyed it done a very good job.”
“The fair was phenomenal, I really did enjoy myself. My nephew came with me and he really enjoyed the ability to not only name a fish but to release it in the pond and then to paint a little fish and then name it. He also enjoyed the coconut shy and learning about the environment and also touching the mussels and the fish and the crayfish and learning how the effect of human influences is affecting the rivers and such. Definitely a great day, I have actually spoken to some people outside the fish hatchery along the Ballinderry River and they have all said good things about the Ripple project and its lovely to see so many people out here today.”