Member's statement: Clandeboye Nature Rangers
Member's statement by Mr Peter Martin on .
- MLA
- Mr Peter Martin
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 12 November 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Clandeboye Nature Rangers
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4658223
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I want to highlight the work of the Clandeboye Nature Rangers in my constituency and the Northern Ireland Forest School Association more generally. The Clandeboye Nature Rangers club was established in 2018. Just like any plant or tree, it started small, with 12 children attending the preschool. Over time, that seed propagated and steadily grew. Now, over 78 families use its facilities weekly. In summer 2024, there were 3,500 children on its programme. In the Clandeboye estate, children can take full advantage of the woodland and explore and investigate the natural environment. They can take part in activities such as arts and crafts using the natural resources around them and participate in den building, campfire cooking and tool making, all of which particularly appeal to me. In addition, the rangers hold a variety of training and development opportunities for teachers, schools and the wider community to promote outdoor learning across Northern Ireland.
We all know that studies have shown that there are significant benefits in engaging in that sort of activity for physical and emotional health in children. The organisation does an amazing job in re-engaging children with nature.
In turn, forest schools in Northern Ireland also play a positive role in shaping a young person's experience of nature, helping them to cultivate imagination and develop creativity. My youngest son and I dug some clay out of our garden last week. We are in the process of fashioning it into a volcano, and we will then cook it in the oven. I suppose that that is the sort of creativity that I am talking about, although I am not completely sure that my wife agrees. The forest school programme works alongside nurseries, schools and universities across Northern Ireland, helping more than 5,000 students to learn about nature. Forest schools are not only changing the lives of young people; they have worked with over 500 teachers and classroom assistants, all of whom have now qualified as forest school leaders, equipping them with the skill to develop their own projects. I think that there are 13 forest schools in my constituency. This morning, I am incredibly proud to speak in support of Clandeboye Nature Rangers and the work of the Northern Ireland Forest School Association in engaging young people with the amazing environment around them and the direct benefit that that delivers for them.
392 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.02 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.02 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.01 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.12 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.02 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.93 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.04 |
| Sexism, misogyny, ageism and other equality groups | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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