Marian Rollins:Marian Rollins, who has died aged 54, was a pioneer of environmental education in Ireland. As a school teacher and as education officer of the Airfield Trust, she worked tirelessly to increase awareness of the environment, particularly among young people.
Broadcaster Éanna Ní Lamhna this week paid tribute to her work as an educator. "No one who has ever met Marian Rollins has failed to be inspired by her . . . She enabled those who came in contact with her to achieve and to understand the world around them. She brought out the best in them."
Catherine Byrne, former deputy general secretary of the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, described her as "extraordinarily creative" and a "brilliant teacher".
Dr Séamus Cannon of the Blackrock Education Centre, who collaborated with her on many projects, said that for him and his colleagues she was their Socrates, continually urging them to ever greater efforts. "We were surprised at how capable we became in her presence."
Born in Newtowncashel, Co Longford, in 1953, she was one of the four children of Jack and Brigid Rollins. Educated at the local national school and the Convent of Mercy, Ballymahon, she later studied at Carysfort College, Blackrock, Co Dublin, graduating as a teacher in 1973.
Having taught for eight years at St Louis girls primary school, Rathmines, she joined the Dalkey School Project in 1981. There she worked under the innovative principal Florrie Armstrong.
Taking charge of a science project undertaken in collaboration with the ESB, she directed her pupils' active learning as they constructed their circuits with the assistance of ESB apprentices. The project provided a vivid example of learning by doing, creating a lasting image of children busily at work with a very skilled teacher in charge.
Later she worked on local studies and was centrally involved in the development of educational trails in Dún Laoghaire in association with the Blackrock Education Centre. The growth of popularity of the trails led to the making of a teacher training video, which paved the way in the use of video for teacher in-service training.
Over the next 20 years she was involved in many publications and productions in a variety of media, all focused on teacher and children's learning about Ireland's environmental heritage.
They included a Young Visitor's Guide to Trinity and several information packs for Enfo, the environmental information service. She devoted a year's work to the major publication Sheer, a survey of heritage and environmental education in schools. The survey, which involved travelling to every county in Ireland, broke new ground in harnessing the most advanced technology of the time - CD Rom.
On secondment to the Airfield Trust, she saw the working farm and gardens in the Dublin suburb of Dundrum as a place for children and adults to reconnect with their natural heritage. She set up a native hedgerow, a freshwater pond, a wild flower meadow and log piles to enhance the farm's educational potential.
She initiated school visits by city pupils, which are so successful that they have to be booked at the start of the school year. She designed and equipped the splendid nature room at Airfield and produced all the educational material used by the pupils.
She was co-ordinator of the schools garden project, designed to counteract children's bombardment by processed-food manufacturers. The programme began in 1996, with 150 primary and post-primary schools around the Republic setting up a garden.
"When children get the chance to plant vegetables, see them grow, nurture them, harvest them and eat their own produce, they do learn the value of good food," she said.
Other projects included Caring for the Earth, in collaboration with the INTO, 29 Fitzwilliam with the ESB and the Green Schools project with An Taisce. The Something Fishy and Exploration Trails websites were created in co-operation with the Blackrock Education Centre.
The teacher-training courses she ran at the centre with Paddy Madden were hugely popular and many participants were so enthused that they kept returning for one course after another.
In 2006 she was the first recipient of the Heritage and Education Award, jointly sponsored by the INTO and the Heritage Council. In 2006 also the Exploration Trails website won the Digital Media Award for best eLearning product.
She is survived by her husband John Halpin and their sons, Karl and Luke.
Marian Rollins: born February 7th, 1953; died March 31st, 2007