In many ways this has to be one of the best shows in town (Dublin). The other day, the casual inquirer into the content and meaning of the ENFO office or showroom at 17 St Andrew Street would learn one of the most intriguing aspects of the work of the Department of the Environment and Local Government. Just stick with the environment. There was a clamorous but attentive group of schoolchildren, say a score, with their teacher, enraptured by a video which might have been on any of the themes set out on the ENFO introductory card to the exhibition. Such as: Could you survive on a desert island? Could you collect seed to grow your own food? (The Robinson Crusoe Syndrome, one might say.) Would you know what foods are safe to eat? Could you survive without buying food from a supermarket? Why not come along and find out what some familiar foods look like in the wild? And various other questions and suggestions.
Everything in the Office/ Showroom seems to be free. You can go through an impressive selection of colourful posters - 16 inches by 12, approximately - showing in colourful, graphic detail pictures of the red squirrel at home, or otters, which are also given a good show. Did you know how well the otter is suited to underwater activity? "Its coat is waterproof and, with webbed feet and a long tail for a rudder, it can swim effortlessly in search of prey . . . large lungs enable it to take a deep breath which keeps it going under the water for three minutes or more." A map shows how widespread is the otter on this island. The badger poster (all of these are with Folens, publishers) gives a wider diet range than you might expect: young rabbits, rats, mice, frogs, earthworms, beetles, acorns and even bees' and wasps' nests.
Intriguing illustrations to them all. What an adornment to any classroom. And, in a catch-all picture illustrating November, are falling leaves, finches, a grey squirrel making up his store for the winter, swans, a kingfisher, a frog, and more. No wonder the children were enraptured. One boy was piecing together wooden cut-outs such as the badger. And everywhere, scattered around, seeds and nuts and leaves: the tang of autumn. And lots of lovely pamphlets to take away - free. Until the end of this month. Y