Skip navigation |

Enjoy our Countryside, Coast and Parks Responsibly

Enjoy our Countryside, Coast and Parks Responsibly

Our last bank holiday of the summer has arrived and as many thousands of people venture into the outdoors to enjoy our beautiful beaches, forests, parks, mountains and lakes around the country, Leave No Trace Ireland is encouraging everyone to enjoy our outdoors responsibly.

Maura Lyons, Programme Manager with Leave No Trace Ireland, a charity promoting responsible outdoor recreation in Ireland says “We should all enjoy and celebrate our scenic countryside and the many activities we can do in the outdoors but we should also try to minimise any negative environmental impacts we may be creating by planning our trips a little better and adhering to a few simple outdoor principles.

At this time of the year, people love to picnic, barbeque and party in the outdoors. To ensure a safe and pleasant experience for everyone and to avoid any risk of wild fires, people should only light fires in designated areas. When out and about please remember to eat in designated picnic sites and be sure to take rubbish home to ensure that everyone will continue to enjoy our outdoor amenities.

Many people love to take their pet dogs into the outdoors and while this is certainly fun for the dog, it can create some problems for other recreation users and local farmers. Anyone planning on taking their dog into the outdoors should keep it under effective control at all times and avoid agricultural areas, especially where sheep or cattle are grazing.

Car parking can be a real issue in many areas with so many people driving into the countryside to visit scenic spots. This can become a problem, not only for visitors but for our farming communities as it’s a busy time of year on all farms. To avoid parking problems, people are encourage to park in designated car park areas where possible and to avoid blocking roads and access points to farmland and agricultural lanes.

Finally, summer time is a busy time in nature, with lots of breeding birds and animals active and our wild flowers in full bloom. We should celebrate and enjoy nature and wildlife but we should remember to take nothing but photographs and leave only footprints!

More information on responsible outdoor recreation and Leave No Trace Ireland education programme is available on www.leavenotraceireland.org or contact Programme Manager, Maura Lyons on 01 9059009.

 

 

Current situation

As you are probably aware the current advice from the Northern Ireland Executive, Health Promotion Agency NI and Health & Safety Executive NI, as well as our expert group within Sport NI is that we cannot deliver any face to face courses for our customers including use of the Hot Rock Climbing Wall.

We know that you and many others like minded folk are very keen to get back on track with your plans to attend and complete a range of personal skills training and qualifications in a range of disciplines.

Believe us when we say we are equally keen to get outside with you and help you reach your goals and complete that journey.

How do we know? Because every day we get emails and phone calls asking when will courses resume and with every NI Executive mention of easing of restrictions the emails and phone calls are more frequent……