Leave No Trace, Love This Place

By ALANNAH O’CALLAGHAN Rural Recreation Officer

Friday 28th of July 2023 is Ireland’s first ever national Love This Place Day, the aim of this campaign is to celebrate and promote the responsible use of the Irish outdoors. With this in mind, below are a few tips that should be kept in mind when out visiting our beautiful countryside:

Plan ahead and prepare

Before heading out for a walk or a hike, double check to make sure that your activity is allowed in the area that you plan on visiting. Once there, respect any signage that you might find along the way. If travelling in a larger group, try to carpool and reduce the number of cars on the road unnecessarily, and once you arrive make sure you are mindful of where you park –don’t block gates, access points or any roads!

Be considerate of others

Many of us enjoy using the outdoors so take care not to damage any property, gates and crops when out exploring. Also be mindful of blocking access, many people live in the countryside, and it can be frustrating at weekends for those wholive in these places to find cars blocking gateways and narrow roads. Respect others who are also visiting the outdoors, please don’t blast music out of portable speakers halfway up the hill!

Leave everything the way you find it

“Leave only footsteps and take only memories” is a phrase that gets thrown around a lot in the outdoor community, but it perfectly summarises how we should be acting in nature. Leave gates closed as you find them and respect any walls and old ruins that you might come across, enjoy our heritage but don’t climb all over it. Stick to paths to reduce the impact that we have on outdoor places. Finally leave all habitats as you find them - leave all flora and fauna where you find it so that it can continue to thrive.

Take your rubbish home

This might seem like an obvious one, but it’s surprising how many banana skins one comes across inthe Irish countryside. Remember if you bring it with you, take it home and dispose of it properly – this goes for everything, food waste included, not just your packaging!

Respect wildlife and farm animals

Don’t bring your dogs where they’re not allowed and keep them on a leash in locations where its required. Observe all wildlife from a distance and don’t feed them our food as it can be damaging for their health. Finally, remain a safe distance from any farm animals and don’t scare them.

If anyone is doing anything to celebrate National Love This Place Day, let our Rural Recreation Officer Alannah know, and send in pictures to Alannah.ocallaghan@ irdduhallow.com, or post to social media with the hashtag #LoveThisPlace. For more tips and information on Leave No Trace visit their website at www. leavenotraceireland.org