Roz published in Family Friendly Events, Latest News, May Events May 10, 2019

National Biodiversity Week 2019

Over the course of nine days, from 18th – 26th May 2019, over 50 FREE, family-friendly events will be taking place all over Ireland celebrating our diverse species and habitats.

Ireland’s National Biodiversity Week 2019 will take place from 18th – 26th May 2019. Over 50 events will be taking place all across Ireland. This year we focus on the theme “Our biodiversity, Our food Our health”. We offer you the opportunity to reconnect in the best way with the natural environment around us.All events are free to attend and open to all the family! Come and visit our website to discover events near you : www.biodiversityweek.ie

To take part in one of their Biodiversity Photographer of the Year competition, please visit http://biodiversityweek.ie/photo-competitions/ Cash prizes of up to €500 for winners!
All photos must be taken in the month of May and must be submitted by midnight on the 31st May 2019.

Biodiversity Week is organised by the Irish Environmental Network (www.ien.ie) and supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Trust (www.npws.ie)

Roz published in Activities, Blog, Community, Crafts, Events and Tours, December 14, 2018

Celt Traditional Skills Galway

CELT – Promoting Sustainable Living and Nature Conservation

CELT, founded in 2001, is a national charity for environmental education and training and is an award-winning
provider of training in traditional and ecological skills, focused on promoting caring for the environment and living in a sustainable manner by using locally sourced natural and recycled materials to make the things we need – tools, buildings, furniture, utensils, sports equipment and toys.
The CELT ‘Weekend in the Woods’ events are held 2 – 3 times a year at Slieve Aughty Centre (Loughrea, Co. Galway) attracting 100’s of participants interested in learning ecological and traditional skills and knowledge and also because of the scenic rural location and opportunity to enjoy the outdoors in between learning modules.
CELT is a member of AONTAS (National Association for Adult Education), achieving Special Commendation in their
Star Awards (2007) and has won numerous awards from the Heritage Council for traditional skills training and for
biodiversity projects (every year, 2002 – 2014) and were also first runners-up in the national Green Awards 2013
and in the eco-communities section of the national Pride of Place competition 2014.

Weekend In The Hills, Festival of Traditional Crafts.

Join us for two days of traditional skills courses taught by some of the countries leading craftspeople.
May 11th and 12th 2019 at eco and organic destination Slieve Aughty Centre in county Galway.

Book your place or give someone you love the gift of a CELT Gift Voucher for a course of their choice!

Shop Online Here >>
Courses include:

In the meantime connect with us on:
Twitter: @celtnet ; Facebook /celtskills or visit us online at www.celtnet.org

Roz published in Accommodation, Activities, April Events, Crafts, Eco Weddings, March 30, 2016

Activity breaks in Ireland

Family Fun, Activities and EcoTourism at Slieve Aughty Centre, Loughrea, Co Galway

Slieve Aughty Centre (which comprises also of the fabulous Three Towers Eco House and Restaurant) has a great range of events and activities coming up over the next few months including:

Saturday & Sunday May 7-8
CELT Weekend in the Hills
2 days of traditional skills workshops
April 23rd & 24th: Intro to Permaculture and Forest Therapy Walk, 10-4pm
April 24th: Connecting with you Inner Self, 11-5pm
April 24th: Mixed Metal Jewellery, 10-5pm

Pizza Party Fridays Are Back!

Every Friday evening at 7pm enjoy a delicious organic pizza with your choice of toppings, fired up in our clay oven. €5 per child and €10 for adults. Book Now.

For more information on any of the above contact
Slieve Aughty Centre, Kylebrack West, Loughrea, Co. Galway
+353 (0) 90 974 5246 www.slieveaughtycentre.com
Facebook: slieveaughtyequestrianandactivitycentre

Roz published in Accommodation, Activities, Events and Tours, Family Friendly Events, June Events, February 1, 2016

Walking Tours and Holidays at Top Of The Rock

2016 Walking Tours in West Cork

Top Of The Rock Walking Tours (and pod park) have a number of interesting walks taking place throughout 2016 including:

St Finbarr’s Pilgrim Walk Easter Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th March 2016.
Leaving aside the spiritual benefits for a moment, this walk is a truly magnificient journey which goes “up and over” three mountain systems and four valleys, namely the Ilen, Mealagh, Ouvane and Lee valley basins.
Sheeps Head and St Finbarr’s Walking week 15th-20th May 2016:
A four day walking tour from the SHEEPS HEAD lighthouse to St Finbarr’s hermitage at GOUGANE BARRA, with five nights’ accommodation at the Top of the Rock Pod Páirc and Walking Centre.

Poets people and places walking week 19th-24th June

A walking tour with Richard Whyte who has a huge love of poetry and all things to do with nature. As one walks with Richard he will pull just the right piece of poetry out of his top pocket and recite it on the spot.
Walking the Sheep’s Head and St Finbarr’s Pilgrim Path for September Walking Week 18th-23rd September
A four day walking tour from the SHEEPS HEAD lighthouse to St Finbarr’s hermitage at GOUGANE BARRA, with five nights’ accommodation at the Top of the Rock Pod Páirc and Walking Centre designed to give you a taste for Irish life and landscape.
For more information on any of the above or to arrange a custom tailored walking tour visit Topoftherock.ie

Roz published in Activities, Eco Friendly Services, Eco Weddings, Events and Tours, Family Friendly Events, May 3, 2015

Open Day At BumbleBee Flower Farm

Open Day 31st of May – Bloom in West Cork!

Those of you not attending Bloom in Dublin this May might be interested in making a weekend of it in beautiful West Cork with a visit to Ruby Hartes’ Organic Flower Farm.
Mags and Stephen are having an Open day on the flower farm where you can see how they grow and cut flowers for events and weddings as well as their new business of growing and providing edible flowers for restaurants nationwide.

Open day Sunday 31st May 2pm – 5pm. €5. In aid of Drimoleague walkways.
This will include musical entertainment and floral demonstrations which will be raffled off for some lucky people to take home with them.

We’ll be there!

To Book email rubyharte@eircom.net or call mobile 086-8251380

Roz published in Activities, April Events, August Events, Family Friendly Events, Food Blog, January 29, 2015

Seaweed Foraging Events 2015

The Sea Gardener Foraging Events & Workshops

Marie Power aka The Sea Gardener runs a number of seaweed foraging events throughout the year and is found at many of the food festivals nationwide. She also provides individual and customized events such as Seaweed Cookery Workshops, Picnics and Seaweed Sessions With Friends!
2014 Events

April 12 & 13
Forages & Cookery Demos, Dungarvan Food Festival
May 1
Talk at Wexford Wildfowl Reserve. Wexford Field Naturalists Club
May 17
Seaweed Forage, Baginbun Beach. WFNC
May 18
Seaweed Forage, Bealtaine Festival, Kilfarassey, Co. Waterford
June 15
Cookery Demo with Cycle Forage at The Tannery to celebrate Bike Week
June
Cookery Demo, The Bay Cafe, Dunmore East Food Festival
July 27
Beach Picnic & Forage, Kilfarassey
August 10
Beach Walk & Forage, Rathmoylan & Ballymacaw, Co.Waterford
Sept 10
Waterford Harvest Festival
October
Bia Bofinne, Inishbofin Food Festival
October
Dingle Food Festival

For more details Theseagardener.ie or Follow Marie on Twitter:@TheSeaGardener

Roz published in Accommodation, Activities, August Events, Community Hubs, Crafts, January 25, 2015

Events At Crann Og Eco Farm

Crann Og Eco Friendly Accommodation

Crann Og Eco Farm are based in Gort, Co Galway. Last year we met up with Florian and Marion during our nationwide Ecotour and had a tour around the farm which offers a lesson in self sustainability and upcycling!
Crann Og offer eco friendly accommodation plus run a number of events and workshops throughout the year , some of which are listed below:

February 1: Imbolc
March 30 – April 2: Huath Forest School Education Part 1
May 1: Beltaine
June 25 – 28: Moonlodge Sister Meeting
July 9 – 12: Huath Forest School Education Part 2
August 2: Lughnasa
November 2: Samhain

Marion’s yoga classes are on every Monday and Tuesday (please call before coming)and we might be lucky enough to start a weekly belly dance class here in 2015.
Apart from the list above, we are also planning on the following events and workshops:

TeeNature,
Eco Family Days around the Celtic
Year Celebrations,
Weekends designed by us with various activities
Irish Experience weeks, etc.

For the latest updates visit the events page on crann-og.net here >>

Roz published in Activities, April Events, August Events, EAI, Events and Tours, August 3, 2014

Trip To BallyBunion

BallyBunion Eco Tourism Trails

Last week I had the opportunity to go to Tralee in Co Kerry for a business Conference with my sister TweetingGoddess. I decided to make the most of my trip by also visiting Ballybunion during my stay so I called ahead and arranged to meet local historian and ecotrek founder Danny Houlihan of ecotrekballybunion.com.
Danny met me at the beach and we headed around his trail whilst he shared local information and vivid historic tales that would not be unusual in a Game of Thrones episode!
From a Chiefs sacrifice of his nine beautiful daughters to Fionn Mac Chumhaills epic battles Danny made the trip so interesting we even had passers by stopping to listen in and hear him play the pipes!
After my time with Danny we headed out of Ballybunion for a mile to visit Mike of Bromore Cliffs – This spectacular piece of scenery took our breath away and Mike was such a lovely friendly guy telling us about a local picnic that had been held in the field there the week before. It all sounded very famous five!
Mike also has a gorgeous self catering cottage available for rent and the best thing about all this is that it’s open in the winter months too! I’ll be heading down that way again soon to include a local cheesmaker and more so do check back as we will adding these trails to our website in the coming months. Meantime Here are some photos of the spectacular scenery available in Beautiful Ballybunion!

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Roz published in Activities, April Events, August Events, Events and Tours, Family Friendly Events, June 7, 2014

Micro Adventures this Summer in Ireland

Experience something new with our MicroAdventures!

Summers here and let’s face it – In Ireland it’s usually pretty short so we gotta make the most of it! With this in mind we will be posting category based blogs on the microadventures you can experience this Summer here in Ireland.

Today we are starting with Adventure Tours!

3 Day Odyssey Adventure in the Burren, Co Clare

This 3 day adventure odyssey package based in the Burren Co Clare includes a Burren rocks walk, half day climbing, sea kayaking session, accommodation, meals and much more. Local guide Christy provides indepth historical knowledge on points of interest dating back to the bronze age. Food is sourced from local producers many of which are part of the Burren Ecotourism group and you will also get to do a bit of beer tasting.
Definately one for both outdoor and foodie lovers!
For full details of this tour click here >>

Rathdrum and Avondale Famine Walk (3 hours)

This guided looped walk is through a famine graveyard, woodland trails and alongside riverways with beautiful views of this wonderful part of County Wicklow.
Enjoy the area’s surprising history and heritage with your local guide and afterwards head to local Pub Jacobs Well to enjoy Warming Soup and Brown Bread included in the price.
Perfect for all ages and levels and especially suited for fabulous photo taking!
For full details of this tour click here >>

Day Activity Tours from Dublin with Terry

Take a break from the old town and head out to Dublins’ doorstep- full of countryside fun, with Day Tours Wicklow. These tours are run daily from a variety of pick up points in Dublins’ city centre and you can hop off the tour bus and get out into the Irish Country side to enjoy a Guided walk, Horse Riding or Cycling.
After your activity the tour continues on through the valleys and glens of the Wicklow Mountains visiting many of Wicklow’s wonderful highlights along the way, including Enniskerry (film location of “P.S. I Love You” and “Leap Year”), Wicklow Mountain National Park, Sally’s Gap, Lough Tay, the Guinness Lake (film location of “Excalibur” and “Brave Heart”), Glenmacnass Waterfall, Glendalough. You will stop for a bite to eat in either Poppies in Enniskerry (Good Country cuisine) or along the way before visiting Glendalough and its 6th century monastic site returning to Dublin afterwards.
For full details of this tour click here >>

Pan For Gold in Avoca, Co Wicklow

You just might strike gold in the beautiful vale of Avoca where a large nugget of gold of the 22 oz variety which, local legend has it, was found in this valley and made into a snuff box for King George VI. Gold has just been rediscovered in the Avoca area by a large mining company, with a view to mining it in the near future. This tour promises lots of fun and gold panning activity, use of All Gold Panning Equipment, warming Avoca Cafe soup and brown bread (hot chocolate for the kids), and Avoca Mill Tour also.
For full details of this tour click here >>

From Grain to Bottle Walking Whiskey Tour, Slane, Co Meath

Rock Farm Slane – This is the first season of walking tours on the Slane Castle estate and in celebration this tour will be given by Alexander Mount Charles focussing on the production of whiskey from the barley trials at Rock Farm to the distillery project at Slane Castle for a tasting of Irish whiskeys.
This unique tour includes 2 hour walk, Slane Food Circle lunch at Slane Castle café (45 minutes); followed by 40 minute tour of castle and 1 hour distillery project tour and whiskey tasting.
For full details of this tour click here >>

FOR MORE TOUR ADVENTURES KEEP AN EYE ON OUR TOURS CATEGORY HERE >>

Roz published in Activities, April Events, August Events, December Events, Family Friendly Events, May 12, 2014

Surfing in Bundoran Donegal

Bundoran Surf Co

Surfing is a great sport to be enjoyed by people of all ages and fitness levels. It is a great way to pick up a new sport or even just an excuse to get into the great outdoors.
Beginner lessons take place in waist deep water so don’t worry if you aren’t confident in the water. Our Surf School is approved by the Irish Surfing Association, all lessons are fully insured and all instructors are qualified beach lifeguards.
Information about beginner surf lessons:

Adult €30 (3 lessons €85, 4 €110, 5 €130 on consecutive days).
Groups of 7 and more €25pp.
Kids €25 (from 8 to 16yrs inclusive).
Groups of 16 and more €20pp.

Lessons run at 10am and 2pm all year round.
5pm lesson available on request.
All instruction and equipment provided.
Transport to and from beach included.
The lessons last for about 3 hours.
Changing facilities, hot showers, and a hot drink after the session included.
All you need is a towel and swimwear.
We use 4/3mm suits in summer and 5/4/3mm suits in winter.
www.bundoransurfco.com

Eco Active Social

May Events