Are you passionate about the outdoors? We want to hear from you!

A project team has been established comprising representatives from Meath County Council, Meath Local Sports Partnership, Meath Partnership, Canoeing Ireland, and Coillte to oversee the development of the Meath County Outdoor Recreation Plan.

As part of the creation of this five-year strategic plan, two public consultations will take place in February to gather feedback from the public and key stakeholders regarding the current state of outdoor recreation provisions in Meath.

The objective is to identify opportunities for improvement and enhancement of outdoor recreational offerings throughout the county. To facilitate this process, we have engaged the services of outdoor consultants, @Outscape, to conduct in-person roundtable workshops that will encourage discussion and collaboration conducive to the plan’s development.

The scheduled dates and venues for the consultations are as follows:

1. Tuesday 11th February 2025, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at the Pillo Hotel, Ashbourne, A84 KR91

2. Wednesday 12th February 2025, from 7:00 PM to 8:30 PM at Meath County Council Offices, Buvinda House, Navan, C15 Y291

Please register in advance to facilitate effective attendance management: https://bit.ly/3EnHD4O

Funding for this initiative is provided by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

As part of the national initiative – ‘Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, The National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027’- Meath has been chosen as one of 6 pilot counties to employ a County Outdoor Recreation Officer to help develop and deliver a county outdoor recreation plan.

• “At county level, our ambition is to achieve a more planned and coordinated approach between the many stakeholders, with the introduction of a County Outdoor Recreation Committee and the development of an Outdoor Recreation Plan for each county. This will ensure that county needs are prioritised, as well as being aligned with the national strategy. This new structure will be best placed to ensure that value for money is achieved from the significant levels of public investment in outdoor recreation. In addition, it is our ambition to ensure that available funding and resources are better aligned with national and county priorities.”             Comhairle na Tuatha.

What is Outdoor Recreation?:

By ‘outdoor recreation’ we mean activities that take place in the natural environment, such as walking, canoeing, mountain biking, orienteering and wild swimming.

It does not include activities that take place outdoors on confined courses or pitches (such as golf, football, show jumping) or motorised activities (such as quads/scramblers) with the exception of motorised mobility aids.

For information, please check the Meath Local Sports Partnership site below:

https://www.meathsports.ie/outdoors/