Locals in Inishowen are set to learn more about the many health and wellbeing benefits of their natural surroundings as part of an exciting new project.
Inishowen Development Partnership (IDP) are launching an International project to promote Wellbeing from Nature in the Inishowen area.
The LEADER funded Co-Operation project will bring together local action groups from West Finland and the Maltese island of Gozo in a knowledge exchange around Green Care and nature-induced wellbeing.
The IDP’s project goal is to highlight, to locals and visitors, the health and wellbeing benefits of Inishowen’s incredible nature. Groups and businesses, working in wellness and with nature, will be offered support in new business models, joint promotion, and service development.
The project will build on how the natural areas of Inishowen are used for wellbeing and promoting health tourism.
The international cooperative nature of the project will see the IDP take part in workshops and benchmarking that will help in the development of experience-based products and collective marketing campaigns.
The partners in Finland and Malta will work with the IDP to demonstrate the positive health impact of wellness in nature.
“This project has been in development for the past number of months and with the uncertainty of the pandemic we were unsure if it would get approved under this LEADER timeline but we are delighted with the interest and positive response in the project to date”, outlined Andrew Ward, IDP’s Joint CEO who manages the programme implementation of LEADER in Inishowen.
Through increasing the local knowledge in green care and ecotherapy, the project will help to develop new services and opportunities for people to use nature areas for supporting wellness and tourism. It will offer a clear message and increased visibility of Inishowen as a destination for seeking wellness from nature, which local businesses and groups can leverage.
Shauna McClenaghan, Joint CEO of the IDP said of the Wellness from Nature project: “This venture is timely, as the necessary lifestyle changes over the last 12 months have seen an increased appreciation of Inishowen’s natural resources and an ongoing concern for the mental health and wellbeing of our community. Using the knowledge of the International project partners we believe that the Wellness from Nature action will offer an overarching message of Inishowen as a destination to experience the health benefits from natural surroundings.”
The project will be supported by Carlene Lyttle from business consultancy Sailespin who said “Through looking at all Inishowen has to offer people interested in nature and health, the Wellness from Nature project will give greater visibility to what is available in the area.”
Denise McCool, from the IDP added: “The work will also be informed by the Envision workshops carried out by IDP as these themes came up across the peninsula, in terms of developing wellbeing initiatives for local communities and green tourism. It is hoped the project will help local people to know more about what is on their doorstep and to attract visitors to experience the positive health impacts of nature in Inishowen”.
The project will run until June 2022 and interested groups can get more information from contacting the IDP on enquiries@inishowen.ie or Carlene Lyttle at carlene@sailespin.com.
Featured image by Chris Hill for Tourism Ireland / Failte Ireland
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