Mayo Dark Sky Champion Training
Summary
If you are in the tourism/hospitality business in Co. Mayo, our Dark Sky Champions Course will be of interest to you! Join us as we learn about the potential of dark sky tourism. This free course will run in both Westport and Ballycroy on February 28th. Registration is required and all are welcome. Spaces are limited.
Did you know that Half our Park is After Dark? Wild Nephin National Park is home to Ireland’s first International Dark Sky Park, having received Gold Tier accreditation in 2016. This makes it one of the best places in the world to see naturally dark skies.
If you are in the tourism/hospitality business in Co. Mayo, our Dark Sky Champions Course will be of interest to you!
Join us as we learn about the potential of dark sky tourism. We have an exciting programme planned. We will also be joined by two guest speakers, Duncan Wise, Dark Skies Lead Officer at Northumberland National Park and Dr Tony Johnston, Dark Sky EcoTourism Project at TUS (more information about our speakers below).
Workshops will run in Westport and Ballycroy (approx. 2 hours per event, repeated in both locations). The course will take place at 10am in Westport Cinema and at 2.30pm in the Ballycroy Visitor Centre on February 28th, 2023.
Please click here to complete an application form to register for this free course.
Participants will be asked to commit to one action for dark skies. Places are limited, so we ask that you do not reserve places unless you can confirm attendance.
We would like to thank Fáilte Ireland for their support in hosting this event and to Georgia MacMillan, Mayo Dark Sky Park Development Officer (IRC Employment Based PhD Scholar in partnership with NPWS and University of Galway) for organising the course.
Speaker Information
Duncan Wise of Northumberland Dark Sky Park – Duncan will present a talk on his work as Dark Skies Lead officer and the success of dark sky tourism in the Northumberland area. This is estimated to be worth approximately £25m to the local economy annually. Duncan has led many of the initiatives for developing dark sky tourism and will bring some of his insights and ideas to his talk as part of the training.
Dr Tony Johnston of TUS Midlands Midwest – Tony will present his work on a new European project specifically focused on Dark Sky Ecotourism with the aim of providing guides and education for tourism business and building a suite of tools and resources for areas seeking to promote sustainable dark sky tourism.