MBTAs: Who will take the honour of having Meath's Best Tourism Experience?
An educational family fun day out with nature
Beewise
About…
Bee Wise Nature Trail is set on five acres of woodland outside Kilmessan, with its main aim being to educate people of all ages to learn about and appreciate nature that is all around them.
Bee Wise Nature Trail shows simple, cost effective examples of how to improve biodiversity and for people to replicate what they see, in their own space whether that is on a balcony or an acre site. Bee Wise Nature Trail is a family-run business by Paddy Gorman along with his wife and two teenage children.
Bee Wise Nature Trail opened to the public in 2017 and has grown and developed since then into an educational family fun day out with nature. Bee Wise is currently getting involved with other businesses, community groups and individuals to help them replicate similar projects around the country.
It is continually adding new events and making additions to the business. For example it has just held a successful Halloween event and added a new outdoor games area. Interestingly all sets for the Halloween event were built using reclaimed timber from the The Last Duel film set at Bective featuring Matt Damon.
Lessons learned from the last 18 months
During COVID lockdown we had to change the way we ran our Open Days from large group talks to individual socially distanced family groups/pods. This has been extremely popular as each family get some quality time and one on one time to talk and see demonstrations with us on site as well as enjoy time to explore and play at their own pace. People have come to appreciate being outdoors with nature during the last year or so.
A love for the Boyne Valley and beyond
Custom Irish Tourism
About…
Derek Smith started Custom Irish Tourism in 2007 out of a love for the Boyne Valley. Growing up exploring the valley as a child gave him the passion for sharing the knowledge he had gathered. He now travels around Ireland showing off the beautiful island to people from all over the world. Pre-Covid, the business had two vehicles but as in most tourism businesses, Covid changed the path of the industry. The business survived just about and has continued to be very busy since restrictions allowed him to reopen in mid-July 2020.
“I have been lucky to have many people returning from all over the world and sending friends,” says Derek, which is a best kind of publicity. The future is not clear but one thing that never waives is his love for the Boyne valley and beyond.
“I love what I do and love showing off the Boyne valley - its history, local crafts, amazing food and so much more,” says Derek who has had some health scares recently. “God willing, I can keep doing this for many years to come.”
Lessons learned from the last 18 months
2020 was going to be the busiest year on record with more work than ever booked. When lockdown hit in March 2020, Derek offered full refunds to clients or a chance to rebook for up to five years. The refunds put massive financial strain on Derek - personally and professionally. He was forced to sell one of his two vehicles and also sold some of his photographs from the places he had visited on his tours. He credits the much-appreciated assistance from the Meath County Chamber with helping him to pull through.
Sofft hands with a firm hold of future success
Sofft Productions
About us….
Sofft Productions is a creative team committed to producing meaningful work in both live and online forms. Sofft Productions is made up of Natasha Duffy, Conor Jacob and Caroline Duke who previously each worked in the live music, festival and theatre industries with a combined experience of over 30 years.
When they found themselves out of work due to the industry shut down during the COVID-19 pandemic, they decided to join forces and create Sofft Productions in the summer of 2020. They ran their first sold-out live event in October 2020, with an audience of 100 people at Dunderry Park featuring Paul Noonan, CMAT and Junior Brother to huge acclaim.
The spark was ignited and the plan for the summer of 2021 was hatched. With a passion and drive for curation, design, lighting, production and bringing the arts and live music to the forefront of all their projects, Sofft delivers high end results. Going forward, they endeavour to support and work with artists, crew and promoters bringing the arts and music back to the audience.
Lessons learned from the last 18 months
The biggest learning curve from the past 18 months, is the ability to pivot, strategize and mould themselves to the environment and landscapes that it finds themselves in at any given time in the pre-pandemic world. The group learned that together, they are stronger than as individuals in their fields of expertise and
that the key to successful projects is open, collaborative discussion with artists, promoters and crews and that there will always be demand if a product is to a high standard with artistic integrity.