Leave No Trace Ireland launches “Love This Place” 2025 campaign to protect Ireland’s outdoors

Today, Leave No Trace Ireland launched its annual "Love This Place" campaign, calling on the public to come together to protect Ireland’s rich natural landscapes, so we can all enjoy them responsibly as we head into the summer season. Now in its fifth year, the national awareness campaign is supported by partners including the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, the Office of Public Works, Coillte, Sport Ireland, Waterways Ireland, Wicklow Co Council, Galway Co Council, Clare Co Council & Cork City Council - all dedicated to promoting responsible outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship.

With more people than ever seeking connection with nature - through hiking, swimming, dog-walking and exploring - this year’s "Love This Place" campaign reinforces the simple message: "If you love this place, leave no trace."

The Need for Protection

Ireland’s great outdoors has seen a sharp rise in popularity in recent years, with over 98%* of residents valuing time spent in nature. However, increased footfall has also brought challenges: trail erosion, littering, dog fouling, wildlife disturbance, and an increase in wildfires - 96%** of which are linked to human activity.

“Our message is clear,” said Maura Kiely, CEO of Leave No Trace Ireland, “We all have a part to play in preserving the places and wildlife we love. This campaign invites everyone enjoying the outdoors this summer, from seasoned hikers to dog owners, to take simple, mindful steps to protect our natural landscapes.”

Campaign Highlights

Throughout the summer, "Love This Place" will roll out:

• a digital storytelling campaign featuring voices from across Ireland: farmers, walkers, dog owners, and community groups
• on-the-ground events and clean-up days coordinated with local authorities and environmental groups
• education initiatives and social media toolkits for influencers, schools, and tourism partners
  

Taking Action

The "Love This Place" 2025 campaign shares three tangible actions for the public to take:

1. Be responsible with your dog - Keep dogs on a lead, especially around farm animals and wildlife, and always clean up after them.
2. Protect Wildlife and wild places - Bring all litter home, don’t feed wild animals, and watch wildlife from a safe distance.
3. Stay on the path - Stick to marked trails to avoid damaging habitats or disturbing animals, both seen and unseen.

A Shared Responsibility

“Our land is not just scenic - it’s living,” added Kiely. “It feeds us, shelters biodiversity, and connects our communities. Respecting it is not about restriction, but about care and responsibility. We’re so grateful to the public and our partners for supporting "Love This Place" - we ask everyone to take action and join the

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD said, "Ireland’s natural landscapes are among our greatest national treasures – they sustain our communities, support rural economies, and offer vital spaces for recreation and wellbeing. Respect for the natural environment is at the centre of Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors, the National Outdoor Recreation Strategy 2023-2027. The 'Love This Place' campaign plays a key role in reminding us all of our shared responsibility to care for these places. As more people embrace the outdoors, it’s essential that we do so in a way that protects the environment for future generations and we must ensure that our actions, particularly when it comes to our dogs, do not cause harm or loss to the environment or others.

To learn more or get involved, visit: www.leavenotraceireland.org/love-this-place

For more information contact: Donna Parsons, donna@thinkhousehq.com, 0860405228

References

*98% of residents valuing time spent in nature: This figure is from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) Pulse Survey conducted between April and May 2022. The survey found that 98% of respondents liked spending time outdoors, highlighting the importance of natural spaces to the Irish population. ​Central Statistics Office

**According to the European Commission's Joint Research Centre (JRC), 96% of wildfires in the European Union are caused by human actions. This figure is highlighted in their November 2023 report titled "Wildfires in the EU: 2022 was the second-worst year, a warning from a changing climate". The report emphasizes that while climate change exacerbates fire conditions, human activities remain the predominant cause of wildfires in the EU. While specific national statistics for Ireland are limited, the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine (DAFM) has issued warnings highlighting the high risk of wildfires due to human activities.

Editors notes:

About Leave No Trace Ireland: Leave No Trace Ireland is a not-for-profit organisation committed to promoting responsible outdoor recreation through education, research, and partnerships. Its principles are widely adopted across Ireland’s outdoor, tourism, and conservation sectors.

About "Love This Place 2025": "Love This Place 2025" is Leave No Trace Ireland’s national public awareness campaign encouraging people to enjoy Ireland’s outdoors responsibly. Building on the success of previous years, this year’s campaign deepens the emotional connection between people and place-highlighting that how we treat nature today shapes its future for generations to come. The campaign culminates with "Love This Place Day" on July 28th, coinciding with World Nature Conservation Day. Throughout the "Love This Place" campaign Leave No Trace Ireland encourages people to take simple actions to protect and respect Ireland's outdoor spaces.

About Love This Place Campaign Partners:

Sport Ireland is the authority tasked with the development of sport in Ireland. Sport Ireland Outdoors, a function of Sport Ireland, works with a large number of sporting bodies and other organisations to develop and promote a variety of outdoor sports, to support the development of recreational trails throughout Ireland, which are all developed to encourage more people to be active in the great outdoors.

The National Parks and Wildlife Service is the Executive Agency within the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with primary responsibility for nature conservation, wildlife protection and the presentation and preservation of our National Parks and Nature Reserves.

The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht’s mission is to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable communities throughout Ireland. The Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht acts as Secretariat for Comhairle na Tuaithe – the Countryside Council – which is made up of representatives from farming organisations, recreational users of the countryside and State bodies with a responsibility or interest in the countryside. Comhairle na Tuaithe endorses Leave No Trace.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) is a government office that delivers public services for flood protection, managing government properties and heritage services. A core part of its remit is maintaining and presenting Ireland’s most iconic heritage properties, including Ireland’s two World Heritage Sites, 780 National Monuments and over 2,000 acres of gardens and parklands. As the leading agency for flood risk management in Ireland, the OPW minimises the impacts of flooding through sustainable planning. It also manages a significant part of the State’s property portfolio and provides accommodation for government departments, over 700 Garda Properties and approximately 550 offices.

Waterways Ireland is the cross-border navigational authority responsible for the management, maintenance, development, and promotion of over 1000 km of inland navigable waterways, principally for recreational purposes.

​​​Coillte, Ireland’s state forestry company, is responsible for managing 440,000 hectares of primarily forested lands. Coillte is the nation’s largest forester and provider of outdoor recreation space. It also enables wind-energy on the estate, processes forestry by-products and undertakes nature rehabilitation projects of scale. Coillte delivers the multiple benefits of forestry, including forests for climate, for nature, for wood and for people. For further information visit www.coillte.ie.

Galway County Council is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Galway.

Galway City Council is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Galway.

Clare County Council is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Clare.

Cork City Council is the authority responsible for local government in the city of Cork.

Wicklow County Council is the authority responsible for local government in the county of Wicklow.