Connemara National Park has more to offer than you think
It's on your doorstep, it's free, and it's ready to welcome your school, your club, or just yourself.
There's a tendency to think of Connemara National Park as something for visitors — a scenic backdrop for tourists passing through. But the Park has been quietly running one of the most valuable free-education resources in the region.
The Education Programme is open to all primary and secondary schools, with experiences carefully tailored to every age group. Children can spend a day on a Bog Walk, get stuck into a Mini Beasts session, or explore pond life with hands-on dipping equipment. Secondary students studying Leaving Cert Ecology will find the Park particularly useful — the curriculum fits the landscape like a glove.
And if a school trip to Letterfrack isn't possible, the Park will come to you. Outreach visits to schools across Connemara are part of what's on offer.
It doesn't stop at the school gate either. The programme extends to Tidy Towns groups, Scouts, Men's Sheds, After School Clubs, and the wider public through guided walks that are open to all. Everything runs year-round.
The Park also works with YouthReach and Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, and warmly welcomes third-level students for guided walks and talks. Whatever your connection to this landscape — student, teacher, volunteer, or simply curious — there's a programme for you.
All of it is entirely free, but booking is essential. Email cnp@npws.gov.ie or call 087 290 6269.
Recess native brings holistic energy healing home to Clifden
Laura Staunton has come home. A native of Recess, Laura spent 12 years working with clients across Ireland, the UK, Australia, and America before returning to Connemara to open High Vibrations, her own practice right in the heart of Clifden.
Laura's background covers a wide range of modalities. Alongside her Reiki Master certification, she holds practitioner qualifications in pranic energy healing, integrated energy therapy, EFT tapping, NLP life coaching, and crystal healing — a broad foundation built across years of training and experience.
Sessions are private and one-to-one, all in a calm and supportive setting, and tailored to each person. You'll find High Vibrations on Courthouse Square in Clifden.