Participation in conservation resource management of the Natura 2000 site

My two-year part time masters is finally coming to a close. Having juggled work, study, Seastainability and more, over the years I had great hopes for my productivity levels during lockdown with ambitions to have my thesis paper signed, sealed and delivered by now. Alas, here I am cramming data collection and literature review in between batches of banana bread and knitting… Many of our followers might already be aware of my dissertation action-project on Ireland’s Eye, but if not let me tell you a bit about it and hopefully you can take part in helping me generate the data I need to make my conclusions.

Due to Covid restrictions gathering visitor and tourist survey data for this study has become a challenge for me as the researcher and we have a reduced foreign tourist footfall in Howth. I am reaching out to my own network and tourism networks to seek help in promoting this study with the aim of inviting visitors and tourists to partake in an online survey. I’d be really grateful if our Seastainability followers could take part in the 9-minute online survey. Feel free to share the survey with anyone who has visited Howth in recent years, I am particularly keen to gather tourist and day tripper data.

About the Study

As part of this Sustainable Development Masters study, the researcher is interested in understanding what you value about the uninhabited island of Ireland’s Eye, located in Howth, North Dublin.

The overall aim of the study is to fully understand the stakeholder dimensions of the island site, with a study of stakeholders categorised into; economic actors, civil society actors, NGOs, public administration actors and scientific bodies.

This particular survey targets civil society actors, namely locals and visitors, and aims to assess the differences in visitor value orientations and existing knowledge of the protected site. Most importantly, the survey seeks to understand what drives and informs these views and attitudes.

The results of this study will be used for scholarly purposes and will be offered to site proprietors and key conservation managers along with conclusions for improving public and stakeholder participation in line with achieving conservation objectives.

To complete the survey, please choose the answer most relevant to you and/or which reflects your opinion. There are no right or wrong answers.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact: d18124267@mytudublin.ie

The paper will be available on Seastainability following its completion, and I would be delighted to chat to anyone who shares a common interest in the Ireland’s Eye site to get in touch with me.

Wish me luck!

Rebecca.