An Initial and Final Project Evaluatition for the LIVE Project

Tender description

LIVE is a collaborative project co-ordinated by University College Cork with partners from Bangor University, Gwynedd Council, Kerry County Council, the National Trust and South Kerry Development Partnership CLG. The overall aim of LIVE (Llŷn IVeragh Eco-museums) is to enable coastal communities to market their natural and cultural capital to create opportunities for sustainable tourism, especially outside of the traditional peak tourist seasons, resulting in socio-economic benefits for the communities. LIVE will use the Ecomuseum model of co-operative marketing to create a powerful suite of digital and non-digital resources for eco and educational tourism. These resources will be underpinned by knowledge of the local environmental assets of the Llŷn peninsula in Gwynedd and the Iveragh peninsula in Kerry. The project will draw on the success of the already established #Ecoamgueddfa on the Llŷn peninsula and will benefit from the experience and expertise of its network of community organisations, academic partners and local governments. LIVE will facilitate the development of high-quality, sustainable tourism products that will be underpinned by new and existing knowledge of the natural environment of each location. This information will be gathered by the partner universities and communities based on themes of interest to residents and visitors and by identifying gaps in existing environmental knowledge. The products could include new or enhanced environmental experiences, citizen science and nature spotting initiatives, or itineraries based on points of environmental interest. These will be brought together within one brand that will provide a strong identity for each region. They will be communicated by a suite of attractive, accessible digital and non-digital resources. The project will assist in developing and enhancing the quality and impact of environmental tourism in the participating coastal communities. LIVE employs the Ecomuseum model of community-based co-operative branding of the natural assets of