Irish & International Colleges and university groups
A True Learning Landscape
These pages are here to support national and international college and university groups planning to visit the Burren. Our objective is to enhance your learning experience while in the Burren. We hope to help you and your group thoroughly enjoy your visit to Ireland's leading learning landscape.
Now that you have decided to visit this incrediable region of Ireland why not make life easy and book an onsite orientation package with the Burrenbeo Trust
Burrenbeo can offer:
- An introductory lecture to Burren, a crucial start to any field visit to the region.
- Advice on accommodation and services required
- A post visit workshop to allow students an opportunity to deep think aspects of life in teh Burren as a broader concept. Interactivity and role play activities supported by experienced facilitators. This is especially helpfully for social science disciplines.
- A field orientation session on the Burren giving a good overview of the natural and built heritage of the region.
- Plenty of support throughout your stay in the Burren with the supply of worksheets, information sheets and documentation about the Burren available.
- Access to high quality fieldwork sites with prior access agreements already in place with local landowners
- Additional support services organised from specific experts if required
- Advice on course design using local site knowledge
Book this Burrenbeo orientation package now by phoning 091 628096 or emailing trust@burrenbeo.com
Below is a list of packages we have on offer ...........Pick one to best suit your group:
Lecture Package Visit the Burrenbeo Trust centre in Kinvara and receive a one hour introductory lecture on the heritage of the Burren by one of our onsite experts. This lecture will include an overview of the geology, archaeology, biodiversity, and unique conservation practices of the region. This is a great way to begin your visit to the Burren as it offers your group base introductory information on what they might see in the region. The lecture can cater to the needs and interests of each individual group. To complement the lecture, you will receive an introductory pack for each individual which includes a map and information sheets on key heritage elements of the area.
Price: Up to 20 individuals (one hour lecture and packs) €120
Price: Up to 40 individuals (one hour lecture and packs) €180
Lecture & Workshop Package Visit our Burrenbeo Trust Centre in Kinvara, the gateway to the Burren, and receive a one hour introductory lecture to the heritage of the Burren given by one of our onsite experts. This will include an overview of the geology, archaeology, biodiversity, and unique conservation practices of the region. Lectures can be catered to the needs and interests of the group. This is a great way to start a trip into the Burren, as it gives your group an introductory base knowledge on what they might see in the region.
The Beo workshop can be given directly after the lecture or following a field trip. The work will be followed by a two hour tailor-made workshop whereby the group are facilitated to enhance their understanding and learning of the region relevant to their subject area (previous workshops have included Rural Development& Support/ Anthropological understandings of the region / Stakeholders and Participatory Development). With the advice of onsite experts we are in a position to tailor make a workshop that best suits your individual group.
To complement the lecture and workshop, you will receive an introductory pack to the region including a map and information sheet on key heritage elements of the area.
Price: 25 individuals maximum (one hour lecture, two hour workshop and individual packs) €300
Lecture & Field Orientation Visit our Burrenbeo Trust Centre in Kinvara, the gateway to the Burren, and receive a one hour introductory lecture to the heritage of the Burren given by one of our onsite experts. This will include an overview of the geology, archaeology, biodiversity, and unique conservation practices of the region. Lectures can be catered to the needs and interests of the group. This is a great way to start a trip into the Burren, as it gives your group an introductory base knowledge on what they might see in the region.
We will then visit a nearby nature reserve where you will receive a guided walk with information on overall heritage including ecology, landscape management, geology, biodiversity and archaeology. Burren field trips can be catered to the needs and interests of the group.
To complement the lecture and field orientation, you will receive an introductory pack to the region including a map, information sheet on key heritage elements of the area and helpful field activity worksheets.
Price: Up to 20 individuals (one hour lecture, two hour field orientation and individual packs) €250
Price: Up to 40 individuals (one hour lecture, two hour field orientation and individual packs) €350
F
ield orientation & exercises Meet in a Burren nature reserve where you will receive a guided walk with information on overall heritage including ecology, landscape management, geology, biodiversity and archaeology. Burren field trips can be catered to the needs and interests of the group.
This will be followed by onsite field exercises catered to the needs of the individuals ie basic ecology field training, geological surveying, archaeological mapping etc. To complement this training your students will receive an introductory pack to the region including a map, information sheets on key heritage elements of the area and helpful field activity worksheets.
Price: Up to 20 individuals (two hour fieldsite orientation and two hour field exercises) €300
Price: Up to 40 individuals (two hour fieldsite orientation and two hour field exercises) €400
View our lecture space The Burrenbeo Trust Centre
The Burrenbeo Trust Centre is conveniently located in Kinvara village. Based on the border of the core Burren, it is a key entry village into the Burren. The Centre is located on the main street with nearby access to food, B&Bs, a hostel, a supermarket and an ATM.
The Centre itself consists of an intimate lecture space for up to 40 people surrounded by information on the Burren and an environmental exhibition. Outside in the garden is a site of a 12th century church giving the groups a sense of heritage immersion before they even reach the core of the Burren.
Where do we go into the field?
Slieve Carron
Slieve Carron Nature Reserve (or Eagle’s Rock as it is known to locals) is state-managed land located in the heart of the north Burren. It has a diversity of habitats including species-rich grassland, limestone pavements, heathland, mature hazel woodland and grazing pastures. This makes it ideal to understand the diversity and abundancy of flora and fauna, and well as the landscape management needed for this area. Aside from its ecological learning value, Slieve Carron NR is also the host to a fulacht fiadh, a holy well, the site of a hermitage cave and a 11th century oratory.
Other sites that can be visited are the iconic Burren mountain Mullaghmore, one of Ireland finest examples of a ringfort Cahercommaun, or the smooth limestone pavements of Blackhead.
As mentioned before, the Burrenbeo Trust is here to help you get the highest learning value out of your excursion. Please contact us for any queries on booking and tailor making your trip for your group’s needs.
A Typical Day out on the Burren
What to Bring:
For those of you who are not familiar with this part of the world, it rains on average 200 days of the year in the Burren – you need to be prepared that the day you visit could be one of these, so bring rain jackets and waterproof or quick dry trousers if you have them. If you are visiting when the weather is warm and hot, don’t forget suncream and a sunhat – there are few trees to shelter under. Much of the Burren terrain is rocky and uneven – good hiking shoes/boots are recommended to best navigate the landscape. It is handy to pop a snack and some water in your daypack, a camera to record your outing, but most of all bring a smile as the Burren is a fascinating place that could quite possibly captivate you but at the very least, charm you into looking a bit further as to what it has on offer!
What to Expect:
As you can see from the numerous photos on this website, the Burren could possibly will be a landscape like none other you have visited. From a distance, it looks just like masses of grey rock, however up close each step you take will open up a new question of discovery; why are so many different types of flowers growing here, how do cattle survive outdoors in the winter, how did so many monuments manage to exist here compared to elsewhere in Ireland, etc etc. It is one of those exciting landscapes that opens up a pandora’s box at each turn.
The Burren is a large region with no ‘centre’. There is a national park (Burren National Park) and three nature reserves (Slieve Carron, Dromore, and Coole Garryland) that are state managed lands and open to the public free of charge. However, roughly 85% of the Burren is privately owned land. Please respect this when climbing over walls and opening gates etc. Leave everything as you found it.
Finally for those of you are dependent on internet and mobile connections, please be prepared that the Burren has limited access to both.
What you said about your trip
I am studying anthropology in the States, and came over here as part of a university exchange group. Over the past month here, we visited Connemara, Kerry, and Sligo. Nothing prepared me for what I saw in the Burren, it was so different to anything I had experienced before. I am glad we had a talk with you [Burrenbeo Trust] on arrival as it helped me understand this unusual place way better.
Anthrolopology Student, USA
Each year I come to the Burren with my biology students. This year I decided to get a lecture and a guided field trip with the Burrenbeo Trust, the amount we learned in 4 hours was more than in the 2 days we had here last year. The Trust made it particularly relevant to the ecology and ecosystems module that my students are working on the moment.
Lecturer, Sligo
My students carried out a workshop in the Burren as part of their community development masters., It was good to get them out into the field, to work with active practitioners like the Burrenbeo Trust, This is an organisation who understand what is happening on the ground. Burrenbeo Trust introduced us to real life case studies that are local to this region and not just from a text book. This outing gave my students a realistic and wider understanding of what their studies mean to the real world.
Lecturer, Galway
Burrenbeo can offer:
An introductory lecture to Burren, a crucial start to any field visit to the region.
Advice on...
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An overview of research projects published or currently underway in the Burren.If you wish to contribute to this...
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