Day out at Wild Ireland

Embracing our wild side

Towards the end of August, Sally O’Kane and I finally managed a day out to visit Wild Ireland after talking about it for over a year. It was my first visit for me and I’m not entirely sure what I expected, but we had a lovely team day out. Putting work on the back burner for a few hours and embracing our wild side was a real tonic.

Given that Wild Ireland is about celebrating the animals native to Ireland in the past and today, we weren’t expecting to see any giraffes… but see if you can spot some in our photos.

Highlight of the day for me? Not the majestic brown bears, nor the musical wolf pack. Oh no. The highlight for me was Ishca and Ollie the otters who came out to say hello just before we left and after I’d given up on them. Thankfully, Sally’s optimism won out and she persuaded me to go back “one last time to check”. I’m now seriously considering a rebrand to “Otter Associates – for companies that ‘otter’ know better when it comes to sustainability” 😂. Sally may take some convincing though.

Wildlife sightings closer to home

Another huge highlight came earlier this summer. After travelling all the way to the Isle of Mull in May in the hope of seeing otters in the wild, I’d still never managed to spot one here at home. This is despite living by the sea in Whitehead where everyone except me seems to see them regularly. Then, in mid-August, I checked the garden wildlife camera we set up to keep an eye on our resident hedgehogs and discovered an unexpected visitor: an otter at our tiny pond! It happened just days before our Wild Ireland trip, providing a double dose of otter joy in the same week. Bliss!

All in all, it was a good day out, though I confess to discomfort with animals in captivity. Wild Ireland doesn’t position itself as a traditional zoo and, as we learned about the animals it was clear their welfare is central to what the organisation does. Even so, I did find myself reflecting on that tension throughout the visit.

So, as we look towards autumn, we’ll need to find other ways to make sure it’s not all work and no play here and arrange another day out. Ideas on a postcard please!

Beyond the Desk: Summer Snippets…

At GIRAFFE, balancing client delivery with making the most of the great weather this summer has been top priority! Outside of waste audits and strategy reviews, here’s a quick peek at what we’ve both been getting up to over the holidays:

Sally:

Gillian:

Spending time with family, visiting my happy place in Rathlin and wildlife encounters pretty much sums up my summer!

How was your summer? Drop us a reply – we’d love to hear what you got up to!