{"id":8432,"date":"2022-11-04T11:55:16","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T11:55:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coillte.ie\/development\/?p=8432"},"modified":"2022-12-24T17:47:52","modified_gmt":"2022-12-24T17:47:52","slug":"beyond-the-trees-avondale-recognised-as-the-first-age-friendly-tourist-destination-in-ireland","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.coillte.ie\/development\/beyond-the-trees-avondale-recognised-as-the-first-age-friendly-tourist-destination-in-ireland\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond the Trees Avondale Recognised as the First Age Friendly Tourist Destination in Ireland"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beyond the Trees Avondale Recognised as a World Leader<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

New Status Makes Avondale the First Age Friendly Tourist Destination in Ireland<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

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Thursday, 3rd<\/sup> November 2022: Age Friendly Ireland has today awarded Age Friendly recognition to Beyond the Trees Avondale, located in Avondale Forest Park, County Wicklow, acknowledging it as the first age friendly tourist destination in the country. Beyond the Trees Avondale received its official Age Friendly Charter at a launch event today and will now also be recognised by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an international model of good practice for age friendly development. A case study publication was also launched today by Age Friendly Ireland, outlining the work undertaken at Beyond the Trees Avondale.<\/p>\n

Beyond the Trees Avondale is a spectacular new visitor destination, developed in partnership between Coillte, F\u00e1ilte Ireland and EAK Ireland in Avondale Forest Park, County Wicklow, combining a stunning 700 metre Treetop Walk with a 12-story high Viewing Tower, created for the project by EAK Ireland.<\/p>\n

Age friendly principles were incorporated into Beyond the Trees Avondale in order to ensure its ease of use and accessibility across the lifecourse.<\/p>\n

Under its Age Friendly Programme, Wicklow County Council, in partnership with the key stakeholders, co-ordinated the age friendly four stage process to ensure that older people\u2019s needs were considered in the development. This work included consultation with a diverse range of older people and a walkability audit.<\/p>\n

In undertaking the improvements, Beyond the Trees Avondale referenced the guidance material provided by Age Friendly Ireland for the development of outdoor space and buildings and the World Health Organisation\u2019s checklist for age friendly cities and communities.<\/p>\n

Chief Executive of Wicklow County Council, Mr Brian Gleeson, outlined that the ambitious project to incorporate age friendly principles into the unique Beyond the Trees Avondale visitor experience, stemmed from a desire to ensure that Wicklow is a great place in which to grow older.<\/p>\n

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Speaking at the official recognition ceremony, Minister Mary Butler TD, Minister for Mental Health and Older People said:<\/p>\n

\u201cI am delighted to be here at the <\/em>Launch of Ireland\u2019s First Age Friendly Tourist Destination Beyond the Trees Avondale. As Minister of State with responsibility for Mental Health and Older People, it is wonderful to be able to visit and see in person this extremely impressive world class amenity where you can journey through the forest and above the canopy of the trees. <\/em><\/p>\n

The Government is firmly committed to the Programme for Government goal of creating an Age Friendly Ireland and making Ireland a great place to live as we age. This age-friendly tourist destination brings us one step closer to achieving this goal.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n

Minister Butler continued:<\/p>\n

\u201cThe importance of creating age-friendly public spaces cannot be overstated. Design that takes an age friendly perspective can help to create environments which provide enhanced access for all. By making our outdoor spaces pleasant, clean, accessible, and safe for older people, we can create inclusive communities and age-friendly spaces across the State for everyone. I would like to congratulate all involved in this project for creating this unique offering within the tourism sector that has been specially tailored to the experience of Ireland\u2019s ageing population<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Imelda Hurley, Chief Executive, Coillte, said \u201cWe are very proud to achieve Age Friendly recognition status for Beyond the Trees Avondale.\u00a0 At every stage of the planning process, we wanted to ensure that this unique visitor destination would be fully accessible, offering visitors young and old and of all levels of ability the opportunity to witness the beauty of Avondale and the surrounding Wicklow countryside in a fascinating new way that brings drama and excitement to the simple exploration of the forest.\u00a0 Alongside our project partners, F\u00e1ilte Ireland and EAK Ireland, we were delighted to collaborate with Wicklow County Council and Age Friendly Ireland to successfully ensure that this wonderful environment could be experienced by everyone.\u00a0 Since Beyond the Trees Avondale was officially opened by President Michael D. Higgins in July, we have been delighted to welcome visitors of all ages and abilities to enjoy this unique and beautiful visitor destination<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

The age friendly elements of Beyond the Trees Avondale include:<\/p>\n