Sometimes our wildlife chooses not to be seen, preferring to shun the limelight, which isn’t ideal for your visitors. Luckily there are some fantastic locations where the chances of seeing key species are vastly increased and have the benefit of on-hand experts to guide them through the experience.
Some visitors come prepared, but many do not. You can greatly enhance a visitor’s experience by having some essential kit available to lend or hire. Consider investing in some of the following:
To help raise the profile of the nature and wildlife experiences available near your business, display recent sightings and key things to look out for on a chalkboard or display board. Encourage visitors to mark up when and where they’ve seen something.
Sometimes we know less about what’s on our doorstep than our favourite holiday destinations. Use this guide and advice from the organisations listed below to learn about what species and habitats are available to your visitors. The more passionate you are, the more the visitor will value it.
There are lots of online sources of information to help you develop nature and wildlife activities and inspiration for your visitors. Agencies and charities can offer guidance and specialist knowledge. Friends of Loch Lomond & The Trossachs (the conservation charity for the National Park) has recently developed an ecotourism toolkit to help businesses make the most of the special qualities of our environment in a responsible and sustainable way.
Other organisations that have resources and advice are: