Our Story

WayWyser began with a simple but powerful idea: that technology could help people care for places better.

The concept grew from Geopark LIFE, an EU-funded project that sought to balance tourism development with environmental management in one of Ireland’s most distinctive landscapes – the Burren, County Clare. The aim was to create practical, digital conservation tools that would support field work, improve data collection, and strengthen biodiversity management within a living, working landscape.

The first version of what would become WayWyser was developed as a geopark monitoring and reporting system, co-created by the National Parks and Wildlife Service, the Clare County Geologist, the Clare Local Development Company, and the Rural Recreation Officer. Together, they built a tool to record trail usage, condition reports, and conservation needs – helping to ensure that local paths, habitats, and heritage sites were managed with both care and evidence.

Following this successful pilot, Clare-based software company Evolve Technologies joined the collaboration. Their technical expertise helped transform the prototype into a more sophisticated platform (the WayWyser trail management software ) integrating GIS reporting, monitoring, and trail maintenance tools within a single, user-friendly system.

Supported by the Department of Rural and Community Development, and enhanced through LEADER funding, WayWyser has continued to evolve. One key development has been an advanced basemap that identifies whether routes pass through private, public, or state lands – enabling greater transparency, collaborative land management, and respect for landownership boundaries.

Today, WayWyser is helping organisations across Ireland (and increasingly further afield) to manage protected area monitoring, trail maintenance, and sustainable destination management. It supports communities, rangers, and destination managers in their daily field work, offering clear insights and shared accountability through a data-driven, stewardship-focused approach.

From its beginnings in the Burren to its growing international reach, WayWyser remains grounded in its founding principle: that caring for the land begins with understanding it – and that digital conservation tools can empower everyone involved in that shared responsibility.