Xplore Local Launch Galway Biodiversity Trail

On Tuesday, August 9th, Anne Rabbitte, TD, Minister of State for Disabilities, and Councillor Niall McNelis, visited the PorterShed to meet with member company Xplore Local to mark the launch of the app’s Galway biodiversity trail.

Xplore Local is a start-up led by founder and CEO Colin Hanley that offers a digital infrastructure to boost pride of place, strengthen community bonds, foster engagement, and generate revenue that stays in towns.

The biodiversity trail can be accessed within the app, offering users a tech-assisted tour of some of the city’s most beautiful scenery, while also providing a host of educational opportunities along the way. Users are guided along some of the city’s waterways as well as taking in Galway Bay.

The biodiversity trail is meant as an accompaniment to the actual trail itself; the app aims to help users identify various animals that live among this fascinating ecosystem as they walk along it, from mute swans to European otters, offering an immersive experience that brings the area to life.

Xplore Local has built relationships with several communities around the country, and they are aiming to continue fostering that growth in the weeks and months ahead. The hope is that more areas around the country will become revitalised as a result of the app, encouraging greater footfall into towns and villages, which in turn will help sustain local economies.

"It was great to see the Galway biodiversity trail launched through the app, and my thanks to Minister Rabbitte and Councilor McNelis for their help in bringing it together. It’s great to see the appetite from these public figures to revitalise parts of the country that need a little extra attention," Xplore Local’s CEO, Colin Hanley explained.

"The idea behind the app is to attract people to explore their localities - and areas around the country - so that money can be kept locally and so that we can all rediscover our country. We’re hoping that this will in turn breathe new life into our communities and encourage new growth, new ideas, and new beginnings."

Galway has rapidly established itself as an innovation leader in recent years, and it is exciting to see the rate at which companies are continuing to come up with new ideas and grow. The PorterShed is certainly playing a key part in the mission to make the city a hub for start-ups and scale-ups to come and develop. Xplore Local is just one example of the many start-ups that have come through the PorterShed, and there will undoubtedly be many more like them in the months and years ahead.

Download the app for Android or Apple right HERE.