Gilly Taylor

Background

About Gilly Taylor

My love of the great outdoors developed from a young age when I was very lucky to be introduced to the excitement of skiing at the Ski Club of Ireland in Kilternan Co. Dublin by my late Aunt Clare. Come rain, hail or shine and occasionally snow! for over four decades I’ve been enjoying this fabulous sport in the Dublin hills and I especially love passing on my skills to others as a voluntary Ski Instructor. After 20 years working in Sales, Marketing and Management in the Media Services Sector, in recent years I retrained as a Nutrition & Fitness Coach and Pilates Instructor. I work with groups, empowering them to maximize their health and well-being and to understand the connection between nature and our environment and our physical and mental health. And then a new chapter in my life began…… Myself and my husband Brian are Co-Founders of Wildacres, a Nature Reserve and Biodiversity Education Centre in East Wicklow. At the end of 2017 we bought 17.5 acres of land on the beautiful Redcross River which we have since been transforming into a sanctuary for wildlife. Giving what once was intensive farmland back to nature has been hugely rewarding and seeing wildlife gradually return to these fields has been heartening. When you give nature a chance it responds positively and Wildacres is now a haven for lots of native butterflies, birds, bees and other insects, trees, hedgerow and wildflowers as well as a diversity of mammals and other wonderful creatures. Wildacres is on a mission to educate, encourage and inspire people throughout Ireland to protect wildlife, nature and our environment, to halt and reverse the devastating decline in biodiversity, and in doing so to reap benefits for the health and well-being of all species. We welcome visitors to our scheduled tours and workshops which can be viewed on our what’s on page at Wildacres.ie. In addition we are delighted to host private tours and events for individuals, corporates and community groups. We are proud to be receiving 5 star reviews and feedback that attendees are inspired and enabled to take action for biodiversity. We are dedicating the rest of our lives to this Social Enterprise and want Wildacres to continue in perpetuity thereafter for the benefit of generations to come.