Making Space for Nature – a more sustainable system of farming.
A European Innovation Partnership (EIP), ‘Curaíocht an Phobail’ managed by Lárionad Achmhainní Nádúrtha – Cill Ulta, based in the North West Gaeltacht is to host a public presentation on Sustainable Farm Management – making space for nature on the farm, this coming Friday 24th in Gort a’Choirce.
Our guest speaker, Donal Sheehan, a qualified dairy farmer from Castlelyons in the heart of the Bride valley in East Cork, a passionate conservationist, he has pushed the boundaries of a compatible food production and farmland biodiversity system on his own farm.
Donal also manages the BRIDE Project (Biodiversity Regeneration In a Dairying Environment), an innovative agri-environment project based in the River Bride catchment of north-east County Cork and west Waterford, Ireland. The Project aims to design and implement a results-based approach to conserve, enhance and restore habitats in lowland intensive farmland.
An innovative feature of the BRIDE Project is the landscape-scale approach to biodiversity whereby groups of farmers in a given area are encouraged to implement a range of habitat improvement measures. This combined, community-based effort is an entirely new approach to environmental management compared to the randomised process of selection in previous agri-environment schemes.
Another innovative aspect is the use of a results-based payment scheme where farmers have each habitat on their farm assessed and scored, with higher quality habitats gaining higher payments. With the incoming changes to the Common Agricultural Policy next year, Donal will share with us the challenges farmers have incurred and also the benefits to the land and the farmer from making the change to an overall more sustainable system of farming.
Please join us in Ostan Loch Altan (Hotel) in Gortahork on Friday 24th June at 8pm. Fáilte roimh gach duine. Everyone welcome.
Curaíocht an Phobail EIP is supported by the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine.