The four farmers are:
- Eric & Catherine Osborne, Rathanna – an architect and teacher/former Carlow ICA secretary, with local pub, and farming sucklers and sheep, who recently discovered Marsh Fritillary butterfly habitat on their farm through a “Hare’s Corner” Plan for Nature, along with several other really nice habitats such as wet woodland, and the farm is used by ACRES and others as a demo/training site for species-rich grassland management. ( View Video)
- Leonie Baldwin & Andrew Llyod, Knockroe – the latter is retired lecturer in sciences, and they are sheep farmers, who have been managing traditional hay meadows from the inception of REPS to current ACRES programme, and all agri-environment schemes in between. They also have a considerable amount of stone walls on a relatively small landholding, and discovered medieval rock art on some of these walls several years ago. ( View Video )
- Richard & Geraldine Brennan, Leighlinbridge – has a family-run combined-shop/café/pub in the village, formally sheep farmer, but now in tillage, partly converted to organic, and rest is in conversion, currently using red clover to build soil fertility and growing husky oats. He reinstated a pond several years ago, as the land had previously been drained, is part of village’s pollinator group, and a member of FarmBioNet – Europe-wide Farmer-focused Biodiversity and Agricultural Knowledge Network. (View Video)
- Michael & Margaret Purcell, Lacken – former dairy, now beef farmer, and chair of Carlow IFA, who has shelter belts planted as part of a Department scheme from the 50’s/60’s (an otherwise very exposed area), Michael carried out a bit of hedge-laying earlier this year under ACRES, a vanishing skill, has a quarter acre of woodland that is self-established from a REPS-era habitat, keeps bees (inherited from a neighbour), and is part of the Carlow beekeepers. ( View Video )
A celebration event took place in Myshall Community Hall, on Saturday, August 16th, as part of National Heritage Week, funded by NPWS under the Local Biodiversity Action Fund, as an Action of the Carlow Biodiversity Action Plan.
Commenting on the overall project, Carlow Biodiversity Officer, Shane Casey says, “Some of the best examples of biodiversity in Co. Carlow occur on farmland, and it’s important that we give full credit to the farming families who have been actively managing its conservation, for generations in many cases, and to support this critical role going forward. I’ve always been struck, when visiting farmers around Carlow, of the pride they place in their little corner of the world, and the efforts they take to retain, conserve, and restore nature on their farms. What I’ve seen first-hand here in Co. Carlow, is often at odds with the more negative narrative we regularly hear. Our Farming for Nature celebration is aimed at recognising and celebrating some of these Carlow farmers, and their contributions to nature locally. I grew up on a farm in the Burren, where farmers are recognised as custodians of that landscape. We have high nature value landscapes here in Carlow also, and farmers have always been, and will continue to be, on the frontline of their conservation and restoration, and it’s important to acknowledge and support this role.”