We're very fortunate to have been nominated for an EIP Agri-innovation award in Portugal next May. We would really appreciate your vote (link below). We are one of 30 EIP's across Europe, all pioneering ways to a better agri-environmental future for us all surveymonkey.com/r/eip-agri-inn…

Nice to look back at this Aug 2018 feature on Ear to the Ground. Improvements have been made and we did what we set out to do. Farmers get the importance of biodiversity. Lack of incentives and encouragement from the wider industry still an issue, though. youtu.be/OTv8VelEXwk?si…

Wildflower meadow last summer and same field this week after being sprayed with glyphosate. This reflects the present insatiable, ruthless demand for land and its uses. Small farmers and nature have become a casualty of an unsustainable farming system that has lost its values.

Delighted to leave a legacy barn owl box for Castlelyons NS and for all the schools in the Bride valley. Fingers crossed they will be occupied in the coming few years.

Delighted to be part of this event. This is the story of 43 farmers getting rewarded for pioneering changes in their farming system. Over €1.2m given out in the Bride valley and its hinterland while delivering multiple environmental benefits based on verified improvements.

Nurturing Nature: Under the leadership of the 🇪🇺 EU-funded FarmingWithNature-BRIDE Project, 48 Cork farms 🚜 are leading the charge in restoring biodiversity & scaling back intensive farming practices across the county.

Learn more👉 europa.eu/!HX8KfQ

Cork City Council Cork County Council #EUforCork

We are delighted to gift a Barn Owl nestbox to each of the 11 national schools in the Bride valley as a parting legacy & to help raise awareness. In association with BirdWatch Ireland they will be erected in a suitable location near each school. Incl. are teachers, pupils and parents

Despite Citizens Assemblies, Threat Response Plans, Nature Restoration Laws, Green Deals etc. etc. this beautiful species is disappearing before our eyes. It's also the only species that was lost in the BRIDE Projects 6 year term from 2018-2023. Surveyed in 2018 but gone in 2023

From little acorns...
As the project concludes, each of the 43 BRIDE farmers have been given a native Irish oak tree and a BWI calendar. Small token in recognition of their participation and effort into improving biodiversity in the Bride valley area of East Cork & West Waterford

Funding of €150k from Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine & EIP-AGRI Support Facility in 2021 for the design of a Farming With Nature brand, Web Portal for measuring Space For Nature and App for scoring habitats, is now used. Delighted to have completed the first FWN biodiversity brand and certification in Ire

Great initiative by Minister Pippa Hackett.
Would be the icing on the cake if the procurement also included having a minimum of 10% Space For Nature (biodiversity) on those farms from where the food is sourced.
Unfortunately, no standard out there that guarantees biodiversity.

Great demo today by EcoSeeds and Irish Semi-natural Grasslands showing how to restore biodiversity-rich native grasslands. Seed is harvested from a donor site and set in a host field of similar soil and geography. Important to locate donor sites and host farmers for this initiative to continue

This is a 9 month online food course aimed at farmers (and non-farmers) who might be interested in adding value to their produce, setting up their own food business and gaining knowledge in producing quality food, selling directly and marketing locally.
ucc.ie/en/fitu/course…

A sad outcome to barn owl ringing on a project farm recently. Unfortunately, 3 chicks, which were all a healthy weight, were found dead. Most likely cause is rodenticide-contaminated food picked up within a 2-5km radius. Use rodenticide alternatives such as traps, cats or dogs.

Multiple benefits of allowing hedgerows and trees to mature include higher animal welfare standards in periods of high temperatures like the past week.
If cutting annually, consider changing as this will have multiple benefits in the long term and will take a few years to achieve

Hedgerow Week Wishlist

•Change Hedgerow Week to May rather than the same day hedgecutting season opens.
•Sidetrim only
•No 1, 3 or 5 yr rotation
•No A shape
•Try to postpone any management until at least November - still have 4 months
•Allow a 2m adjacent field margin

The Bride Giant Hogweed eradication project with @npwsBioData, Cork County Council, Envirico Ecology and over 60 landowners is ongoing and the difference between the 2019 photo and this year is obvious. This support and cooperation from all of the above augurs well for its success.

Thought-provoking video showing the important link between farmers, livestock and biodiversity. With land rental making €600/acre, these once common habitats are more threatened than ever as they have little financial value. Need to put a value on nature
youtu.be/9LTiqYLCP-Y

See how pioneering tillage farmers are changing to a more sustainable way of growing crops. Learn about improving soil, reducing chemical inputs, direct drilling, maximising compost and regenerating agriculture from the bottom up.

In trying to deliver a more sustainable net zero food production system, our demo farm changed to a native sourced dairy ration with obvious reductions in carbon footprint. Local dairy farmers supporting local tillage farmers. Producing quality milk that's #farmedwithnature