When: 10-1pm on Saturday 16th December

Where: Cooltrim South, Co. Kildare – near Donadea Forest Park. Eircode will be shared with registered attendees.

With final negotiations of the Nature Restoration Law around the corner, now is a vital time to learn how the agricultural sector can build towards a nature-friendly future. In particular, how additional funding streams can enable farmers to better manage their high-diversity landscape features and increase soil organic carbon. On this farm walk, Trevor Harris will tell the story of how his nature-friendly approach to farming promotes biodiversity and builds resilience in the soil, all while retaining productivity. Trevor is a Farming for Nature Ambassador running a 57ha organic and biodynamic certified beef and tillage farm near Donadea, Co. Kildare. We will see first-hand the land and practices that produce oats sent to Flavahan’s for your morning porridge, the barley that ends up as Demeter-certified whiskey, and the vegetables that go to Sprout Food Co. for your lunch salad! Trevor will also share the role his suckler cow herd and lowland ewe sheep flock play in his farming enterprise. We will discuss the value of healthy hedgerows and see how Trevor manages his lengths of hawthorn, cherry, spindle, hazel, oak, and other species. Specifically, we will see the regrowth and rejuvenation that comes from the traditional craft of hedge laying and compare it with a stretch that was coppiced to see the difference between the two approaches.