Annual Farming For Nature Gathering

When – 26th October 2024

Where – Kinvara Community Centre, Kinvara, Co. Galway 

Book tickets here

The annual Farming For Nature Gathering will be held on Saturday 26^th October in Kinvara, Co. Galway as part of the Burren Winterage Weekend 2024 (October Bank Holiday).

This will be a day of a walk out on the Burren, talks and panel discussions followed by the annual Farming For Nature Ambassador Awards as well as cultural performances.

This event allows us to come together to celebrate farmers across Ireland who are striving to work alongside nature, and to share ideas on how these great custodians might best be supported at a time of great challenge and opportunity.

All farmers and other interested parties who want to be part of this discussion and learn more about farming for nature are welcome to attend.

Schedule

The 2024 Farming For Nature Gathering

Book tickets here

Saturday 26^th October 

10am-12.30pm: Farming For Nature in the Burren

Option 1: Farm Walk led by local farmers out on the Burren, location provided nearer time – near Carron.

Option 2: A series of talks by the NPWS on rare breeds etc. Location to be provided nearer the time – near Carron.

1pm-2pm: Lunch & Registration

Join us and fellow farmers over a spot of lunch and a cup of tea. Soup and sandwiches will be provided at the Kinvara Community Centre. If you are working on a project you would to show or an agri business feel free to bring a stand and/or some leaflets to share.

2pm-3.15pm Panel 1: Building Resilience: farmers adapting to a rapidly changing climate

The effects of climate change are already being felt in the fields and the farmyards. The impact is likely to grow in future in ways which we can’t really anticipate. So, what to do? Learn what some Farming for Nature’s ambassadors are doing to insulate themselves and their businesses from climate change.

Farming For Nature Ambassadors & Panellists:
Gearóid Maher, Ken Gill & Nigel Gillis
Chaired by Hannah Quinn Mulligan: Journalist, Broadcaster & Farmer

3.15pm-3.45pm Tea provided

3.45pm-5.00pm Panel 2:   The ‘Art’ of Farming: Creative Approaches to Contemporary Challenges

Farmers aren’t always rewarded properly for the fruits of their labour. Are there other avenues that farmers can explore to diversify their income while still living off the land? Hear from Farming for Nature Ambassadors about some of their methods and creative ways of thinking about diversifying their farm businesses.

Farming For Nature Ambassadors & Panellists:
Lisa Fingleton, Clive Bright, Stephen Morrison & Ailbhe Gerrard
Chaired by Dr. James Moran, Senior Lecturer at ATU and Policy Advisor of Agri-Ecology at EU level

5.00 – 5.15: Wrap up

5.15pm-6.30pm Free Time

Kinvara has a number of eateries to enjoy or feel free to bring your dinner and have a cup of tea at the Hall.

6.30-10pm ‘Landscape Connections: A Winterage Evening’

6.30pm-8pm The Annual Farming For Nature Ambassador Awards

Meet and celebrate our new Farming For Nature Ambassadors for 2024; exemplary farmers acting as stewards for their landscapes. Event is hosted by journalist, Ella McSweeney.

Interval with drinks and nibbles

8.30pm-9:45 pm ‘A Winterage Session; poetry, music and dance in celebration of actions for nature’ An evening on the theme of connecting to and taking actions for our landscapes. This event is part of Turas – Journeys in Stewardship, a Burrenbeo Trust Creative Climate Action project supported by Creative Ireland. Featuring poet Jane Clarke, dancer Edwina Gluckian, traditional musician Jack Talty along with Floriane Blancke, Brendan O’Regan and a strings selection from the Kinvara Community Orchestra.

10pm (Gathering in Tully’s pub for a chat/pint)

Booking:
€25 for a day ticket (includes farm walk, lunch panel discussions, awards & cultural event). This nominal change is to help us prevent no-shows and to contribute to the unfunded cost of Farming For Nature in hosting this event.
Capacity in Kinvara Town Hall: 200 people

Book tickets here

Sunday 27^th October – Community Cattle Drive

The Annual Community Cattle Drive & Food Fayre. Separate booking required, book here.

On Sunday, the 27^th of October, you are invited to join the Burren Winterage Cattle Drive -the flagship event of the weekend where hundreds of people join a local farming family in herding their cattle to the winterage pastures. This year’s drive promises to be particularly special in that, for the first time ever, the host ‘farmer’ will be the National Parks and Wildlife Service who recently purchased a farm in the heart of the Burren, along with a herd of Irish Maol cattle – a beautiful, rare, native breed.

The farm, once owned by traditional shorthorn farmer Gerald McGann, features spectacular views of Carron turlough (a seasonal lake) and contains a huge range of habitats and archaeological sites. It will also be the location for the Burren Food Fayre, organised by the Burren Eco-tourism Network, which will offer a true ‘taste of the Burren’, supplied by local food producers. A plaque to the late Mr McGann will be unveiled at the event and the old farm buildings, which once housed machinery, hay bales and livestock, will host a photography exhibition, short films and display of rare native breeds including Irish Moiled Cattle, Droimeann Cattle, Kerry Cattle, Connemara Pony, Galway Sheep, Cladoir Sheep, Old Irish Goat, etc.

Don’t forget the hour change!

Burren Winterage Weekend:
Details of other events happening at the Burren Winterage Weekend can be found on www.burrenwinterage.com. Booking on this Farming For Nature network day does not necessary give entry to other events over the weekend. Please see the booking details of these events on the above site.

For a taster of the panel discussions, here’s one from 2021 with Farming for Nature Ambassadors Padraig Corcoran, Jane Shackleton, and Tommy Earley talking about ‘Paying for Ecosystem Services.’ 

For more, visit our Youtube channel here.

For a preview of what the weekend is like, see here: