The National Biodiversity Data Centre is hosting a month-long (virtual) Festival of Farmland Biodiversity for May 2022. The Festival of Farmland Biodiversity focuses on challenges to addressing the biodiversity crisis across much of the farmed landscape in Ireland.
The purpose of the festival is to encourage a more positive engagement around the topic of biodiversity and farmland and to highlight some of the ways that farmers are working to support biodiversity on their farms.
The rationale for the National Biodiversity Data Centre’s approach is that if all farmers took some evidence-based actions to help biodiversity, no matter how small, the cumulative impact of these actions could address biodiversity loss in the Irish landscape.
Throughout the festival, the Centre will be holding various events to promote more positive engagement around farmland biodiversity and highlight other organisations’ important events.
On 31 May at 8pm, the Ask the Farmer series focuses on Running a productive 7.5-acre farm alongside nature. Joe and Aoife Reilly of Glasraí Farm run a 7.5-acre organic market garden in Hollymount, County Mayo. Biodiversity is of huge importance on the farm. “We farm with the earth as our core value and encourage a biodiverse, vibrant, healthy eco-system rather than a monoculture farm.”
The farm is highly productive not only in terms of food production but in terms of soil health and wildlife as well. On the farm, there are three ponds, mixed hedgerows and a variety of trees, all of which provide habitats for wildlife. They promote “wild areas” on the farm where natural vegetation can grow and support insects and birds throughout the year.
Register: Here.