Irish farmers, including two from Laois, have joined forces for a new book combining scientific research with local knowledge that gives farmers and others practical tips on how to create a more sustainable future, while protecting land and nature.
At a time of great challenge and uncertainty for farm families, The Farming For Nature Handbook is a practical guide to protecting and restoring nature.
With contributions from more than 50 Irish farmers, the book also shares farmers’ experiences of how working with nature can help reduce costs and improve incomes.
The Laois farmers featured are John McHugh from Condarrig, Portlaoise and Bruce Thompson from Ballyfin in Portlaoise.
While there is widespread awareness of the environmental damage caused by poor farming practices, this book in contrast attempts to highlight the positive ways farmers can sustain and enhance our natural environment, and benefit from the results.
It is hoped The Farming For Nature Handbook will become the essential guide to caring profitably for our land.
The book, which will be launched on November 28, was inspired by regular requests to the non-profit Farming For Nature project from landowners, farmers, smallholders and growers wanting to learn how best to manage their land, big or small, in a way that enhances habitats, protects profits, and safeguards our natural environment and rural communities.
The Farming For Nature project was set up to support, encourage and inspire farmers who farm, or who wish to farm, in a way that will improve the natural health of our countryside.
The Farming For Nature Handbook shares tips for a better farming future and shows how to manage land in a way that enhances habitats, increases wildlife and harnesses natural processes while protecting livelihoods, food security and profiles. It is not just targeted at farmers but is for anyone who wants to grow, garden and gather better.
The book was conceived and developed by Brigid Barry, researched and mainly written by conservation ecologist Dr. Emma Hart on behalf of Farming For Nature and co-edited by Dr. Brendan Dunford of the Burrenbeo Trust.
It is beautifully illustrated with watercolours and sketches by farmer and artist Clive Bright as well as digital images by scientific illustrator William Helps.
The book has been described by President of Ireland Michael D Higgins as “a timely and essential contribution to the on-going discourse on how we, as a society, must respond to some of the most pressing challenges of our time”.
