This article is from page 29 of the 2008-01-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
FARMING experts and conserva- tionists from all over Europe will at- tend Ireland’s first Farming for Con- servation conference which takes place in Ennistymon next month.
The conference, which is being or- ganised by the BurrenLIFE Project, aims to bring together leaders in the field to assess and examine the eroundbreaking strides which have been made towards creating sustain- able farming in the Burren.
The conference will also focus on pooling the participants’ knowledge and discovering new and exciting ways of creating sustainable farming in north Clare and across Europe.
The conference, which is entitled ‘Farming for conservation — support- ing the future’, will take place in the Falls Hotel in Ennistymon from Feb- ruary 24 to 27.
The conference will include speak- ers from a number of European coun- tries and in particular from other limestone regions such as the Alvars of Sweden, the Causse in France and the Yorkshire Dales in England.
The Minister for Environment, Heritage and local Government, John Gormley (GP) and the newly appointed Director of Teagasc, Pro- fessor Gerry Boyle, will be among those to address the conference.
Proceedings have been broken into three sections with the first day fo-
cussed on introducing the concept of ‘farming for conservation’. This will include presenting European case studies, outlining the work of the BurrenLIFE Project and a dis- cussion on the practical difficulties and obstacles associated with farm- ing for conservation. Day two will involve a visit to a number of Burren farms where conservation farming 1s taking place. These field trips will be followed by a panel discussion on the future of farming for conservation in the unique context of the Burren. The final day of the conference will look at potential models for Supporting and delivering farming for conservation. A discussion will also take place on the marketing of
conservation produce and on deliver- ing conservation through innovative agri-environmental schemes.
The BurrenLIFE project is just over half-way through its five-year long project on north Clare. The overall aim of the organisation is to help cre- ate a means of farming in the region than can both protect the local ecol- ogy and give local farmers a means of making living.
Over the past two years, they have undertaken the largest campaign of scrub removal ever seen in Ireland, established a producers group for top-quality ‘ecology class’ Burren beef and lamb and undertaken a mas- sive education programme aimed both at children and older people.