Workshop for Heritage Week
Mount Leinster seen from Rathanna
AS PART of Heritage Week, a workshop entitled ‘The landscapes that connect our farming and non-farming communities’ takes place on Sunday 25 August from 10am in Myshall Community Hall.
Minister for heritage Malcolm Noonan is expected to give the opening address for what promises to be a very informative event.
Aimed primarily at the non-farming members of the Blackstairs community, the workshop will consist of short presentations from the project managers of ACRES (Agri-Climate Rural Environment Scheme), Farming for Waters EIP, ASSAP (Agricultural Sustainability Support and Advisory Programme), Woodlands for Water EIP, LAWPRO (Local Authority Waters Programme) and Carlow’s biodiversity officer.
These will be interspersed with local farmers who are 'Farming for Nature' ambassadors and mentors and have been actively involved in the above programmes and their predecessors, including Blackstairs Farming Futures over many years.
Lunch will be provided, followed by a guided tour at 2.15pm with Ciaran Byrne, who has recently completed a Plan for Nature on parish lands in Myshall.
The workshop is aimed at delivering an improved understanding of results-based landscape management to the broader Blackstairs Mountains community, encouraging farming and non-farming relationships and strengthening the foundations for future community stewardship.
As part of Water Heritage Day, LAWCO will explore how our rivers connect the Blackstairs Mountains to the wider Leinster landscape, and Carlow County Council will provide an overview of the range of biodiversity projects currently underway.
Among the messages the workshop would like to get across on the day are how do we get to a situation where a non-farming public can ‘assume’ that farmers are doing the right thing for the environment. Simply RSVP by email to scasey@carlowcoco.ie with the number of places required.
