On Monday 23rd of August, Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Senator Pippa Hackett, joined members of Burrenbeo Trust, local farmers, representatives of Clare County Council and Irish Seed Savers to launch The Hare’s Corner, a new biodiversity initiative for Co. Clare.

Inspired by the term ‘The Hare’s Corner’, an old farming expression for an awkward section of a field which wasn’t intensively farmed and so was ‘left to nature’, this project aims to help Clare landowners create pocket-sized habitats such as a mini-woodland, a pond, or an orchard on their land, that will be good for both wildlife and farming.

As you read this in November, several ponds are being dug across County Clare to enhance biodiversity and it is expected that 27 new ponds will be created before the end of this year as part of The Hare’s Corner pilot project. An online training session on Pond Design and Construction with Wetlands expert Féidhlim Harty was held for all pond applicants and you can view a recording of it on the Burrenbeo Trust YouTube channel here.

The unexpectedly mild weather in November has meant the postponement of the distribution of bare-root Irish heritage apple trees to the successful Hare’s Corner orchard applicants. Burrenbeo Trust hope to organize this in January with the help of partners Irish Seed Savers. The Hare’s Corner is coordinated by Burrenbeo Trust and funded by the Dept of Agriculture, Food and the Marine through The European Innovation Partnerships Initiative (EIP)/Locally led schemes, as well as the Clare County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

For more information visit  https://burrenbeo.com/thc/

Image (L to R) – Brendan Dunford, Manager of The Burren Programme, Congella McGuire, Heritage Officer, Clare County Council, Harold Kingston, Munster IFA, Minister Pippa Hackett, Tom Lane, Chair of Clare IFA, Karen Van Dorp, Field Technical Officer with Burrenbeo Trust, Pranjali Bhave, Project Coordinator with Burrenbeo Trust, Elaine Bradley, General Manager at Irish Seed Savers.