Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance EIP
Last autumn we got the fantastic news that Hometree has been approved by the Department of Agriculture to receive funding for a year-long European Innovation Partnership (EIP). Hometree’s EIP will be known as the Illaun Farm-Forest Alliance and will foster an alliance between landowners committed to enhancing on-farm biodiversity throughout the Glendine Valley in County Clare.
The EIP will use our Illaun site as a hub, which currently hosts a mature spruce plantation. Through a number of innovations, we’ll transform Illaun into a species-rich woodland that is integrated into the wider landscape and community. Under the EIP we will:
Implement novel biodiversity enhancing methods at Illaun and 12 other EIP participant landholdings;
Establish landowner and community engagement through a series of innovative workshops;
Promote our activity online through high-quality digital storytelling.
The EIP is expected to increase biodiversity on all participating farms. But as we face the urgency for positive ecological development, this will require ensuring that the various taxonomic groups at the subject of our activities respond appropriately to the various biodiversity enhancing measures.
The 6.5-hectare Illaun site will be integrated into the wider landscape by establishing wildlife corridors, which can be linear woodlands, enhanced hedgerows, or wildflower lays. The corridors will connect the Illaun site with a species-rich oak woodland site, just over 1Km away.
We’ll provide each EIP participating landowner with a tailored biodiversity action plan, which the landowners will implement under Hometree’s guidance. Over the 12 month project cycle, we’ll assess the environmental and biodiversity impacts of each plan. To do this, we’ll measure developments of key plant and animal populations (such as vascular plants, invertebrates, and bats) across each project site. While we expect a measurable increase in species richness, we aren’t sure how the complexity of species interaction arises as a result of implementing a pro-biodiversity management plan. We look forward to some interesting data!
While the EIP is ongoing, Hometree will also organise a series of 44 workshops at Ilaun focused on promoting on-farm biodiversity. The events are designed for local forest owners, farmers, community groups, schools, and communities. Workshop highlights include open discussion groups; expert guest lecturers; peer-to-peer knowledge transfer sessions; equipment demonstrations; and a school and community programme.
Hometree will promote the EIP using a series of films, articles, and social media posts. We want to show you the dynamic ecological changes occurring on the forest floor and surrounding hedgerows, and we’ll share this wonderful story with you through various digital formats, including a short documentary (with some great drone shots!), maps, graphics, video testimonials, and more.