June Field Report, 2022

In a world with so many complex systems and information available in so many forms, I feel blessed to do my work; it keeps me grounded in action. I see a lot of positive impacts, both on the human community where we have sites but so much impact on the lands that we work in and own.

Some highlights from the last month have been seeing light land on the woodland floor after removing some of the sika spruce at our Illaun site. Meadhbh has been in the field doing a lot of baseline ecological studies; she's been having a lot of fun and coming back to the office with exciting stories about field mice eating dandelion and blackthorn berries. Ray and I have been busy planning the summer school and are both so excited; while Mitch has been chained to the poly-tunnel sowing half a million tree seeds (photo below with week old Scots pine seedlings), there is so much to report, but that's the bones of it.

As always, you are welcome to give me a call anytime at 0877059979. Enjoy the newsletter, and I hope to see you at the Ardnaculla Summer School.

- Matt, Hometree's General Manager and Co-Founder

ARDNACULLA SUMMER SCHOOL, JUNE 24-26
Three days of workshops for the community to discuss, see and learn about the benefits of woodland.

Hometree’s mission is to be a conduit to the natural world and the people who know how to restore it and are curious to get involved. These events will be gently facilitated, profoundly informative and help move us a step forward in living in partnership with nature. So if you are a farmer, landowner, student of the world, or generally interested in connecting with nature and understanding the challenges of working within complex systems, these three days are for you.

MATT'S EXPERIENCE AT SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS

"My socks were knocked off me after a week-long course in the Scottish highlands with Findhorn & Trees for Life founder Alan Featherstone Watson, who you can also meet during Ardnaculla Summer School. Off-grid in a bothy deep in the mountains, a total immersion with a balance of practical and inner work built around landscape restoration. In Alan's time with Trees for Life, he and his team purchased and cared for over 10,000 acres of degraded land.

Sessions on overgrazing, tree care, design studios and grief work around the tragic ecological situation of the Scottish highlands. Ten participants all brought their best selves and dived deep. It had its challenges, no running water, internet, shared dorms and full 10 hour days of study, work and team building. My main takeaway at this moment is: Dream big and believe in yourself." - Matt Smith

If you would like to learn more about these courses, please reach out to Matt - at matt@hometree.ie or 0877059979.

HOMETREE BEES

Our bees have now been with us since July last year. They settled in at Hometree's HQ through a wild, windy winter and have seen many people, cars, trucks; dogs come and go. They seem happy in their newly sown wildflower surroundings, which were sown during a volunteer day last summer.

The hive has expanded so much that they had to swarm a part of their population just a week ago during a volunteer day. It was a beautiful site for us all! Mitch came back the following day, and the swarm was still settled in a tree above the original hive. So he decided to ask for some confidence-boosting info from the local beekeeper Dunja and then get the bee suit on. It was Mitch's first time capturing a swarm, so he asked a friend Patrick Wilson to come along and keep an eye on him from a distance.

We managed to capture the swarm into a container and then place them into a log hive that we had made last summer. The "log hive" is a more natural way of keeping bees and allows them to self regulate like they would in the wild. In addition, it helps them become more resilient and stay pest and disease-free. We wish good luck to them and their little community!

ILLAUN FARM-FOREST EIP COMMUNITY AND FARM TALKS

Midweek, June and July
Our Farm-Forest EIP has an extensive community engagement, so we are thrilled to announce that we will be hosting Illaun Farm-Forest EIP Community and Farm Talk Series throughout June and July. These talks are free, and no previous registration is required. All are welcome.

Find the complete programme HERE.