A Call for Farmers: Ireland’s newest ‘Living Lab’
‘Soilcrates’: Ireland’s Living Lab – Mission Soil
Loop Head was catapulted onto the European Stage by becoming one of only three Irish Communities geographically selected to facilitate the European ‘Living Labs’ Project in the mid west of Ireland – and that project is now about to kick off with a call for all farmers and commumity members on Loop Head and in the wider mid west region who:
(a) might just be interested in following along for information, learnings and workshops (this can be anyone with an interest in soil health)
(b) those farmers who might like to participate more actively, by being one of the active farms in our LH Living Lab
with a focus on (1) sustainable soil management (2) biodiversity restoration (3) and the integration of circular agriculture practices. Leveraging the expertise of the Technological University of the Shannon (TUS), this lab brings together local farmers, government bodies, advisory services, and community organizations to co-create solutions that are ecologically sustainable and economically viable.
Loop Head’s Living Lab will be led by TUS (Technical University of the Shannon) and will be facilitated on the ground locally here by Loop Head Together CLG and assisted in the technical realm by Wild Atlantic Hemp in Carrigaholt.
First Event to introduce the project locally, will take place on Saturday the 26th of April at 1pm
Venue: Cross Digital Hub - Cross Village, Co Clare, V15 TW83 - All Welcome to attend.
Keep scrolling to learn more about the project.
What are these Living Labs?
The Living Labs project (also called SOILCRATES) involves communities of farmers who come together (alongside their academic partners) to carry out research on farming practices to improve soil health, in a real-life farm environment.
The other European Living Labs are in the Netherlands, France and Spain.
What Communities form the Irish Living Lab?
The Irish Living Lab takes the form of the mid west region, Counties Clare, Limerick and Tipperary. Only three communities in Ireland have been selected to facilitate this:
- Loop Head
- Cloughjordan
- Ballyhoura.
What kind of research might be undertaken by the Loop Head Living Lab?
Loop Head farmers (or from the wider mid west area) who are interested in participating, would be asked to come together and identify soil challenges they face such as slurry derogation, run offs, compaction, flooding, over fertilising and nutrients being washed out.
Once the farmers and the project team have identified which challenges they would like to explore further, the team will help develop and test practical solutions that would tackle these. The research, therefore, being led by the specific challenges faced by the farmers.
Interested farmers can follow the process to learn as much as possible (information sharing is a key part of this process) and for those who wish to partake more actively in the actual trials, they can do so, by providing a piece of land and working alongside the Project Team to test and develop the proposed solutions. They will be paid for their participation and any costs associated with the same.
What is the duration of the Soilcrates Living Lab Project?
The duration of the project is four years.
Are you interested? This is how you can participate.
Farmers on Loop Head, but also from all parts of Clare and the wider mid West region, are all invited to participate.
Follow Along: You can participate by just following the process, asking questions and attending upcoming events. We recommend all farmers (or anyone) with an interest in soil enhancement would do this. There will be lots of educational opportunities.
Actively Participate: But if you would like to ‘actively’ participate in the Loop Head Living Lab, by being one of the LL Farmers, this would involve providing a piece of land and assisting the project team as they develop and explore the soil solutions on it, which best addresses the soil challenge you face.
You would be helped through the process by the project team.
As a participating farmer, how you would benefit?
You would be working on delivering economically viable and environmentally friendly ways to tackle the challenges you face.
You would become part of a network on the peninsula (and beyond) who are all interested in enhancing soil quality and addressing local challenges.
You would be paid for the rent of your land (€1000 per hectare, per year) and any out-of-pocket expenses would be covered by the project.
You will benefit from the real-life learnings of how to approach and address challenges you face on your land.
There will be an opportunity to travel (costs covered) to one of the other European Living Labs to learn from their experiences!
Why is this such a wonderful opportunity for Loop Head?
Loop Head are already leading the way, in terms of soil health, having last year won a National Climate Action Award for their work on Hemp4Soil.
Loop Head are also the main Decarbonising Zone for the County of Clare
(Clare Co Co)All efforts towards exploring sustainable soil management, doesn’t just improve soil health for participating farms, but all knowledge will be continuously shared with all farmers - which also has the potential to really help with building a resilience both economically and environmentally for farmers all across the peninsula.
The overall aim of this project is to be farmer led – driven by the needs of the farmers, taking on board their knowledge and expertise and contributing to more resilient and biodiverse farms.
How can I learn more?
Remember, although Loop Head Together are facilitating this, interested farmers from Clare and the wider Mid-West Region are also invited to participate (particularly in the knowledge sharing aspect of this project)
Get in touch with us here at Loop Head Together, loopheadtogether@gmail.com or you can contact any one of our committee (names HERE) or you could contact Daniel and Laura at Wild Atlantic Hemp in Carrigaholt on cbd@wildatlantichemp.com
The first event we run locally will be an information sharing one – and everyone, regardless of their level of participation is welcome. All dates and information will be shared on this website so please follow along.
REMINDER: ALL WELCOME
The First Event to introduce the project locally, will take place on Saturday the 26th of April at 1pm
Venue: Cross Digital Hub - Cross Village, Co Clare, V15 TW83Admission FREE But Registration necessary for numbers
