ATU Donegal Department of Life and Physical Sciences visits Inishowen Uplands EIP

We were delighted to host Students from ATU Donegal on our Demo farm on Thursday 8th December led by Dr Paddy Solan.

The students were given a talk by former Project Manager Henry O’Donnell about the formation of the Inishowen Uplands EIP and what a European Innovation Partnerships (EIP) involves. Students were then shown around the farm by Farmer James Breslin and By John Doherty EIP Project Manager and given a overview of the measures that have been carried out on the farm. This included the Farm ponds and the benefits for biodiversity and sediment capture, Upland cattle and the benefits to farmers and the improvement of the habitats, The diverse sward and red clover benefits and uses and the different Agroforestry areas and the purposes and uses for each type, this included the Pontbren style hedges which has been a focus on their studies.

Students were shown the new technologies that are being incorporated into our project over the coming year including Cactus Tree guards which will allow us to plant more trees in open areas and Nofence collars which will allow our participant farmers to graze commonages and uplands in a specialised way to control over growth and to ease management.

We would like to thank ATU Donegal for visiting and to Gerard McDaid and Dr Paddy Solan for showcasing what we are carrying out here in Inishowen. Thanks to James Breslin for hosting the group and for the time and information he has provided, And thanks to Henry O’ Donnell for the information on the setup of the Inishowen Uplands EIP and the background on the EIP.

Project Manager John Doherty describing the benefits of a farm pond.

Henry O’Donnell explaining what an EIP is and a overview of the setup of the Inishowen Uplands EIP