Note from Ryan Wilson-Parr, Project Officer – Hen Harrier Project

Hen Harrier Project, 2 Oran Point, Main St. Oranmore, Co. Galway  

A Note from  Ryan Wilson-Parr,  Project Officer     Mobile: 087 151 0849

We would be very grateful if you could let your congregations know of a new €25 million 5 year agri-environment programme beginning 2018 called the Hen Harrier Project. It is specifically targeted at farmers with land in Hen Harrier Special Protection Areas. We have organised a number of informal meetings and would welcome opinion and ideas from farmers with land in the Slieve Bloom Mountains Special Protection Area. The Project is a locally targeted conservation programme building strong partnerships with farmers to deliver sustainable benefits for biodiversity, upland ecosystems and a vibrant local rural economy.  The Hen Harrier Project works for and with farmers using a novel ‘hybrid’ approach to farming for conservation which sees farmers given support and paid for both work undertaken and, most importantly, for the delivery of defined environmental objectives.

Details on future meetings are below:

We have a twitter account @HenHarrierProj and a Hen Harrier Project Facebook page if people want to keep up with things.

Thank you. Ryan

The Hen Harrier Project is a pilot results-based project under the European Innovation Partnership measure which forms part of Ireland’s Rural Development Programme. It aims to bring farmers, farm advisors, a conservation NGO and researchers together to deliver a targeted landscape level intervention which places the farmer at the heart of the process. Creating sustainable farming systems that work for both the farmers and the Hen Harrier, and deliver real socio-economic benefits to the areas concerned, is a key objective.