The Burren Winterage Weekend – celebrating the tradition of farming for nature.
The Burren Winterage Weekend 2018 will take place from October 25th to 28th in Gort, Kinvara and other locations across the Burren. During the Winterage Weekend we join together to celebrate the unique farming traditions of the Burren and other ‘high nature value’ farming landscapes across Ireland and Europe, as well as sharing ideas on how these special places and their custodians might best be supported at a time of great challenge.
This vibrant and culturally rich community festival is coordinated by the Burrenbeo Trust and supported by Burren community volunteers and local businesses. Over the weekend there will be numerous events, many of which are free, but a few of which have a cost and require advance booking, including the Burren Winterage School and the Herdsman’s Walk.
Information on the tradition of winterage and the programme of events for the Winterage Weekend are available on the Burren Winterage Weekend website, www.burrenwinterage.com
Burren Winterage School: The annual two-day gathering in the Burren, with ‘Farming for Nature’ as this year’s theme. The School will begin on the evening of Thursday 25th October in the Lady Gregory Hotel, Gort, with insights into innovations and challenges in high nature value farming in four European landscapes. Note: we also encourage you to attend Teagasc’s National Agri-Environment Conference in Gort on that day (free entry, booking required via Teagasc website).
On Friday 26th we’ll have field trips to visit agri-environment schemes in the Slieve Aughty mountains and the Burren, as well as a very special Farming Innovation Fair at Gort mart. On Saturday 27th proceedings will move to Kinvara for the annual Burren Winterage School conference, with speakers, films, panel discussions and workshops on farming for nature. In the evening we’ll have the Burren Winterage Weekend Children’s Art Competition awards, followed by the inaugural National Farming for Nature Awards (see www.farmingfornature.ie).
The guided Herdsman’s Walk on Saturday morning should not be missed, with local landowner Patrick McCormack telling the story of his land, its history and its management – a unique insight. Tickets must be booked in advance for this walk, which is a fundraiser for the local landscape charity, Burrenbeo Trust – please go to www.burrenwinterage.com for further details.
Other events over this activity-packed weekend include farm demonstrations, a book reading by ‘The Cow Book’ author John Connell, a Burren Food Fayre and the annual Cattle Drive.
Burrenbeo Trust wishes to thank the Department of Agriculture, Bord Bia, The Heritage Council, Creative Ireland Galway and HNV LINK for their support towards the cost of the Burren Winterage Weekend. 