My Country Living: creating a sanctuary for wildlife and people

I’m originally, from Dundrum in Dublin. I left for college in Cork and studied environmental science and ecology but it wasn’t my first choice.

It was random, but I am so glad of it. I really liked science in school. The school syllabus at the time it did not have a huge focus on ecology. I always liked nature and being outside but I never put two and two together. I was like, “Oh environmental science that will be a grand back up”, but I found it fascinating from day one of college.

I ended up working in an office for the Presentation Sisters just before I finished the master’s

My first choice was microbiology, which I studied a bit during my course and I found it would not have been my thing in the long run because of the lab work and the attention to detail.

I did my master’s in education and communication in Canada. I ended up working in an office for the Presentation Sisters just before I finished the master’s. I worked for the nuns teaching people about the environment. It was the most bizarre job. They were wonderful people. My background is in working with primary and secondary schools and the public, educating on the environment, nature, biodiversity and growing.

Looking for land

Myself and my partner Tom wanted to move in together, but I came with two dogs and three horses. There are very few houses to rent out there that will allow you to bring them along too. My mum sent me a text asking, “Have you seen this house in Westmeath?”.

My partner weighs things up a little bit better that’s why we work well together

When we viewed it I thought, “This is it, I’m sold”.

My partner weighs things up a little bit better that’s why we work well together. We didn’t look at another house after that. It just had the perfect blend. There was some old woodlands down the back, a sand area for horses, three little stables, a nice hay shed and just enough acreage.

There was a rollercoaster of emotions that week

We just wanted a small holding for a self-sufficient lifestyle.

So we bought it. In the same week we got the keys, I found out I was being made redundant. There was a rollercoaster of emotions that week. Fortunately, we didn’t buy out of our means.

We both enjoy being around nature, we both enjoy the countryside and being connected to the landscape.

I loved the feeling of knowing a piece of land so well

I worked in the Knocksink Reserve and the Wicklow National Park and I would have spent three years there. I loved the feeling of knowing a piece of land so well. You understood what happened and if I had the money I would have bought something the size of a national park but I didn’t, so we settled for nine acres. I want to create a place of beauty that is both a sanctuary for wildlife and people.

Growing

We have planted a forest garden and the farm is chemical-free. We grow vegetables, fruit, flowers and manage hens, ducks and geese to sell to market. We sell our produce in health food stores and restaurants. We also offer a local honesty box scheme with seasonal fruit and vegetables.

Every January to March when we’re sowing I’ll still be keen to get outside and see what’s coming up

I first started growing in 2009. I remember planting out some brassicas and I got up like it was Christmas morning every day to see how much they had grown for the first three weeks. That hasn’t changed much. Every January to March when we’re sowing I’ll still be keen to get outside and see what’s coming up.

I love food and I get to be a part of that journey and explore the many environmental factors, like the need for local food and the need for local producers.

It is a shame we are going to lose these small family farms

Many people are leaving the farming industry because of the pressure that they are under and understandably so. It is a shame we are going to lose these small family farms but there are some market gardeners bucking the trend.

Future plans

My hope is once the farm is a little further on, we’ll be able to increase our public education and awareness. We had the local crèche down recently. Hopefully we will be able to offer more visits, but the land is small and the more people we bring in, that’s going to impact it.

We will need to put in some paths to prevent impacting the ground from footfall. Education is also on the cards once we can either secure some funding or just save up enough to put in an education area.

We offer social farming on the farm too, it has been an amazing experience

I am writing a children’s book with a friend and we plan to self-publish it early next year. I’m also hoping to train myself in equine assisted learning and therapy, where you work with animals and young people or with people with mental health challenges. We offer social farming on the farm too, it has been an amazing experience working with a centre in Mullingar for people with intellectual disabilities. They’ve visited a few times.

If I fell on a crop of gold I would love to purchase more land

They love how quiet it is here. One women would say, “I’d love to just sit and be calm”.

I want to make the most of the space we have. If I fell on a crop of gold I would love to purchase more land and experiment with natural forest farming and bio-dynamic farming methods, but for the moment the expansion will be to increase the amount of vegetables we grow to about two thirds and cap it at that. Also to increase tourism and education. There’s a lot of scope particularly with Centre Parcs opening up down the road.

We would like to host chefs from the local area and have an area where they could cook and have supper clubs. We’ll have to wait and see though.

Support

What support is out there is among the network of local growers and the clients of the people who are interested. They’re the ones who keep you going. We recently had culinary students out from IT Athlone and they loved the idea that there are people out there producing really great food. It’s bolstering for us too.

Reactions range from it’s so inspirational to she’s a hippy down the road and she’s doing no harm so leave her be.

To find out more check out the An Ghrain Glas Farm website.

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