Promoting sustainable agriculture and the arts

The Field Exchange Festival, which took place recently in Coolbawn, has established an inclusive space where creative approaches to sustainable agriculture can be shared.

The two-day event was held at Brookfield Farm on the shores of Lough Derg. Farmers, foresters, artists, food producers, and local people were invited to share ideas and increase their knowledge of sustainable agriculture practices through a series of workshops, demonstrations, and panel discussions.

The event featured contributions from major stakeholders and commentators in the creative and sustainability space. Participants included:

-Tania Banotti, Director of Creative Ireland;

- Sadhbh O’Neill, senior climate advisor for Friends of the Earth;

- Ella McSweeney, food and farming journalist with RTÉ;

- Ailbhe Gerrard, the Field Exchange project promoter;

- Artist groups the Company of Trees and Ackroyd & Harvey;

- Ruth Hegarty, food policy commentator and MD Egg & Chicken

- a host of organic farmers.

Events ran from 12 noon to 5pm with both days featuring interactive talks with artists and designers and a mixed discipline performance of the Company of Trees, a musical and spoken word production exploring the impact of trees on our daily lives written by Michael James Ford and Philip Dodd. The piece was performed by Susannah De Wrixon, Michael James Ford, Kyle Hixon and the Delmaine String Quartet and featured photographic and visual images by Brendan Keogh.

An exhibition by renowned artists Ackroyd & Harvey proved a strong attraction. Their verdant portraits of Tipperary farmers and a tree made from living grass canvas were followed by a celebratory dinner in the barn at Brookfield Farm on Saturday evening.

In addition to art showcases and musical performances, workshops were provided in woodturning, leather tanning, and sugan chair-making. Representatives from event partners the Irish Agroforestry Ireland Forum (IAF) and the Dry Stone Wall Association of Ireland (DSWAI) also hosted demonstrations in agroforestry and the construction of dry stone walls.

The breathtaking landscape of Brookfield Farm was the inspiring backdrop for the festival. This award-winning organic farm is a conservation area for the Native Irish Honey Bee. The festival is the brainchild of the farmer, beekeeper, and teacher who runs Brookfield Farm, Ailbhe Gerrard.

Ailbhe ran a pilot version of the Field Exchange Festival in 2022 and, based on that success, secured funding for a two-year project - also called Field Exchange - on creative agriculture and climate.

The more comprehensive project is structured around the two annual festivals. It includes a series of one-day workshops, discussions, and hands-on activities that build upon a community of farmers and integrate the vision and creativity of artists into sustainable farming practices and habitat enhancement.

Project promoter Ailbhe Gerrard, An Taisce Climate Ambassador and a Farming for Nature Ambassador, says: “We are delighted by the success of this year’s Field Exchange festival. It’s truly exciting to see the increasing level of interest among farmers, foresters, artists, and local people in exploring how we can make farming more sustainable and maintain the security of Ireland’s food systems for future generations.

“This year’s gathering aimed to kick-start the imagination of attendees, arming them with the necessary tools to combat climate change and biodiversity loss while helping them understand the role of agriculture and the arts in achieving those aims. We look forward to building on the progress of this year’s festival next year with the Field Exchange 2025.”

Field Exchange is one of 43 Creative Climate Action Fund projects taking place across the country. The projects work with communities using creativity to envision a better future and empower people to make real changes in how they interact with the environment.

Field Exchange is a recipient of the Creative Climate Action fund, an initiative from the Creative Ireland Programme. It is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media in collaboration with the Department of the Taoiseach. The fund supports creative, cultural and artistic projects that build awareness around climate change and empower citizens to make meaningful behavioural transformations.