Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Meath, Offaly and Carlow landowners can apply for support to create wildlife ponds, mini-woodlands, hedges, mini-orchards and ‘plans for nature’ on their land through The Hare’s Corner initiative.
Applications open 6th –20th March 2025 at burrenbeo.com/thc
The Hare’s Corner is an innovative biodiversity initiative by the nonprofit organisation Burrenbeo Trust. Burrenbeo Trust is partnering with Biodiversity officers in counties Galway, Limerick, Sligo, Meath, Offaly, Carlow and Galway City Council through the Heritage Council’s Biodiversity Officer Programme, to be able to offer Hare’s Corners to landowners in these counties.
This follows the successful growth of the initiative, which has helped create 1,600 habitats for biodiversity across four counties since its launch in 2021.
Inspired by the term ‘The Hare’s Corner’ – an old farming expression for an awkward section of a field which wasn’t intensively farmed and so was ‘left to nature’ – the aim of this project is to help create habitats that have proven benefits for biodiversity, for climate-action as well as for the wellbeing of participants.
The Hare’s Corner project offers landowners practical support to carry out simple but impactful actions for nature such as creation of a wildlife pond, a native mini-woodland, a wildlife hedge, a heritage mini-orchard, and/or a bespoke ‘plan for nature’ for their site. This support is offered in the form of materials (mixed species of native trees and heritage apple trees), micro-funding (towards machinery costs for pond digging), professional services (such as a hydrologist’s visit to help plan a pond, or an ecologist’s visit to ‘plan for nature’) and guidance.
The Hare’s Corner initiative in 2025 will be funded through a combination of public and private sector funding, including the National Parks and Wildlife Service’s Local Biodiversity Action Fund and is an action of the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023 – 2030, and private funders – NTR PLC, Greencoat Renewables PLC, ESB, and Aldi Stores Ltd.
The application form will be live from 6th March to 20th March for landowners in the above 6 counties and can be accessed through www.burrenbeo.com/thc
Oisín Meagher, a Hare’s Corner participant from East Clare says, “I really think it is a brilliant and beautiful thing to create all these little gems around the county. I cannot overstate the joy I find in spending time down in the field at our new pond in all weathers, and the profound satisfaction that it brings to create even a tiny practical response to the massive biodiversity and climate crisis we are living through.”
Hare’s Corner participant Leslie Maya from Glendree, Co.Clare said, “We had a wonderful ecologist come visit our land as part of our ‘Plan for Nature’. She advised us on which trees to plant where, and what kind of grazing would allow us to have more flora and fauna thrive on the site. She showed us different types of lichens, mosses and flowers that we hadn’t noticed before. We now have a lot better appreciation of the habitats we already have on our land!”
“The growing demand for this initiative has been truly inspiring. Many landowners are eager to support nature but often struggle with knowing where or how to begin. The Hare’s Corner initiative bridges this gap between awareness and action by offering practical guidance, essential materials, and, when needed, micro-funding – helping turn intentions into impactful biodiversity actions on the ground,” says Fionn-Doyle Chowen of Burrenbeo Trust.
Landowners, farmers, community groups, and schools with land in an eligible county—or with permission to undertake work on a site within that county—are welcome to apply. However, those participating in the ACRES or NPWS Farm Plan Scheme, as well as landowners with sites in designated areas (SACs, SPAs etc), are not currently eligible.
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Additional Information
If the call is oversubscribed, then places may be offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Preference is also given to community groups, schools and Burrenbeo Trust Members. To avoid double-funding, farmers who are ACRES or NPWS Farm Plan Scheme participants are currently not eligible to apply.
Application link and further information: burrenbeo.com/thc