As politicians, policymakers, international analysts and business people gather in the Azerbaijan capital of Baku for the 2024 United Nations Climate Change conference next week, we asked eight environmentally committed individuals what they perceive to be the most important thing that needs to happen now to save ourselves, our species and our planet.
‘Farmers don’t trust the State because it has let them down so many times’
Woodland conservationist Ray Ó’Foghlú is the development officer for the nature restoration charity, Hometree.
“The amount of infrastructure around the natural world is threadbare compared to the infrastructure around health. Our environmental health is close to our own health. With more support and money, we could unleash the potential of farmers all over Ireland,” says Ray Ó'Foghlú.
“Farmers own 80 per cent of the land in Ireland, so if we aren’t engaging with them in a meaningful way, we won’t change things fundamentally. First, we have to rebuild trust through local advisers who deal directly with farmers. Farmers don’t trust the state because the state has let them down so many times – including right now, as their payments for agri-environmental schemes is a lot less than it was in the 1990s.” The current results-based payment method where farmers are paid incrementally according to the extent of their environmental measures and their impact is, according to Ó'Foghlú, better than previous payments paid irrespective of the results.
“Farmers will get involved with rewetting peatlands and controlling invasive species. They will maintain species-rich grasslands and control predators for ground-nesting birds as long as they can keep farming. Farming in the West of Ireland is loss-making but it’s an important part of the culture which needs to be supported by bottom-up initiatives.”
‘It’s about slowing down with people in nature: in woodlands, by the sea, in community gardens’
Keith Magee is the development manager for the Ballymun-based Global Action Plan, which is working to change hearts, minds, behaviours and attitudes to climate change.
“We have spent so much time giving people information and sharing knowledge, but we are not seeing the change we need to see. In fact, the climate guilt and shame, apathy, disconnection, anxiety, fear and numbness that we are seeing creates barriers to action on the interlinked ecological and environmental crises,” says Magee.
Working with schools, community groups and businesses in urban areas, Magee says that the most important thing to do is to give people space to connect with each other and the natural world. “It’s about slowing down with people in nature — in woodlands, by the sea, in community gardens. People have a gut feeling about doing the right thing but it’s hidden under layers of social needs (access to housing and quality food), fear and personal worries,” he says.
According to Magee, when this connection happens, people develop a deep sense of gratitude for what they already have. Citing the collaborative project, Ballymun is Brilliant, as an example of a community coming together, he says that the next stage is to reimagine a future together built on compassion and care in which all genders, humans and the natural world are allies.
‘We need to give Irish farmers a stable and growing market here for fruit and vegetables’
Ailbhe Gerrard is an organic farmer in Brookfield Farm, Tipperary, whose project, Field Exchange, brings together artists and farmers to support sustainable agricultural practices in a changing world
Ailbhe Gerrard says that she began to understand the breadth and depth of the climate crisis when she attended the Conference of Parties (Cop) in Copenhagen in 2009. “I found it quite terrifying really and had to make the choice between staying in academia [she was doing a masters in sustainable development at University College London at the time] or using a farm as a demonstration project.” She chose the latter and bought a 65-acre farm in Co Tipperary close to where she grew up. Since then, she has welcomed thousands of farmers to see her organic sheep, her bee hives, her organic barley and much more. Gerrard says that changing the way we produce food is the key to solving the biodiversity and climate crises.
“There are 130,000 farmers in Ireland and agriculture contributes 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions and 40 per cent of water pollution. Seventy-five per cent of farms produce meat and milk, the vast majority of which is for export,” she explains. Instead, she believes we should be creating shorter food chains, and eating seasonal foods grown locally. “We used to be a huge producer of apples and now we import 90 per cent of our fruit and vegetables. As the climate crisis bites, we will no longer have secure long food chains so we need to give Irish farmers a stable and growing market here for fruit and vegetables. If there is a market, they will find a way to grow the produce for it.”
‘We have to live our way through this and not presume the outcomes’
Alex McMaster is a marine ecologist and writer from Co Donegal who has worked on various projects including Shifting Tides, a cross-Border science/art community engagement project on Carlingford Lough.
“The first thing to realise is that no one size fits all. It’s a complex crisis that can’t be addressed by the fast technological fixes we insist upon,” says McMaster. Instead, he believes that the solution is a slow and creative approach. “We have to live our way through this and not presume the outcomes rather than think our way through it,” he says.
Referring to the Shifting Tides community engagement project in the towns and villages around Carlingford Lough, McMaster says that it’s about local people taking ownership of issues like pollution, sustainable livelihoods on the shore, conservation of sea grasses and restoration of native oyster beds. “This sort of work combines scientific and creative methods and can be facilitated through accessible funding opportunities that match the needs of coastal communities and recognise the value of their knowledge and experience. We need this sort of creativity at scale.”
‘I’d like to see an organic land trust owned by the State. Sixty per cent of farmers in Kerry have no one to leave their land to’
Lisa Fingleton is an artist, film-makers, writer and organic grower in Co Kerry who explores food production and nature with groups who visit their farm, The Barna Way.
Fingleton and her partner, Rena Blake, have 20 acres of land just outside Ballybunion in Co Kerry. Half of the land is native woodland with the remainder a meadow and a small section for horticulture. “We use our farm to grow food and give people experiences in learning how to grow food by picking and eating it on our farm,” she explains. Her big idea is for the state to buy land and employ people to work on it. “I’d like to see an organic land trust owned by the state. Sixty per cent of farmers in Kerry have no one to leave their land to. If we don’t invest in farms, big corporations will buy them,” she says. Just back from five weeks working with the Indian environmental activist and farmer, Dr Vandana Shiva, Fingleton is adamant that we have to be the change we want to see in the world. “It’s about protecting air, water, soil, food, shelter and safety. And war is the biggest destroyer of the environment. Not enough people are talking about the importance of peace these days,” she says.
‘A public transport system that is consistent and connected is a priority’
Jessamyn Fairfield is a physics lecturer in the School of Natural Sciences at the University of Galway who specialises in science/art engagement projects such as the comedy improvisation events with, We Built This City on Rock and Coal.
Fairfield believes that by listening to rural coastal communities that bear the brunt of climate change without contributing to it, we can all learn to use less stuff and waste fewer resources in our day-to-day lives. “We visited five offshore islands with our comedy improvisation events and talked to them about what they need most. We saw how little food they wasted and how they reused materials for other purposes, for example how onion skins were used to dye wool.
Fairfield also believes that a free public transport system is a key to reducing emissions and maintaining sustainable communities. “A public transport system that is consistent and connected is a priority and expanding free public transport to everyone across the country would give rural communities a chance to prosper,” she says.
‘Co-creating projects with local communities is one of the best way to galvanise support and stem behaviour change’
Laura McMahon and Marie Gordan have worked with the residents of Kilcoole, Co Wicklow, to highlight and preserve the nesting grounds for the Little Tern. Newry-based McMahon is also the project co-ordinator for the Friends of the Earth UK postcode #er project while Gordan co-ordinates participative arts projects in response to biodiversity/climate issues. “It’s about listening to local non-governmental organisations and supporting them either through paid membership and/or volunteering with local groups,” says McMahon. She cites organisations such as Friends of the Earth, Client Earth and Greenpeace as organisations which are all in need of support. “We can feel isolated and think what you do personally won’t make a difference but there are so many people doing amazing things. Find out who they are — join a campaign, sign and petition and get involved. Collective action makes a difference.”
Gordan believes that art is one way to communicate clear messages about climate change. “Co-creating projects with local communities is one of the best ways to galvanise support and stem behaviour change. When you make the threats locally relevant — for example the impact of storm surges on the bird nesting near the shoreline — people are more likely to get involved and take ownership of the shared climate and biodiversity crises,” she adds. Gordan and McMahon’s project, Tern the Tide, was one of several which received funding as part of the Government’s Creative Climate Action Fund.
