Sligo landowners can apply for support to create wildlife ponds, mini-woodlands, wildlife hedges, mini-orchards and ‘plans for nature’ on their land through The Hare’s Corner initiative.
The Hare’s Corner is coming to Sligo!
Online applications open 6th-20th March 2025 at burrenbeo.com/thc
The Hare’s Corner, an innovative biodiversity initiative by the nonprofit organisation Burrenbeo Trust, is being rolled out this year to landowners, community groups and schools across six counties – Sligo, Galway, Offaly, Meath, Carlow and Limerick, in partnership with the Local Authority Biodiversity Officer Programme. 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.
In Sligo, Burrenbeo Trust is partnering with Sligo County Council to offer Hare’s Corners to landowners, community groups and schools. The project is supported through the Biodiversity Officer Programme and supported nationally by the Heritage Council.
The Hare’s Corner initiative in Sligo 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 Sligo County Council and is an action of the National Biodiversity Action Plan 2023 – 2030, and private funders Greencoat Renewables PLC, and Aldi Stores Ltd.
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, with apple trees from Irish Seed Savers Association 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.
Ruth Hanniffy, Biodiversity officer with Sligo County Council stated,
“We are delighted to partner with The Hare’s Corner project and warmly welcome its launch in Co. Sligo. Many people want to do something for nature but would like practical advice on what they can or should do, and how to do it, and The Hare’s Corner meets this need by providing the encouragement, advice, and micro-funding to do it. I look forward to providing the local support necessary to bring this fantastic opportunity to participants in Co. Sligo”.
The application form will be live from 6th March to 20th March 2025 for landowners, communities and schools 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."
“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.
For further information: burrenbeo.com/thc
Hare’s Corner project contact in Co. Sligo: Ruth Hanniffy, Biodiversity Officer Sligo County Council rhanniffy@sligococo.ie