Rena Blake and Lisa Fingleton are new Farming for Nature Ambassadors 2024-2025. Farming for Nature at The Barna Way, they ask how do we grow food, protect nature and be creative all at the same time?
They are based just outside Ballybunion, North Kerry where they run a 8 hectare organic farm called The Barna Way. They focus mainly on organic horticulture, growing tomatoes, potatoes, salad leaves, apples and other fruit, in the orchard, polytunnel and gardens. They also keep bees and manage the farm’s native meadows for wildlife and as habitats for ground nesting birds and other creatures.
Nature conservation and attracting wildlife is central to how the farm is run. In 2020 the couple planted 4 hectares (9 ac) of their farm under native woodland – a total of 10,000 native Irish trees were planted with the support of Greenbelt, Supervalu and the Native Irish Woodland Scheme. On the farm there are badgers, foxes, cuckoo, barn owls, ravens, jackdaws, pheasants and so much more.
Rena and Lisa are passionate about community engagement and a lot of their work is geared towards educating people about where their food comes from and empowering people to grow their own food. They run the Local Food Project and are host farmers with the Kerry Social Farming. They are strong advocates for small-scale local producers, food sovereignty, low-impact farming and education
As well as being organic growers Lisa is an artist and Rena is a photographer.
Lisa says “In all our work we are propelled by an accelerated sense of urgency around food insecurity, climate crisis, biodiversity loss and forced migration”.
For the next two years The Barna Way is working in partnership with Ballybunion Community Forum on the new Brilliant Ballybunion project funded under the IGNITE, Creative Climate Action Fund, which is managed by Creative Ireland. The project works with community collaborators to grow food, protect habitats and create a vision for the future in the context of climate change and biodiversity loss.
Lisa and Rena have travelled extensively and have lived in many countries and have recently returned from a month long programme at Navdanya in India with writer and food activist Dr Vadana Shiva. They value intercultural exchange and the sharing of knowledge through ‘thinking global and acting local’. They strive to ‘BE the change they wish to see in the world’ though their work in ‘The Barna Way’ and welcome others to join them in their journey.
Quotes from Lisa and Rena:
We feel very privileged to be Farming for Nature ambassadors. We feel it is a lovely affirmation of all of our work for, and with, nature over the last twenty years on our farm here near Ballybunion.
Over that time ‘The Barna Way’ has evolved to include more and more spaces for nature including wild flower meadows and woodlands. We are certified organic and now host nature-based events and a Creative Climate Action project called Brilliant Ballybunion. We work with the local community to grow food, protect nature and be creative all the same time.
Lisa asks “How can we use our imagination and connection with the land to create the future we want to be? How can we co-create with nature in the face of the climate and biodiversity crises. I sometimes say we are farming and growing ideas as much as anything else these days “.
Rena says “No matter how small you are, you can still actively work to create change and make things better. We need things to change for the better, for the birds, bees and also for oursleves. We share this planet with other creatures and we need to learn how to cohabit together. Building community is really important”.
Find out more about Farming for Nature at The Barna Way here