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 Vandana 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.
