Caroline Lalor
Ecologist, BSc. MSc. MCIEEM
Caroline is an ecologist with a strong interest and professional experience in Peatland Ecology. She has 19 years’ experience working in nature conservation, impact assessment, ecological monitoring and ecological education. Based in Offaly, she has contributed to a variety of projects including habitat mapping projects, NPWS Monitoring Surveys, ecological surveys for existing and proposed Wind Farms and educational projects.
Caroline was project lead on the UCC Pilot Biodiversity Survey 2014-2018 and she developed the first UCC Biodiversity Action Plan. She also worked with University College Cork as co-ordinator and lecturer on the Field Ecology Diploma course from 2011-2017. Caroline has a strong interest in agriculture in Ireland and how farmers interact with the landscape. Caroline has been working as Project Manager of the FarmPEAT Project since April 2021.
Farming on peat soils – Experiences from FarmPEAT EIP
The FarmPEAT Project EIP is a pilot project funded by the EU Recovery Instrument Funding under the Rural Development Programme 2014-2022. This pilot was set up in 2021 in order to design and trial a results- based agri-environmental scheme with farmers who farm on peat soils around raised bogs in the midlands of Ireland. Another main objective of the project was to increase awareness of the importance of peat soils in terms of climate, water quality and biodiversity both within the local farming community and the wider local communities.
The FarmPEAT Project worked with 36 pilot farmers in Year 1 and this has increased to 49 farmers to date. These farmers have helped design the pilot agri-environmental scheme and their input and engagement has been vital to the success of the project. There is no obligation on any famer to undertake any specific actions on their farm as part of the FarmPEAT Project. The only obligation that is asked of them is to allow their farm to be assessed by the FarmPEAT Team, to engage with the Team and to attend one training day a year.
One of our main focus areas is farming on peat soils and how this can be best done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from drained peat, while also benefitting biodiversity, water quality and the farmers. Some farmers (5) have undertaken drain management actions to rewet some of their peat soils and an additional two farmers are planning to follow suit. In other words 14% of farmers are committed to undertaking, or have undertaken, drain management actions to rewet peat soils. We are interested in exploring why some farmers are willing to do this and others are not.
Increasing awareness of the importance of appropriate management of peat soils among farmers, local school children and the wider local community is an important part of the project. We believe that sharing the latest knowledge and up-to-date science with farmers is an important factor in influencing decisions on farm management and educating local school children is a way of influencing future decision makers, landowners, farmers and policy-makers. However, we also felt that it was important to have the support and understanding of the local communities and so we have reached out to local community groups at our project sites to share knowledge and ideas.
Read the full paper Peat carbon farming – experiences from Farm Peat (PDF)