Meath Landowners to be Offered ‘Hassle-Free’ Support to Create More Space for Nature on Their Land

Thursday 6th March 2025, 10:43 pm

From Thursday, March 6 to Thursday, March 20, landowners in Meath can apply for support to create wildlife ponds, mini-woodlands, hedgerows, mini-orchards and ‘plans for nature’ on their land through The Hare’s Corner initiative, as Meath County Council are once again partnering with nonprofit organisation Burrenbeo Trust to help roll out the innovative biodiversity scheme.

The Hare’s Corner will be available to landowners across six counties - Meath, Offaly, Carlow, Limerick, Galway and Sligo. This follows successful growth of the initiative in recent years, which has helped create 1,600 habitats for biodiversity across four counties, including Meath, since its launch in 2021.

Burrenbeo Trust is partnering with Meath County Council through the Biodiversity Officer Programme and the Climate Action and Environment team to be able to offer Hare’s Corners to landowners. The Biodiversity Officer Programme is supported nationally by the Heritage Council.

Financial support for the initiative will be provided through a combination of public and private sector resourcing, including Meath County Council funding, the Local Biodiversity Action Fund supported by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and private funders - NTR PLC.

Ben Malone, Biodiversity Officer for Meath County Council said:“We are delighted to partner with Burrenbeo Trust once again and re-launch the Hare’s Corner in Meath. We were blown away by the interest shown in the project last year, not only by individual landowners and farmers, but community groups also from resident’s associations and Tidy Towns to scout groups and a small number of schools. People are hungry for action and willing to play their part in attempting to halt biodiversity loss and build resilience to a changing climate. We want to get right behind them through the delivery of projects like the Hare’s Corner.”

“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,” saysFionn-Doyle Chowen of Burrenbeo Trust.

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.

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 hedgerow, a heritage mini-orchard, 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.

The application form will be live from 6th March to 20^thMarch for landowners in Meath and can be accessed at:www.burrenbeo.com/thc

Landowners, farmers, community groups, and schools with land 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.

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